Red Hat Training and Fedora

[Robert L Cochran]

60 seconds respectful silence, please, for all those who invested 
considerable time and bled themselves and their families to pay for Red 
Hat Training. And now we pose questions:

What happens to past participants in Red Hat Training programs? As of 
2002, Red Hat never offered significant forms of support to it's RHCE 
candidates; in fact, it treated them to utter silence before and after 
milking them of their cash. Students were at the mercy of their own 
experience levels, their own ability to boost those levels without 
effective support, and what they could get out of the classes. Red Hat 
did not even offer practice exams to candidates, one of the most minimal 
forms of support I can think of. There were a few FAQ-style web pages 
and that was it. I suppose this disgusting trend of failing to support 
trainees will continue? Are these people going to receive any value for 
their investments with the lightning shifts in corporate focus? Or will 
the training programs disappear with the problematic packages, leaving 
former students flapping in the breeze?

Now let's look at those few who actually hold training certifications 
from the company. How will Red Hat Certified Engineers fare with the 
launch of Fedora? Will the new corporate vision vigorously support 
certification holders in transitioning skills to what is essentially an 
new business model (and one that might change again in 2 months?) Based 
on what the company does to trainees, I doubt it.

Will there be dilution to the value of existing certifications? There 
might be. How will holders explain that they are certified in Red Hat 
Linux, but there is no longer a Red Hat Linux. Try explaining that in a 
meeting of any sort. Do RHCEs automatically become Fedora Certified 
Engineers ("FCEs")? Oh my, that doesn't sound right at all, especially 
if some fool spells that with an additional 'e'. There will certainly be 
the stakeholder who wonders, "What is Fedora Certification? I don't 
recognize it." And we are not forgetting Red Hat Certified Technician 
holders. The same questions apply, this time to a possible "Fedora 
Certified Technician."

All my wonderings are perhaps for nothing. After all, in November or 
early December, 2003, the Overcoat Project will be announced.

-- 
Bob Cochran
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
http://greenbeltcomputer.biz/