From the Internet help desk to the world of Linux administration

Hello, I’ve posted in the certification forums in the last year or so while completing the CompTIA trinity (A+, Net+, Security+) I completed my CompTIA certifications during a layoff last year back to back in around 4 months doing self-study. I was lucky enough after completing them to choose between a couple of job offers last summer and get the best gig for me at the time. I finished up my Bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State University last December (Non-technical degree, something I started long ago).

I currently work on a help desk for an ISP in Florida supporting small-medium high speed data, business phone, and hosted voice services. In the job description it said A+ and Net+ preferred, however, many of my co-workers don’t have any certifications and instead have a good bit of experience from residential support before coming to the business side. This position is more geared towards customer service than IT support (even our metrics are graded on call quality-friendliness, customer image ect) Beyond basic network troubleshooting and scripting modems for static and DHCP settings I’m honestly not using my certifications and am in a place where I want to get into a more technical role to grow and evolve as a professional (and not take inbound calls anymore

)

The next logical step for me in my current company would be enterprise/fiber (advanced technical services-ATS) support which more or less requires the CCNA certification. This position still fields incoming phone calls (

) and starts around 20 bucks an hour. In fact, the majority of positions I’ve seen starting out with the CCNA here in Central FL are around the 20 dollar an hour mark. I’ve kicked around the idea of earning the CCNA and going the ATS route but my tech passion really lies in Linux and information security. I understand information security is a place where people evolve into after a handful of years in a traditional IT (network admin/Sys admin) role.

My question is, how does one become a Linux administrator from the help desk? I’m working on LPIC-1 and plan on earning the RHCSA and possibly LPIC-2 this year (and perhaps open stack certification) but what’s a good solid way to make the transition? Am I on the right track in terms of certifications? The majority of positions I’ve seen regarding Linux require years of experience as an admin. I’ve looked at a couple different websites and tried to find volunteer opportunities for a Jr. Linux admin but haven’t really found anything that fit what I was looking for. I would love to hear how some of you made the transition into a Linux role and get ideas on how to better prepare and be marketable for these Jr. Linux roles.

I’m attaching my resume for review. I appreciate the views and critiques offered.

-Travis

Travis.Resume.Tech.Exams.2.pdf

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Comments

iBrokeIT

Go to the job board website of your choice > type in your area code and keywoard: Linux > review the skills and knowledge requested > develop those skills in your home lab and studies > update resume and apply

orlandofl

Go to the job board website of your choice > type in your area code and keywoard: Linux > review the skills and knowledge requested > develop those skills in your home lab and studies > update resume and apply

Thank you very much for your fantastic advice........ The question really pertains to how to market those 'skills' that you learned but never really put to use in the work place. I suppose what I was looking for was insight from someone who might have been in a similar situation and could offer an insider point of view of what they thought was the hardest part of the transition and what could be done to really set oneself apart from the crowd in terms Linux skills and experience to become marketable in the industry………None the less, thanks for chiming in.

-Travis

danny069

I would say you are on the right track Travis, the LPIC-1/2 then RHCSA are great certs to have and geared towards linux. You round that off with the OSCP and I'd say you'd have a set of certs that will set you above the rest. That should get you in door for a linux role.

alias454

Since you are in Orlando, look into HOSTDIME Home - HostDime Careers. You can parlay your existing experience into something maybe and then work your way up the food chain.

Mooseboost

The CCNA would help you transition into more a networking role. It helped me big time when moving out of the ISP help desk world into more of a network heavy position. However, that is the path I wanted. Since you want to move into more of the administration role, the linux certification path will probably be a better way.

Another funny fact: We may have talked before lol. I work in the NOC. "Managed Security / Business Firewall" for BHN.

DoubleNNs

I found that shell scripting really set me apart during my job search for a Linux position. Pretty simple stuff too.
On top of that, just as iBrokeIT mentioned, just look at job descriptions and other people's resumes and LinkedIn profiles. See what skills are hot. Then figure out which of those skills interest you and learn them. Once you learn them, try to put them to use in your current job. Still, regardless of whether you use them in production or not, you can always put them on you resume under relevant skills. Just make sure you don't lie and oversell your skills during the interview.

What specifically about Linux interests you? What has been your experience w/ Linux and open source so far? As of right this moment, do you have any technologies that interest you and you'd like to dive into (prior to looking at job ads)?

Kinet1c

DoubleNNs wrote: »

I found that shell scripting really set me apart during my job search for a Linux position. Pretty simple stuff too.
On top of that, just as iBrokeIT mentioned, just look at job descriptions and other people's resumes and LinkedIn profiles. See what skills are hot. Then figure out which of those skills interest you and learn them. Once you learn them, try to put them to use in your current job. Still, regardless of whether you use them in production or not, you can always put them on you resume under relevant skills. Just make sure you don't lie and oversell your skills during the interview.

What specifically about Linux interests you? What has been your experience w/ Linux and open source so far? As of right this moment, do you have any technologies that interest you and you'd like to dive into (prior to looking at job ads)?

All of this. Start with a couple of bash books. While you're learning bash, learn git. This is version control and a key part of being an effective linux admin. If you can do those 2 things, you'll get your foot in the door somewhere.

I definitely agree with don't oversell yourself, you'll get found out pretty quick. You may get tasked with a tech challenge for interviews, don't panic if you don't know how. It may be to see your thought process as well as your knowledge level.