[TriLUG] Red Hat System Admin class

[Nick Goldwater]

----- "Matthew Lavigne" <lavigne at thosebastards.net> wrote:
| <snip>
| 
| > The contents of the exam are in the public domain by definition.
| The
| > methods by which the exam is administered and evaluated are not. So
| if I
| > wanted to comment on how to set up automount or some such thing I am
| free to
| > do so but I am silenced when it relates to commenting on the methods
| stated
| > earlier.
| 
| 
| Completely true, as another one of the people that have taken the RHCE
| track
| and am looking to renew it, I don't care for the NDA but I abide by it
| when
| discussing the exam itself but I have worked with study groups to
| prepare
| for the test, and the funny thing is that what I preach the most is
| something that has nothing to do with the content of the test but the
| strategy to taking the test which is by far more important.  Teaching
| someone how to setup automount based on the fact that redhat has it as
| a
| possible on their exam is nothing, getting people to understand the
| scope of
| what they are asking you to do in the RHCT/RHCE section of the exam in
| 3
| hours is infinitely more difficult because as the saying goes "the
| devil is
| in the details"
| 
| 
| 
| 
| So let me posit this: In an industry based on Open Source Software,
| how can
| > I as a hiring manager rely on a closed test that I cannot verify
| sans pass
| > or fail?
| >
| > It appears that I'd be better off interviewing and possibly testing
| my own
| > candidates.
| >
| >
| I agree with you completely here, but someone that shows a valid
| RHCE/RCHT
| number that checks out will move to the top of my list to be tested,
| why?
| because I myself know that the first time is the killer and after that
| is
| gets easier(I hope that is still the case as I prep for my 2nd
| update).  I
| would expect a candidate with an RHCE to be able to completely and
| easily
| complete the task that I used to set to my interview candidates; to
| install
| the binary nvidia driver from the command line, including editing and
| configuring the XFree86Config file (or Xorg.conf now).  In the 4 yrs
| that I
| used that as a measure of linux skill/capability I only had 1 person
| ever
| manage it correctly (and this included a complete setup system, the
| driver,
| and the readme). 

Was the guy a RHCE? Also what about all the Debian users out there that would not take the test in the first place? I agree that you cannot pass the test without knowing the Red Hat distribution, however I firmly believe that it should not be weighted heavier than practical job experience etc. In my opinion you limit your pool of candidates to a relatively small subsection of people. 

As a side point I wonder if there has ever been a study on the demographics of the individuals who take the test...


 That is out of more then about 20 candidates.  That
| guy
| didn't get hired because of his attitude about the position but his
| skill
| set was up to snuff.
| 
| IF you are interviewing the certification is only an indication, now
| with
| the RHCE, if you have yours or have had someone explain to you what it
| takes
| to get it, 

How do you explain the test? Could you explain how the test is graded? And if so what it represents?

then you are likely to not worry about the basics, because
| if
| and  RHCE got their certification without knowing the basics thent
| they
| should have been playing the lottery.


Agreed.

| 
| 
| 
| BTW, the last group that I worked with when studying had only 2 people
| get
| their RHCE out of 12 in the study group, and the comment that they all
| made
| was that they should have paid closer attention when I was talking
| about the
| strategy of taking the test.

Sounds like a good deal for Red Hat.


| 
| Matthew
| -- 
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