[Gllug] getting into the linux work scene

[Jim Bailey]

On Mon, Sep 02, 2002 at 10:39:42PM +0100, ben f wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> I need advice from those in the know.........
> 
> I want to get into working with Linux/Unix systems, as a junior network admin.
> 
> I use linux at home (yeah, I'm posting from another box now Win2K via yahoo, but hear me out!). I'm learning C++ and sendmail.
>
If you are learning Sendmail, think about some of the other MTAs Exim,
Postfix and Qmail as they are slowly replacing sendmail.

> At work I'm an applications developer with 1yr experience of php with oracle and adabas (a database in case you hadn't heard of it), javascript, unix scripting etc.

The Oracle is usefull but there are a lot of Oracle people out there.
javascript and unixscripting are useful I presume by unixscripting you
mean shell scripting, think about Perl too, it is the admins friend. 
> 
> Though I feel this will not be wasted knowledge even if I started to delve more into networking I do feel a million miles away from getting a job with linux or even just unix (beggars can't be choosers).
>
It is fscking tough I made the decision a little over a year and a half
ago to give up my financially secure though soul destroying job in
construction  and maintenance middle management to become a Free
Software guy and to get my hands dirty again.

> I want to focus my time as best I can. What I want to know is: if you were hiring for a junior network admin, what do I need to add to my skillset to make you sit up and take notice?
>
Passion! for me the best people IMHO are those that want to at least for
Junior positions.  CV should be positive statements but don't exagerate.
too be a good network admin you NEED to KNOW: TCP/IP, routing protocols,
Mailbut not just MTAs like Sendmail and Postfix but also MDAs such as
Cyrus and Courier and don't forget UCE controls like spamassasin, Apache
and J2ee apps servers that seem to be integral to most web based stuff,
a network admin should also know a little IOS, DNS nothing works without
that and a thousand other things that I haven't even touched on.  As a
junior I would say you would be expected to know a little about most of
the above and a passion to learn the rest.

> I've thought about getting involved in linux community projects. Naturally I intend to go to llug meetings to learn more too. Are there any exams I can pass? I use slackware at home so I wouldn't want to do the Red Hat exam unless I had to (don't want to tie myself in to a distro) but this might not be realistic? What are the most respected certifications for the UK market? I have seen information on Linux+, LPI (seems well spoken of) and RHCE.
> 
Choose your projects carefully most are not interested in learners.
LPIC is non distro specific,  RHCE is Red hat but a hell of lot of
companies out there are using Red Hat so learn some Red Hat also SuSE
which is another popular management decision.  You might also want to
think about Debian which IMHO is a lot more frequently used than
official figures based on sales would show.

If you are following the certification trail checkout
http://rute.sourceforge.net it is a downloadable Linux sys admins course
with chapters linked to elements of various Linux certs including LPIC
and RHCE.  It will take you through from the sub basics to some fairly
advanced stuff.

> I hope I can benefit from the experience of others. Please don't flame me to go and learn sendmail etc first (!) as I am starting out on a road here and do need some pointers.
>
I don't know about having experience since I am not much further down
the road than you and I have had a couple of nasty bouts of unemployment
along the way and expect more to come at any time.

Learning Sendmail first is a bloody terrible idea, learn what interests
you and take it in gradual steps from there and remember to have fun
along the way.

Peace Jim

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