Apple once used a whole family of fearsome felines (Lion and Tiger and Leopard — oh my!) as the spirit animals of its Mac OS, a fiery fox (with a Gecko sidekick) helps hundreds of millions of visitors surf the web each day, and Horton the Elephant inspired the charge of fast-growing Big Data software firm Hortonworks.

By far the mightiest beast in the IT jungle, however, isn't even a jungle creature at all. It's a roly-poly penguin. The penguin is the internationally recognized symbol of Linux, the open-source operating system — or family of open-source operating systems, really — that can be found just about everywhere.

To the average computer user, typically greeted by a Windows or Android login screen upon firing up their personal computing device of choice, Linux is nearly as mysterious as Bigfoot. In the IT realm, however, and particularly beneath the surface of the internet, Linux is as commonplace as cows on a dairy farm.

It's also one of the hottest buzzwords in IT hiring, with demand for Linux-savvy professionals far outstripping supply. If you can prove that you know your stuff when it comes to Linux, then you can command a fat salary at the negotiating table. And what better way to prove that your skills are up to snuff than with a certification?

For the upcoming fall edition of Certification Magazine, we're venturing into the realm of Linux certifications. Linux is rather narrowly defined as certification goes, but our survey still features more than 60 certifications in all. If you hold one or more of those credentials, then please pull up a chair.

We want to find out all about your certification experience. Has certification helped you thrive? Are existing certification programs meeting your needs? We also want to infiltrate the information security world just a bit and get a snapshot of what the men and women on the inside see there each day. All aboard! The Certification Magazine survey train is boarding at the station.

As we always do, we've added a dash of incentive to participate. If you take the Linux Certification Survey all the way to the end, we'll thank you with either (or both!) of two rewards. You can get a free digital copy of the next issue of Certification Magazine. Or get a one-year print subscription at 40 percent off the normal cost. (Hate making decisions? Get 'em both! We don't mind.)

BIG THANKS to everyone who participated in our Linux Certification Survey! Watch for the results to appear the forthcoming 2019 Fall Edition of Certification Magazine.