I've been using linux for about 4 years now and am thinking of getting a job in IT. I have lots of questions and I was hoping the forum members can answer them.

I've heard of LPI and RHCE and I wondered which is the most advantageous to getting a job in IT.

Do I need to pay $$$ for a LPI or RHCE training course or is it actually just as good if I self-study with some recommended books and a copy of CentOS? If so, which book?

How long should I expect before I become competent enough to sit the exams?

Moved: This thread is more suitable in Linux-Certification and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

RedHat doesn't require you to take the class to take the RHCE exam but it likely would help. I'm an experienced UNIX admin with quite a bit of Linux (specificially Redhat/Fedora) work under my belt and just to take the RHCT exam I found it helpful to take the class. RedHat sells a class/test bundle so you can take the class then take the test at end of the week. Remember you need to know the RedHat way of doing things (e.g. /etc/sysconfig stuff) that isn't necessarily the same as other distros use.)

RedHat's training site does have self assesment test to see where you ought to be.

As to which certification is best. The fact is that in commercial Linux RedHat is the biggest player so companies that require certification will likely be using RedHat. However, you'll run into some that are using Suse that want you certified in that.

At current most shops do NOT require certification at all. I've worked in UNIX professionally for many years and until the RHCT never had a certification. The number one thing IT employers look for is experience with whatever they are doing. Next they look for more general experience. While a certification might make the difference between whether you and the guy with similar experience get the job it is unlikely to put you ahead in the running against a non-certified person who has more experience.

Linux I suspect over time will become more Certification oriented not so much because it proves anything but because as time goes by more shops are moving Windows workloads over to Linux and retraining Windows admins. In Windows certification is very common so those folks are more likely to want to get Linux certification which means experienced UNIX admins like myself will likely need them in the future just to be kept in the running.