*nix education & certification questions

[Cooper Simmons]

Hello.

I wanted to send this to the baylisa list instead of the baylisa-jobs-chat
list because it is directed more at educating myself in the sysadmin field,
not just a job issue. And you are definitely the group to know, or at least
have opinions on this... ;-)

I have a question about local *nix systems administration certification
programs. 

I am a fairly recent transplant to the Bay Area and have been spending more
and more time with Linux/Unix. I would like to move into a career as a Linux
and/or Unix System Administrator.
I have quite a bit of experience in first and second level support (mainly
in Windows and Mac environments) and some sys admin experience (mainly,
however, in Point of Sale environment using Unix). I use Debian at home as a
Web/SAMBA server and like it a lot.

I have taken a couple of Unix classes at Foothill Community College and
found them to be too introductory (though I highly recommend the Cisco
certification courses, if you're interested).

I have quit my current job to commit the next year to my education in *nix.
My plan is to spend time in classes that will be good learning environments
to prepare me for my career change. I will also be going to conferences
(LinuxWorld in August and LISA in December).
I like learning hands-on in a collaborative environment (whether it be
classes at a college, "boot camp" or intensive programs, or even
internships). Money is not a huge issue but I do want a good value.


My questions are these:

1) What would be the best certification path(s)? Do you think something like
a Solaris Sys Admin cert program or a Red Hat cert program would be best? Or
something more generic (CompTIA, SAIR, LPI?)? Granted, I would rather LEARN
the OS IN AND OUT, not just have some highly-regarded piece of paper.

2) Would anyone like to recommend a specific training program in the Bay
Area from which you have seen good training and teaching...and maybe even a
good lab?


Please let me know if you need any more specifics.
Thanks for your input,
Cooper