Where should I go from here? Linux admin looking to branch out

thekid007

Hi all,

It's been a loooong time since I've been to this forum, I've seen its revamped! Awesome.

I have been in IT for 5-6 years, I consider myself an intermediate Sys Admin. I am focused more in Linux. I have the RHCSA, Network+, Linux+. I make 70k in Toronto, Canada. I am trying to figure out where I should go from here. I have a few personal goals for 2019, and am starting a small side business through Amazon (not related to IT per say). 

I want to improve my skillset, and not sure which direction to take. My current position is in Cloud Support - although I don't troubleshoot application side, sometimes I do. Not a huge fan of it.

The environment I currently work in, is mixed Windows + Linux, but majority Windows customer servers. I plan on going back to the Linux world as that is my home.

I considered doing the RHCE, AWS Sysops, CCNA (I have been trained for the CCNA previously but never did the exam) - but I am wondering if I should stay this route. I don't want to be on the Support side any longer, getting paged at odd times, asked repetitive customer questions, etc. Although I don't mind it, I feel there may be something a bit more interesting than that, I am capable of a lot more. 

I've done a bit of networking L3 switches, touched Sonicwalls, administered VMware, Hyper-V, touched Puppet slightly, used Git before. I know I am not much of a Windows guy.

Any suggestions? I even considered something like Data Science, but I don't have a degree in CS. I have a degree in Psychology and went to technical school for IT. I've studied Calculus before. I am good at math. I am patient.

What would increase my earning potential substantially in this field? Developing? I even thought about taking courses on Web Dev and just starting my own Web Dev company for small businesses, but since I have other smaller things I want to do in terms of business, not sure if that is the route I should take. 

Any ideas? thank you!

UnixGuy

Glad to see you posting again!

Your question is broad and there is no single answer for this. you have an excellent technical background and you can branch and do anything really. I moved from Linux/Unix sysadmin to Security, and then later to management. It took a lot of work but it's possible. You can do a masters in data science and see if you like it.

or you can also move to DevOps if you like - the sky is limit. You can really do anything!

thekid007

Thanks for the suggestions!

Swift6

Welcome back @thekid007.

An individual of your calibre has a sea of options available.
In my opinion there are two avenues.
1. stay technical
2. move to management

Similar to you, I previously worked in a mixed Windows + Linux environment. There were also networking, security and virtualization aspects which I liked.
I felt strongly the passion for Linux and boredom with Windows. Since changing to a role solely working on Linux, not looked back since. This also presented an opportunity to grow DevOps skillsets for which I am glad.

Experience with DevOps tools are becoming a standard expectation for sysadmins to have.

I can't speak of management for now. However, there are technical management and consultancy roles which enable you to remain in touch with your technical side.

All the best in 2019!

thekid007

thanks everyone, i will think about it. i have little desire for management. i suppose i will continue with certifying in rhce or aws. i will look into data science as well.

UrbanBob

You need to ask yourself some questions.

How much money will I be happy with?
How many hours do I want to work?
Will I work a night shift?
Do i want to be remote?
Will I learn from this position?
Will I be around smart people?
Will this job be stressful?

Once you narrow down the job you want, figure out what they are looking for and tailor your resume and skill set towards interviewing for them. There will be multiple companies popin up all the time for similar positions so don't be bothered if you don't get it the first time.

Your current skill set looks pretty good and you could easily get yourself in to a nice spot with the right social skills.

MalwareMike

I would go the devops route and learn the following: docker, Kubernetes, AWS, and ansible. There are so MANY jobs out there for these tools.

thekid007

rehashing this old thread. 1 year later, i stayed with the same company - work was okay, mainly loved the people i worked with. unfortunately, we got bought out, and many people are leaving. really sucks, the people were awesome. now it's time to cert up/and/or look to new horizons.

thanks for the comments. i am considering the devops route, only concern is the on-call aspect. i like my evenings and weekends to be free mainly. im considering something like IT Auditor but still researching...

I like the technical stuff...only thing is I feel I need to learn programming, and dont know if i have the time. music is my passion and IT is more to put the food on the table.