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How to I go from linux user to sysadmin for starting job?

vtrader

My goal is still to get into cyber security in the long run, however in the mean time I am looking to get a job as a linux admin as a starting position.
I have been using linux as my main desktop for the last several years. Done some basic admin to get the system running and troubleshooting.
Now how do I go from a desktop user level experience to sys admin?
Would a RHCSA then apply for a job be a good start?
Or carry on until I get RHCE?
I don't want to study in a book type way. I rather learn in a organic way as I have been as a desktop user.
BTW employment is more important then getting certificates for me in the short term.

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Comments

lsud00d

You don't need linux certs to get a linux sys admin job, however you have to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk. The RHCSA has good objectives outlined to doing a lot of basic sys admin tasks--I suggest starting there.

fuz1on

Yea, you just need to be able to admin big-time environments using either RHEL or CentOS. A cert doesn't prove that - only know-how. If you secure/harden your own system, you probably have what it takes and if you run your own server(s) - even better. You might want to start making separate subnets to run IPS/IDS and see what false-positives show up. That's how I really learned - hands-on, seeing the logs and finding ways to break in.

VIDEODROME

I'm in a very similar situation. I have an Associates in Cyber Security, but that field will probably have to be a longer term goal. In the meantime, I've been introduced to Linux and enjoy using it on all of my personal computers.

I keep hearing that "Linux Skills are in demand!" from so many articles and I'm wondering if this is unintentionally vague. People really need to define what they mean by Linux skills. Yeah, I can do the basics like install a desktop and feel comfortable in the Terminal, but what are the 'Linux Skills' industry is looking for?

Thorough knowledge of LAMP? Oracle? Nagios? Snort?

Programming? If so, what language?

Also, many of us Linux enthusiasts using home PC environments will probably be completely unaware of many enterprise applications. I have seen things like Chef or Puppet mentioned in job ads. I'm not sure how to effectively train with them. Maybe running as many virtual machines as my humble e-Machine can handle?

I've even looked around for college programs, but I don't feel confident when I read their actual curriculums in terms of covering this field in the areas that industry wants. If I'm lucky, college might actually cover LAMP.

EDIT: Oh well, I've been thinking of how I can motivate myself to dive in. I might just go for Linux Essentials just to round out my skills and knowledge gained from being a desktop user and dabbling here and there in the server side.

Bodanel

I will tell you my history maybe it will help you. I've started working in IT field in 2004 as an computer technician. In 2007 I got my first sysadmin job, altough at a small company, and started learning linux for business use (I was using linux for fun until then). In 2009 I've decided to go for RHCE and that changed my career and life. Not because of the cert but because I could not afford to pay for the RH training I needed to learn everything i didnt know from google. I"ve learned alot from this, much more than was needed for RHCE. But a year ago when I've started a journey to pentesting field I can tell you that it is much more easier because of that what I've learned during my RHCE quest, my only limiting factor beeing the free time.

vtrader

Entry level trainee type linux jobs look like a rarity, only jobs I see advertised are those with 2+years experience and thats junior level. It looks like to get started in linux is more of an internal job movement.

VIDEODROME

vtrader wrote: »

Entry level trainee type linux jobs look like a rarity, only jobs I see advertised are those with 2+years experience and thats junior level. It looks like to get started in linux is more of an internal job movement.

lol

It's starting to feel like this experience requirement applies to all tech jobs. Well, maybe Certifications or College are looked at as equivalent to experience in some companies.

Verities

I've seen a lot of shifting towards DevOps in regards to Linux. This is kind of a hybrid role of system administration and programming. Linux is not really a user based OS for companies anymore and is more platforms/hosting based (PAAS, SAAS, etc). The demand is increasing for qualified system administrators but the preferred experience and required duties continue to become more complex because of this shift. Unfortunately, if you're not a C.S. grad, learning about programming languages, while toying around with Linux, the perspectives are really bleak.

If you're really interested in getting into Linux, studying one of the perspective exam objectives (Linux +/RHCSA) will help you get to know the OS. Labbing will help you get hands on experience and working on learning a programming language will give you more of an opportunity to get your foot in that door. Keep in mind a lot of people don't know how to work with Linux, so many are apprehensive to let someone with little to no experience work on their systems.

