​Get on the Linux job train with a new system administration class

Want a good job in tech? Then learning Linux is well worth your time. In 2013, the tech job site Dice reported that senior Linux administrators were making $90,853. Last year, Dice stated that Linux jobs were more in demand than ever and that salaries and bonuses were going up.

So, what do you need to get some of this sweet cash? Well, you need to learn Linux. The basics are easy: Just download a distribution and start playing with it. But, to really go places you need to prove your mad Linux skills with a certification. The newest of these certifications, the Linux Foundation Certified SysAdmin and Engineer, appears to be both really popular with companies and really hard.

And, when I say hard, I mean really, really hard. I've known top Linux professionals who took these tests lightly and failed. But, The Linux Foundation has an answer: A new self-paced "Essentials of System Administration" class.

This course is based on lessons learned from the Foundation's first massive open online course (MOOC) Introduction to Linux, which had almost 300,000 students. This course, however, will be much harder.

The new class, according to the Linux Foundation, is designed "to teach all the necessary skills and background required to work as a system administrator in an enterprise IT environment. It includes lessons on user management, system security, and software management, and it has more than 70 labs to help students practice the skills they're learning. And because the course is self-paced, students will be able to take their time to really master the topics at their own speed."

If that sounds like a lot of material, well it is. I would recommend that only people who already have a firm grasp of Linux basics even consider taking it.

The price, which bundles in the Linux Foundation Certified SysAdmin exam, is currently $499. That, compared to instructor-led classes, isn't much. When I looked for the equivalent classes, I found them going anywhere from a $1,000 to $2,500. If you're the kind of person who can learn from an online, self-paced class, this new online course looks like a bargain.

You can sign up for the class today. Good luck!

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