A while back I wrote about an upcoming certification people receive from passing the Linux Foundation Exam. Now that it is available, I’m circling back as promised with more information.
For those unfamiliar, this certification is specifically targeted at people who are newer to their IT career or just launching it. The goal is to offer an onramp for people to show their basic skills and demonstrate to potential employers their ability to get the job done or learn what is needed. It fits in well with their other offerings, giving Linux admins a path to use the foundation’s certifications to reflect progress in their career.
I have information about the beta test, more information about what is stressed in the testing, and availability information, so let’s dive right in.
First off, for those like me who have a friend that might benefit from using this test, it is available for purchase now and can be scheduled in January 2021.
Who is the Linux Foundation Exam for?
This exam is aimed at entry-level IT folks or those who are contemplating a move to DevOps. Though it is not targeted at help desk people aiming at systems admin jobs, it is suitable for them also. Its goal is to provide employers with proof of a minimum set of skills in IT basics, with (unsurprisingly) a strong emphasis on Linux. An interesting application that Lee Marer of Outcert, one of the Linux Foundation’s partners, pointed out to us was interest from K-12 and colleges—it could be a benefit to people who are recently out of school to already have something that shows they know their way around.
Specifically, Lee thought the following groups would benefit from the test, and sees interest from these groups:
- K-12/College: Already mentioned. A good way to offer practical benefit to coursework and offer prospective employers a hint at an inexperienced student’s capability.
- Those moving to DevOps: Because a lot of DevOps is open source, a lot of DevOps depends upon Linux. This test shows those looking to move have the background required.
- Those who are intimidated by the more advanced tests available from the Linux Foundation and others. My friend fits into this category. The amount of prep required to pass some tests is not on par with the practical knowledge they test for. This test offers a stepping stone that allows users to study the basics before being asked to advanced tasks such as (for an extreme example) parsing packets.
- Employers: This exam proves a basic understanding of the topics covered, allowing employers to say “Must have passed this exam” in place of “Must have Doctorate and 15 years of experience.” (I joke, but it does offer employers a bar for help desk or entry-level DevOps.)
What’s in the Linux Foundation Exam?
Specifically, Dan Brown, senior manager, content and social media at the Linux Foundation, told us that the test would cover the following topics:
- Linux Fundamentals (20%)
- System Administration Fundamentals (20%)
- Cloud Computing Fundamentals (20%)
- Security Fundamentals (16%)
- DevOps Fundamentals (16%)
- Supporting Applications and Developers (8%)
We had hoped to have a couple of sample questions for you, as an example of what to expect from the test and from those who took it. As of this writing, answers to those questions are not available. We’ll keep you posted.
How Can I Take the Linux Foundation Exam?
As mentioned above, it is available for purchase now (at a good price for an exam), and the scheduling of exams opens in January 2021.
Tests are delivered remotely, with a live proctor and monitoring used to ensure it is an evaluation of the test taker’s knowledge, as opposed to the test taker’s ability to look up answers.
This will be a point of contention, as it is in interviews and other exams. Simply put, the ability to look up what you don’t know and apply what you find to answer your questions/fix your problems is a critical skill at this point in IT. But for an entry-level test, I think that proving you have the basis to even understand what you are looking up is more important. So while I believe that unfettered internet access should be available during higher-level tests, for this test it makes perfect sense to me that monitoring will detect searches for answers.
So Why Cover it Here?
I think that this industry has developed a kind of psychosis. We talk about skills being more important than formal education and for entry-level positions, ability being at least as important as experience. Yet, job postings read like wish-lists. No, I don’t have five years’ experience in that three-year-old tech, thanks. The Linux Foundation Exam offers an avenue for organizations to demand basic competence without going crazy on a laundry list of items. For help-desk, for admin, for DevOps, this test would prove basic competency in a swath of Linux applications and utilities that would simplify the hiring process. I think we need that. I think we need that across the board, but starting with entry-level is good for me. Priced to be available to entry-level people, gauged to judge their basic knowledge, and from an authority on Linux, this might just be the answer at the bottom end of the scale.
In fact, combining this test with a demonstrated ability to look up and comprehend answers would be all that is needed for most entry-level positions. Employers get assurance that they’re making the right hire, applicants don’t have to try and figure out which of those “requirements” is actually a requirement. Everyone wins. But only if we’re talking about it. So I’m talking about it, to people who’ve laughed at job postings before and know something like this could help: You. Keep kicking it, and consider this another tool to get co-workers who can kick it, too.