VIDEODROME

Hmm... So would it be a good idea for Linux enthusiasts to shift focus to programming? Then if hired to program say "Oh, by the way I have some skill in Linux as well."?

If I felt strongly that by going that route I would at least get gainful employment somewhere I would do it. I would be curious to know if I should focus on a particular programming language and hopefully find a college teaching it. Interestingly, I've even wondered in my previous post if this is lumped in under the banner of Linux Skills anyway in articles I've read hyping these skills in demand. Maybe they want you to program in BASH or Perl.

I had an introduction class to Linux including BASH scripting, but I haven't done it enough to be proficient at it.

Bodanel

BASH is definetly something that you want. Altough I dont use bash anymore (except a quick grep, cut, sort) it is very usefull to know since you'll be working with lots of script written by some other guys and it will be useful to know what a script does. Python is another good scripting language that is more powerfull and easy to learn.

vtrader

aaahhhhhhhhh, information overload!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I need to take a break and regroup priorities.
My primary goal is still cyber/security.
But I need to get into the game some how.
Because I know a bit about linux, that would be my path.
Too much on my plate to learn, take a step back from security learning and focus on linux.
Min of stuff I need to understand and apply to get noticed:
command line:bash/awk/sed/
install, configure:apache/ngnix/mysql/ftp/kvm/puppet/nagios/email server/LDAP/firewall/SElinux
networking:tcp/ip/wireshark/
scripting shell basic:vim/bash/python

then go for RHCSA

Anything else?

fuz1on

Learn Chef - https://learn.chef.io/

@Verities Right on the money! It's all about automation and a hybrid skill-set now.

@VIDEO I think to be a strong linux user - you need to be proficient in scripting and/or a programming language that teaches you data structures and other crucial paradigms.

bash, perl | C/C++, PHP

I learned C first so it made things easier - especially OOP but Python is a great place to start now. You learn imperative, procedural, structured, functional and object-oriented though it makes things 'easier' that if you're not familiar with C - it might seem kind of weird (too complex...haha).

Verities

fuz1on wrote: »

Learn Chef - https://learn.chef.io/

Awesome link! Thanks for sharing.

Pupil

Great way to learn Enterprise Linux is to pop open a Linux administration book and lab common services (DNS, DHCP, LDAP, SAMBA, NFS, etc.) as well as Linux networking. Any Linux admin should know how to configure and troubleshoot those.

Once you understand the basics, proceed to learn scripting (Bash and Python), automation, configuration management (Puppet, Chef, Ansible, SaltStack), and security (SELinux, AppArmor, iptables).

VIDEODROME

Pupil wrote: »

Great way to learn Enterprise Linux is to pop open a Linux administration book and lab common services (DNS, DHCP, LDAP, SAMBA, NFS, etc.) as well as Linux networking. Any Linux admin should know how to configure and troubleshoot those.

Once you understand the basics, proceed to learn scripting (Bash and Python), automation, configuration management (Puppet, Chef, Ansible, SaltStack), and security (SELinux, AppArmor, iptables).

Bump and thanks for sharing these application titles.

From my experience, I feel that college just gives very general fundamentals in a broad sense. I don't feel that I was led toward specific applications in the class room or if I would even see this in a text book. I think this is why many people feel lost trying to break into the industry.

I wish I could just go to a focused Linux Admin Trade School or something. So many of us just don't know what we don't know or we haven't been exposed to these programs by our college curriculums.

asummers

I think "breaking into the field" is probably the hardest thing to do - and there isn't a simple route in. Luck plays a large part.

W Stewart

A linux admin job isn't really a starting position. That's a completely different door that you have to work to get your foot into. Some people get into linux administration through windows administration jobs with a mixed environment and no dedicated linux guy. Some people get in through NOC positions. I got into linux administration by supporting linux point of sales systems. There are many different routes into cyber security as well but a solid understanding of windows systems as well as networks will probably also be necessary.

Mitechniq

I think Linux Administrators should always know some programming language but not for the reasons of development or programming..Linux Administrators do a lot of scripting, I have scripts that check logs, send me notifications, move files, and monitors processes. Some scripts are written in Perl, Python or bash depending on my mood and what I am trying to get out of it. I am by no means a developer or programmer, but I can get a Linux box to sing through scripts.