When I was in high school, many speakers came to talk to the students about our futures: jobs and options available after graduation. One thing every one of them stressed was the importance of going on to get further education and training. Without it, we were told we would face a life of work in the food industry or as sales clerks or low-level car mechanics. We were shown charts of how much more money we would make with the proper university degree or training certificate for the job we wanted. These things are still a top priority for most people entering the work force today. Developing skills that are fun as well as attractive to business consumes the minds of students approaching graduation and entering the real world.

Since our readers are Linux enthusiasts who would prefer to work with a Linux system rather than a Windows one, this month's focus is on Linux training. Training is needed so we can get out there and actually support ourselves using our favorite operating system. Many ways of getting that training are available, and we take a look at the ones most in use: traditional classrooms and web-based courses. All are geared toward getting Linux certification so that you can prove your worthiness to potential employers. We also have updates from the two existing certification programs: Linux Professional Institute and SAIR Linux.

We hope you have been enjoying our new “Cooking with Linux” column, which premiered last September and began in earnest with the January issue. Marcel Gagné is a talented author who has written for us in the past, and we are happy to have him join us as a regular contributor. He also writes a column called “SysAdmin's Corner” which appears on our web site (http://www.linuxjournal.com/). Marcel is a Linux geek with a nice sense of humor—what a guy!

Another web column you might like is “Currents” by Bryan Pfaffenberger, a university professor with a keen intellect, who probes the issues facing the computer and software industry today. He challenges us to think and form our own opinions about open source, copyrights, software patents and more.

—Marjorie Richardson, Editor in Chief

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