Studying for certifications can be a tough thing. Having to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on study material can be daunting for someone low on money. Even if you're able to afford the huge fees, you still have to hope that the material you're paying for is going to be worth every penny you've spent. And if you're a student or someone who's not at all familiar with the study subject, it gets all the more scary. Do you hope that the money you've spent will ensure you a certification? Or do you take matters into your own hands and go the free self-study way? While self-study using free materials might not be everyone's cup of tea, it not only gives you a lot more satisfaction, but you can be happy with the knowledge that studying for a professional level certification can be done for free by you.
Red Hat's Linux certifications are one of the most important and in-demand certifications in the job market, and with Linux growing every day, they're only going to become more popular. They allow employers to gauge the level of expertise the prospective employee possesses and the student can assess their expertise in a server environment running Linux. The two main certification exams created by Red Hat are RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) and RHCT (Red Hat Certified Technician). In this article, I'll guide you through the world of self study and how you can get your certifications for the money it costs to appear for the exam.
Preparation: This is the most important part of the certification process. You can pay hundreds or thousands of dollars and buy study material, or you can browse and research on the Internet, make your own notes, practice your own lab environments and gain expertise by spending virtually nothing. Since I'm personally preparing for the RHCE exam by doing self-study, I'll list a few ways in which you can skip the expensive study material part.
Red Hat Exam Prep Guides: These prep guides are nothing more than a complete list of all the things you're required to know when you appear for the certification exam. While it's not study material, you need to know what you have to study. And what better way than Red Hat's own website? Once you know what you're supposed to study, you can simply start trying out labs of each objective. For example, if one of the objectives of the RHCE exam is to configure an FTP server, what better way to study than by setting up an FTP server yourself? The following are some of the ways in which you can study for the objectives.
