Advice on RHCE & CCNA Training

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swatkats

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I have a friend who wants to Choose System administration as his profession.
Having said that, this person has Little skills in Unix/Linux. He has financial support to start Data center operations with his Rich peers, For which i guess he has to learn/get in to CCNA/P?
Thirdly, He wants to Get in to Cloud Deployment.

He has planned to do join Linux Training both basic and Adv Linux followed by MCSE (Microsoft certified?) with CCNA , Next with Core RHCE training and Certification.

Please Suggest the proper way of learning the above things without wasting his time in a systematic manner. He has finished his Bachelors in Civil, So yes New to IT but had worked for an friends company for 6 months as an Sales/Tech Level1 support.
I guess the order in which i typed is bit confusing and improper, Excuse me for that.

Calling all members Working in IT. Lastly, Trolls please avoid this thread.
 
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I cannot advise anything about the certifications since I avoid them and generally don't tend to believe in them having any value as a technical skill level indicator.

But still as far as the whole thing goes, I think your friend is still confused about what he wants to do. What is he exactly interested in here? Running a business or being a system administrator. Both are independent and unrelated skills and he should not have any delusions about trying to mix them just for the heck of it.

If he as a good business idea and he has the capital, acting on it is great.
If he wants to be a System Admin, that is also great.
But It looks to me like he would start a business just so he can be a system administrator. That is a bad idea.
 
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swatkats said:
He wants to Get in to Cloud Deployment.
Click to expand...
Data centers and cloud deployments are a broad term.
for example, for SAN infrastructure (FC/iSCSI network and storage array administration etc...), you will need SAN administration like FS1 or ZFS or EMC and brocade certification.
for virtual infrastructure, you will need VMWare ESX or Linux or MS HyperV or XEN or OpenStack depending upon the infrastructure and platform.
if the Cloud is SaaS (software as a service) you will need specialization in that particular software.
Apart from all these, you will need to get expertise in lab insfrastructre too. like screw drivers, power supply, racking procedures, cooling specs etc...

Finally MCSE or CCNA or RHCE dont help any of these but are just basics. like 12 standard education.
 
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don't bother with certifications, 99% of them in India, don't teach, students don't learn and they don't help in jobs.

if he wants to learn, he does not even need any certifications.

and lastly, as Lord Nemesis pointed out, it's really a bad idea if he wants to start a biz to be a sys admin. He might want to think about it.
 
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Alright, thank you for your valuable Suggestions.

@avi I guess certifications are a must, when you apply for jobs? I get the point, System administrator with Peers + Gaining knowledge in Cloud deployment or for the fact other field is an bad idea.

@booo Thanks for educating the differences and what exactly is what.

Another other valuable Suggestions, as to how to proceed? Thank you
 
Ok heres my take on this

RHCE - Linux domain
MCSE - Microsoft domain
CCNA - Networking

These are 3 different fields, instead of being a jack of all trades ask him to choose a single domain and master it , rather than doing everything under the sun

For cloud implementation you need to pick a platform (Microsoft hyperV (with azure integration) / VMware (Esxi, Vsphere and Vcloud director) / Citrix xenserver / RHEV / Openstack)
Followed by good exposure to storage technologies (FC,iSCSI and FCOE (with converged networking) ) and some basics of networking

Why join an institute for RHCE when the voucher cost includes training + exam,

My certifications : MCSA 2012, MCSE (server infrastructure 2012 R2), MCSE (Private Cloud 2012 R2), VCP 5.1, Citrix certified admin (Xenserver 6), EMC ISM V2 and SCSE (SNIA Certified Storage Expert)
Though my specialization is in Microsoft solutions, i did VCP and Citrix for cross platform integration, for eg most of my clients thus far prefer Xenapp for application virtualization, vmware for linux based vms and HyperV to make use of free VOSE licenses which come bundled (though they have to pay for System center suite, which would help in VOSE / POSE servicing and management anyways )

I suck at switch configuration and physical network configuration, but i have basic understanding of topologies and Layer 2 protocols which should be sufficient if you really want to get into cloud deployment (most organisations have dedicated networking teams for this purpose anyway)

My plan : Upgrade VCP 5.1 to 5.5 and have a Nexenta training next month
 
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I would go with what ryan already mentioned. Stick with one area. Degrees/certifications may be an important factor to land a job, but even more important is getting the necessary knowledge to actually perform the job in a capable manner rather than just to pass the exams and adding a badge against your name. Then get a job at some enterprise where good hands on experience is possible. Work and get practical experience and become proficient. Sys Admin type of roles is one of those areas where practical experience and deep expertise in one area can be really enriching and valued highly compared to half-arsed theoretical knowledge in 3 different areas.

Once he gets expert enough to be valued for one area, he can think about getting into other areas.
 
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I have 0 certifications. because there is no value for certifications in programming field. Also I dont have any motivation to pursue certifications. I reckon its valued in sysadmin field.
 
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^^ Exactly my logic. For Sys Admin type of roles, they do add value for job seekers, but then again only when they really have the stuff and not just a label.
 
And any kind of training institute will be able to afford the enterprise hardware for SAN deployments. our cheapest implementation costs upwards of 150K USD that is just one array. so I dont think getting training from anyone else other than the manufacturers like brocade/EMC will get a person anywhere near a storage array or an FC switch.
 
okay let me tell you why i constantly upgrade my certifications or why i need certifications in the first place, i possess the knowledge to clear the certification they why shouldnt i ?

i help large organizations deploy virtualization/ storage, when they see the certifications under my name they feel comfortable!!

one more thing, many use dumps and stuff and clear their exams but remember, when you put a 4/5 letter certification in your CV, be prepared to answer questions at that level as well, without hands on knowledge your certifications are of no use, it took me 2.5 years to do the certifications that i did, best part is my employer has a very robust lab, can get anything so that way iam lucky
 
I think you should get training for it as once you get proper knowledge of it you can work on it and doing things practically would help you do you best in IT field.
 
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