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?

How much can you add to your income with a Linux certification? There are several factors that determine salary, of course, but a good certification can be a strong argument for someone seeking a raise or bonus. And certain high-paying jobs may require certification as a prerequisite to being hired. We'd like to help you join the Linux gold rush.

Welcome to the tenth in our new series of surveys, launched in 2014, that are aimed at smaller targets. We'll still bring out the big bullseye at the end of each year for our annual Salary Survey. In between, however, we'll continue to take a more focused look at certain types of certifications.

For the upcoming Spring 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 35 certifications in all. If you hold one or more of those credentials, then please pull up a chair.

As we always do, we've added a dash of incentive to participate. If you take the 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.)

You can see the results in April, when our spring edition arrives. (Why not subscribe? No really, we promise you'll love it.) Also, in keeping with our recent custom, we've added a handful of questions at the end of the survey whose answers lie outside the realm of Linux certification. Please humor us. We like sharing the slightly nutty stuff with you. And now, to the survey!

‍BIG THANKS to everyone who participated in our Linux certification survey! Watch for the results to appear the forthcoming 2017 Spring Edition of Certification Magazine.