Get Ahead

Where Can I Take The Exam? Please do not forget your government issued photo ID and the BSDCG-ID on the day of exam. The World‘s The exam is now available at conferences around Otherwise you can not take the exam. the world. Please check our website for the new- est information where you can take the exam. If Good To Know you know an exhibition and/or event where the BSD Certification exam is not available, please let us know. We will At our website you will find useful information try to o!er the exam there too. about the certification program. You will also find the dates for the next exam, the chance to The time frame of 90 minutes is su"cient to register for an exam, and a link to order the complete the exam. BSDCG-DVD: Costs http://www.bsdcertification.org/ Innovative. Currently, the price of the exam is US $75. Com- All the Events can also be found at Community Driven. pared with typical prices of over $200 for other https://register.bsdcertification.org/register/eve certifications, this is quite reasonable. We have nts/ Growing. worked hard to keep the exam price a!ordable to everyone. #The BSDCG relies on exam fees as There you will also find the proctor of the exam. well as donations, DVDs, and merchandise sales. If you have any question you can contact him/ Your exam fees go directly toward improving the her via email. Get Certified! certification e!ort. At the conferences, there should be a BSDCG We prefer payment at the time of exam registra- booth. If there is no BSDCG booth, we are at a tion, but the exam fee can be paid at the confe- booth with one of the other BSD projects. rence before the exam starts. However, please BSDCG DVD note that once the exam starts, it will not be possible to admit latecomers. The BSDCG regularly (twice a year) issues a DVD with the current BSD systems. On the DVD you Registration Process will also find documents relevant to the exams. Orders for the DVD can be placed at our website. First of all, if you want to take the exam, you need a BSDCG-ID. You can get the BSDCG-ID for The Four Major BSD Projects free at our registration website: All of the four free major BSDs provides an ex- https://register.bsdcertification.org/register/get cellent documentation which is also available on -a-bsdcg-id the BSDCG-DVD. You will find more information about the BSDs on the websites of these pro- The registration process in short is: jects:

1. Get a BSDCG-ID http://www.freebsd.org/ TM 2. Choose an exam location http://www.netbsd.org/

3. Pay the exam fee by credit card or PayPal http://www.openbsd.org/

http://www.dragonflybsd.org/

(c) 2005-2008 BSDCG.org - Design by Axel S. Gruner - The BSD Daemon is copyright by Marshall McKusick. FreeBSD and NetBSD are registered trademarks. All logos are copyrighted and used with permission. Get Involved

An Idea whose time has come

Who Is The BSDCertifcation Group? exam at 65%. The scoring algorithm notes how BSD Professional (BSDP) Certification the answers to each question compare to the The BSDCertification Group (BSDCG) is a free, answers provided by all other examinees. Also, Language$ : English independent and non profit association. It was each examinee receives a full report showing a founded to develop a uniform certification stan- pass/fail score and a score for each knowledge Available$$ : Q4 2008 dard for BSD-based operating systems. To reach domain. Over time, the psychometrician will also Re-certification$ : 5 years this goal, system administrators, authors and assist the BSDCG towards meeting the certificati- teachers of BSD came together, to turn this idea on testing standard published by the National It is not necessary to be BSDA certified as a pre- into reality. Supported by many translators and Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). requisite. The BSDP certificate is for system ad- well-known advocates within the BSD communi- This provides the highest possible quality of ministrators with extensive knowledge of Unix ties, this dream has come true. certification testing. and BSD systems. Experienced system administ- rators of BSD system can register for the exam Two Certificates BSD Associate (BSDA) Certification directly.

BSD-Unix has been around for 30 years now and Language$ : English The BSDP certification should be available some- the success story does not seem to end. The time within Q4 2008. time is ripe for a unified certification process for Available$$ : 2008 these systems. To keep things simple there is Re-certification$ : 5 years One Exam For All BSDs not a multitude of certifications available, but just two, the BSD Associate (BSDA) and the BSD The BSDA exam is for system administrators with So as not to split the certification over all BSDs Professional (BSDP). The BSDA is for junior sys- a good knowledge of Unix and at least one year and to prevent a multitude of certifications, the tem administrators with a good knowledge of experience in the system administration of BSD exams for BSDA and BSDP are always for all for UNIX Systems and work at least one year with operating systems. major BSDs. Candidates should familiarize them- BSD operating systems. The BSDP is for senior selves with FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD and system administrators with an excellent knowl- The exam covers the following knowledge do- DragonFly BSD. edge of BSD operating systems. mains: Why Does BSD Need Certification? Psychometric Quality • Installing/ Upgrading the OS/Software • Assist in the hiring process Securing the Operating System The BSDA certification was developed by a quali- • • Enhance marketing fied psychometrician.The certification adheres to • Files, Filesystem and Disks generally accepted psychometric standards in- • Counter the “no support“ argument cluding the "Standards for Educational and Psy- • User and Accounts Management chological Testing" developed jointly by the A- • Create industry recognition merican Educational Research Association (AE- • Basic System Administration • Provide an organizational path for students RA), the American Psychological Association, and • Network Administration the National Council on Measurement in Educati- • Demonstrate competence to a potential em- on. After a full beta test period, the psychome- • Basic Unix Skills ployer trician set the overall passing score for the BSDA

(c) 2005-2008 BSDCG.org - Design by Axel S. Gruner - The BSD Daemon is copyright by Marshall McKusick. FreeBSD and NetBSD are registered trademarks. All logos are copyrighted and used with permission.