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This is your final warning to re-certify, Red Hat tells tardy sysadmins

No more pandemic-inspired extensions to exam dates or certs, warns Linux-slinging giant

Red Hat has told certified admins they need to re-certify by Christmas – or else.

A Monday post by director of certification Randy Russell pointed out that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Linux-slinging outfit extended the validity of certifications and allowed cancellation and/or re-scheduling of exams.

The IBM-owned distro giant also launched a remote examination facility, so that even those under lockdown or who would rather not venture to an examination facility could take Red Hat's tests.

Now the biz has decided that its months of deferrals and extensions must end. Current certifications will expire on December 31, 2021 unless renewed.

Those of you who intend to have a crack at re-certification and have purchased exams to do so have been granted a little more time. Those with exams that expire between September 8 and 30, or any time in October, have been given another sixty days to take the test.

Exams that need to be taken by the end of November have been given 30 days of grace. But that's it: Red Hat has warned candidates it's not offering further extensions, and that tardiness could cause problems.

"Because we do not expect to offer additional extensions, we expect a high volume of end-of-year exam deliveries," Russell wrote. He therefore encouraged candidates "to schedule as soon as possible to avoid the need to purchase a new exam due to the expiration of one they have already purchased."

When The Register covers vendor certifications, readers often opine that the certs are not worth the paper they're written on, as real-world experience is a better indicator of skill. Another take on certifications suggests they're essentially a racket that lets vendors extract some more cash from users and service providers alike.

Vendors' counterargument generally suggests that individuals and services organisations that claim expertise in a product or technology should be willing to invest in certifications to prove their skill. ®

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