Open Source Degree Confirmation

## Reasoning

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Since Wikiversity does not grant degrees, one way the computer science student can develop a strong resume is to work on real life projects in the Open Source community. There are many open source projects that have a limited and more simplistic scope for beginners. Most open source projects provide a very welcoming environment to help you get on board and you can start by getting involved in many aspects of the project. Programming and mathematics must be mastered first and foremost. This generally can take 5-10 years of programming experience. Yet in the 1980's many witnessed high school students creating video games for the Apple II, TRS-80, and other microcomputers by their own efforts. So this premise is not at all impossible, and is surely plausible. For computer science (see: School:Computer Science ) this is easy. For other schools, similar methods can be used.

## Demand

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Employers want programmers and computer professionals who have danced the dance, that is, worked on "real" software and contributed for several years. In the 1980's students were being hired right out of high school due to their computer and programming expertise. These days, documented education and/or certification are necessary.

## Resume and Achievements

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The resume of a student can include a growing and growing list of verifiable Open Source contributions. While not accredited, with open source development sites such as http://sourceforge.net and www.apache.org will show the exact contributions of participants.

## Linux Professional Institute

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The Linux Professional Institute is an institute which is committed to the development of a global standard in Linux certification. Individuals and organizations wishing to be certified in the use of Linux systems can enroll in courses which meet the requirements of both IT professionals and the organizations that seek to employ people with skills and experience in using, administering and programming on open source distributions. The LPI seeks to be distribution neutral and aims to provide the highest quality resources in order to educate and certify people in the use of Linux distributions.

The LPI provides 3 levels of certification:

* LPIC-1
* LPIC-2
* LPIC-3

Along with the above 3 levels of certification the LPI also provides a certification in partnership with NOVELL: Novell Certificate of Linux Administration