Thinking of making a career change. Been tinkering with #linux since high school, thinking it'd be a great basis for a new career. Any advice on where to start? No certs or college education, based in the US.
@FriendlyEMP It's a very large field. Do you know which section of Linux admin you'd like to go into?
Whichever role/path you choose, you're going to want a solid Bash and basic Linux CLI tools base to work from, as those are applicable across all distros and really don't change when you remote into systems.
I also do recommend this for anyone, as CyberSec hits all parts of the field.
https://www.isc2.org/landing/1mcc
@FriendlyEMP
Linux jobs are not just about using Linux. Most such jobs require knowledge of what Linux is used for: networking applications, services, data, clients, and servers.
Bash, SSH, and GNU userland tools are imperative to learn well. I often find myself writing a bash script in a terminal to do a job for which a GUI exists because the short 1 or 3 liner script does it better or resolves something the GUI app can't. I often find myself jacking into my remote servers with SSH to run a command instead of using an existing API because it is just quicker or more intuitive than said API.
You need to learn and get experience with these fundamentals:
authentication, PAM
package management (mostly apt, or dnf if you are working with RPM distros)
networking and network configuration
IPv4, IPv6
firewalls, especially IPTables
DNS and DNS records
Mail servers and mail records
SSL Certifificates, certbots
Big Bonus Skills include:
Kubernetes, containers, jails, hypervisors, virtual machines
PHP is a big bonus since you can do a lot with it, and it isn't exclusive to Linux which can be helpful.
Python is also a big bonus since so much of Linux is configured with Python scripts.
Ansible or other automation platforms
Databases, MySQL, MariahDB, Postgres, MongoDB
git, version control (you're going to want to send a patch at some point)
One way to figure out is to buy a small server or a few raspberry pi to run your own services from so you can get a feel for what you want to do. If you don't want to run a physical server you can rent out a cheap VPS at racknerd and tinker with that. As you run your own stuff and tinker with things recommended by others you get a feel for how everything works together and then you can target the relevant systems you would like to study.
Basically, become a hacker, and have a hacker mentality, and you will work it out. The hacker mentality is one of finding the root of a problem and thinking a way around it to a destination. Others will see that in you and that is how you most likely find the kind of job you are looking for.
Warning: having chatted with others over the years, and observed many conversations, you may have to slog through a few entry level jobs or contracts that sort of suck before you happen upon something better.
Telephone tech support might help. Finding a job in telephone technical support with relevant products will really challenge you to constantly solve problems all day long and give you the chops you need to keep moving toward your goals. Telephone tech support for computer systems is a hard job, and you will routinely get problems thrown at you by clueless people that really force you to think hard and fast and grow in your problem-solving and communications skills.
Linux jobs are not just about using Linux. Most such jobs require knowledge of what Linux is used for: networking applications, services, data, clients, and servers.
Bash, SSH, and GNU userland tools are imperative to learn well. I often find myself writing a bash script in a terminal to do a job for which a GUI exists because the short 1 or 3 liner script does it better or resolves something the GUI app can't. I often find myself jacking into my remote servers with SSH to run a command instead of using an existing API because it is just quicker or more intuitive than said API.
You need to learn and get experience with these fundamentals:
authentication, PAM
package management (mostly apt, or dnf if you are working with RPM distros)
networking and network configuration
IPv4, IPv6
firewalls, especially IPTables
DNS and DNS records
Mail servers and mail records
SSL Certifificates, certbots
Big Bonus Skills include:
Kubernetes, containers, jails, hypervisors, virtual machines
PHP is a big bonus since you can do a lot with it, and it isn't exclusive to Linux which can be helpful.
Python is also a big bonus since so much of Linux is configured with Python scripts.
Ansible or other automation platforms
Databases, MySQL, MariahDB, Postgres, MongoDB
git, version control (you're going to want to send a patch at some point)
One way to figure out is to buy a small server or a few raspberry pi to run your own services from so you can get a feel for what you want to do. If you don't want to run a physical server you can rent out a cheap VPS at racknerd and tinker with that. As you run your own stuff and tinker with things recommended by others you get a feel for how everything works together and then you can target the relevant systems you would like to study.
Basically, become a hacker, and have a hacker mentality, and you will work it out. The hacker mentality is one of finding the root of a problem and thinking a way around it to a destination. Others will see that in you and that is how you most likely find the kind of job you are looking for.
Warning: having chatted with others over the years, and observed many conversations, you may have to slog through a few entry level jobs or contracts that sort of suck before you happen upon something better.
Telephone tech support might help. Finding a job in telephone technical support with relevant products will really challenge you to constantly solve problems all day long and give you the chops you need to keep moving toward your goals. Telephone tech support for computer systems is a hard job, and you will routinely get problems thrown at you by clueless people that really force you to think hard and fast and grow in your problem-solving and communications skills.