How to improve chances of finding work in Linux or Cloud

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Good day to all. Like many people, I’m looking for meaningful employment. My career has spanned 20+ years where my focus has been Network Engineering, Virtualization (VMware and Proxmox), and Telecom.

I have been using Linux for years, starting with Yggdrasil ‘Plug-n-Play’ Linux in the mid 1990’s and just about every other Linux Distro since then.

Unfortunately, while I’ve used Linux in several of my roles for services that include Network Management and Alerting (Cacti, Nagios, Open Me) Network Security, Network and Application Performance Testing (Spirent TestCenter), and IP Telephony Services (Asterisk & FreePBX)… I have never filled a role where Linux was a primary focus nor have I ever possessed any Linux industry certifications. Yet while I’m not a developer, Linux has been first and foremost in my life as a hobby. I’ve run Linux on just about every device possible, running embedded Debian on the Linux NSLU2 (affectionately known as the ‘NSLUG’) long before the Raspberry Pi existed or IOT was a thing.

My current industry certifications include Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching, VMware Certified Professional - Data Center Virtualization (5.5, 6.0, 6.5) and CompTIA Security+.

Sorry for the long post, just trying to provide a high level overview of my career before posting my question. My next employer will hopefully be my last before I retire in ~ 15 years. I’d like to transition into a more Linux and/or cloud focused role. Considering working to pickup LPIC-1 as my first Linux Cert. and then perhaps look into either an AWS or MS Azure Cert.

Grateful for any thoughts from the awesome DL community. I’m unfortunately not a College Degree holder (I chose the path of a career in the military as my means of education and experience, which has served me well so far). I am currently looking for work in the Houston TX area.

Warmest Regards to all and may you all remain safe in this time of this pandemic.

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So, with on the job experience and a couple of certifications, I am not sure that a college degree is as critical. However, if you are wanting to work in Linux and Cloud, I have a couple of thoughts:

  1. On your resume, do you list involvement in the DLN community? Hiring managers love to know that you are learning and giving back. In fact, if you have a home lab or even Digital Ocean droplets, list that on your resume as well.

  2. You can’t go wrong with an LPIC cert

  3. AWS is the bread and butter of cloud providers right now.

Just a few thoughts for you, hopefully that helps!

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Thanks Eric. Very helpful. I’m going to stick with my plan and finish up LPIC-1 and then considers AWS. I’m one of those Gen-Xr’s with ~ 10-15 more years left in the work force. What I do now will likely be my last career change.

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