CLP here
Years ago I took a Novell Cert. Lin. Pro. exam (freebie at a conference). I think these are pretty similar.
The "practicum" was a proper job and a bit of a doddle once I'd pointed Apache at /usr/share/doc - but that meant I was working in a similar way to the real world, where man and docs are available. I had to set up users and quotas, Apache, BIND (including zones), Samba, cron and other stuff on two VM SLES servers and a script went through and tested my solutions to the scenarios given.
It's not just a memory test, it genuinely tested whether I could perform basic admin tasks and hence I passed without having to do any revision - I am a Linux sysadmin after all.
I've also done a VMWare VCP - it's a memory test and nothing more. My eight years experience with the products is the useful bit, not the naff exam and quali. I generally park MSCE in the same box - bloody useless in and of itself.
I have nearly got over the use of the term "Engineer" in IT, used for non chartered practitioners but I'm not happy about it. Once upon a time I was headed towards MICE until the building industry in the UK collapsed in the early 1990s recession, just as I graduated ...
Cheers
Jon
Biting the hand that feeds IT
