When we developed the Linux Foundation Certified IT Associate (LFCA) exam, we wanted to create a certification that would help folks get started in an IT career by demonstrating to employers they possess knowledge of the most important and widely used modern infrastructure technologies. Our goal was to make an IT career more accessible, and also close the skills gap that is making it difficult for employers to find enough talented candidates.

Part of this process involved looking at the existing marketplace for entry-level IT certifications, and seeing where they were lacking. For instance, the 2020 Open Source Jobs Report from The Linux Foundation and edX found that knowledge of cloud computing has the biggest impact on hiring decisions amongst employers; but legacy entry-level IT certifications do not test for cloud computing knowledge. 

The new chart below compares the LFCA exam to a typical legacy entry-level IT certification to outline the differences, and highlight why LFCA is becoming the certification of choice for employers who want to hire new talent with the knowledge necessary to get straight to work administering modern IT infrastructure. We encourage you to check it out, and also our IT career roadmap which explores some of the career paths that the LFCA can open. 

And remember to celebrate 30 years of Linux in 2021, the LFCA exam is discounted 30% through December 31 if you use code LINUX30 at checkout!

Download Full Version

The post How LFCA Compares to Legacy Entry-Level IT Certifications appeared first on Linux Foundation – Training.

FinOps – also called Cloud Financial Management or Cloud Economics – is becoming an increasingly important skill for cloud architects and engineers as adoption of cloud infrastructure accelerates. Which is why the FinOps Foundation has launched a new, online training course, “FinOps for Engineering”, which is a practitioner level course which looks at FinOps from the perspective of engineers. The course is designed to provide engineers and those who architect, design, construct, and operate software solutions and infrastructure in the public cloud to understand how to work effectively with FinOps teams, finance, procurement, product, and management teams to manage cloud use and cost more efficiently and to derive more business value from cloud.

The video-based course covers a variety of important topics for engineers and ops team members, who will walk away with the ability to:

Describe what FinOps or Cloud Financial Management is, why it is necessary, and how it relates to other software engineering methodologies/disciplines
Describe the motivations and drivers of finance, product, business and management teams with respect to FinOps and compare them to engineering and operations groups’ motivations
Understand the fundamental capabilities and functions needed to manage public cloud cost and usage, and the responsibilities of engineering and operations team members in this regard
Explain strategies engineers can take to integrate cost awareness into architecture, design, build and operate processes
Explain strategies for engineering and operations teams to better integrate with other functional groups to derive more value from public cloud use
And more!

Completing this course allows individuals in a large variety of cloud, finance and technology roles to validate their FinOps knowledge and enhance their professional credibility. Enrollment is now open for FinOps for Engineering, and you can learn about our other FinOps training and certification offerings here.

The post New FinOps for Engineering Training Now Available appeared first on Linux Foundation – Training.