[Industry] How did you become a Linux Administrator?

[coppolino97]

Hello,
I am a guy (28 years old). I live in the north of Italy.
I started my IT job after high school as junior network administrator (theoretically).
The truth is that during these years I have dealt with various issues, very often client and small server installations (very often not even in clusters), networks, firewalls and network monitoring systems (Zabbix for example), NAS and backup (Veeam and Acronis).

In these years I understood I really like Linux world and I would become a linux administrator.

Looking at the job advertisements, I find it difficult to understand how to proceed, because I am not a 'junior', but neither am I really an expert in a single field, despite almost 7 years of work experience now.
At the moment I have decided to proceed with Comptia Linux+ (I have already bought the manual and started studying).

About server deployment we usually run on-premise machines using Hyper-V.

What do you suggest me?

I am quite young, relocation could be an opportunity to improve myself =)

Thanks a lot

[donald]

Very good question! Unfortunately it is a bit complicated as it really depends on your discipline or area of focus. The CompTIA Linux+ is a good start and gives you a good ideal of how to work on and around systems, but again your focus is going to be what really guides your process.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (ldap/active directory) This is skillset for very large organizations or companies.

Domain Name System (DNS/bind), a must to understand and know.

Programming (Development work) – self explanatory.

Network Administrator (switching, ethernet, routing, fiber, cabling, user support)

Network Architecture (Access, network, wan, lan, and wifi deployments)

Cloud Administrator…. The AWS certifications are very good to have right now.

And so on. My path was gaining knowledge on things I was assigned or things that I was working on, as a result I had to learn DNS, then switching and networks, then cloud deployments, I learned SIP/VOIP, …


I would say getting certifications really helps in some areas, in others the certs are worthless. I work in a field of very limited knowledge and have no certs for this particular task, the people under me have a lot of certifications but zero knowledge because they never really learned how to admin under learning diverse tasks.

I’ll pop back in the thread later with a longer response this weekend.

[nikobit]

...
I would say getting certifications really helps in some areas, in others the certs are worthless. I work in a field of very limited knowledge and have no certs for this particular task, the people under me have a lot of certifications but zero knowledge because they never really learned how to admin under learning diverse tasks.

I’ll pop back in the thread later with a longer response this weekend.

Can't wait to hear from you soon enough!

[wizard10000]

Currently retired but I started out by working helpdesk for a large web hosting company. Get your foot in the door and then work on improving your skills

[coppolino97]

Hello folks,
thanks for your your feedback based on your life experience!

@donald I have experience in many topics you suggested.
For example I deployed and managed AD and different Windows Server roles. Moreover I deployed network switch and firewall, DNS and web server etc..
I have basic programming knowlned. Unfortunatelly I never used AWS, Google Cloud or Azure to run VM (I don't know the reason, but my company isn't oriented about this tecnologies too much).
I usually use Microsoft 365 cloud to manage mail system (Exchange Online) otherwise SharePoint Online.
At the beginning, I was an helpdesk technician, so I solved my troubles about workstations and printers for example.
I understood you opinion about IT certification. Often where I work they demand that I study for IT certifications, but I have no real experience in the field, so in my opinion little use.
Many certifications require real experience.

@wizard10000
I always really appreciate suggestions from experied people =)
Are you suggesting me to start again from scratch?
I have experience linux-themed, rarely in production world.

I thought about "web hosting company"...

In the end @donald please share us more info

Thank you guys!

[wizard10000]

...Are you suggesting me to start again from scratch?
I have experience linux-themed, rarely in production world.

I've hired my share of sysadmins over the years. I think certifications are helpful and if all other things are equal I'd hire the person with the cert over someone who doesn't have one but the ideal candidate is going to have certifications plus practical experience - and getting the experience to put on your resume is the hard part, which is why I mentioned the helpdesk position. No disrespect intended, honest

A hiring manager is going to hire the best fit for the company, that's their job - so your resume needs to stand out. Retired now, but I *never* read past the first page of a resume when making the first cut on a stack of applications. In training sessions I've told folks many times that you need to catch the hiring manager's attention in the first half of the first page of your resume, and what's going to catch the hiring manager's eye is documented Linux experience.

donald's list is pretty great; I would add that a good working knowledge of ITIL would also be helpful - ITIL stands for the IT Infrastructure Library and it outlines best practices for delivering IT services.

Good luck!

[coppolino97]

Thanks @wizard10000 for your contribution