[Gllug] How to start a carrer in Linux Admin ?

[Martyn Drake]

On Mon, 2005-08-15 at 09:43, wendy carr wrote:

> I am really fed up with trying to be a Linux / Unix
> systems admin. I am pretty confident i am good with
> Linux skills (all configuration stuff + even hardware
> such as SCSI cards and RAID). But when i look at jobs
> on the web and even with Recruitment agencies i find
> everyone looking for experience in 3rd party
> software/HW such as Verits backup, Vx file systems, SAN, etc..

This is going to be a long waffly (and possibly pointless) post, I'm
afraid. :(

Indeed.  I remember looking for work around three and half years ago and
it was all just Sun, Sun, HP, HP, Sun, HP, Veritas, Veritas, Sun, 
Veritas, and Veritas.  Of which I have very little experience with.  I
was fortunate to work to work for an ISP which used Sun kit for web and
mail servers.  However, I never had the opportunity to do a clean
Solaris install nor really get my hands dirty with the kit.  Some time
later, I worked for a (horrible) company in at the end of 2001/beginning
of 2002 which built custom Sun machines using Sun OEM motherboards and
thus got my first taste of the Solaris game good and proper.  But then I
left because the company was a pile of pooh.  

Going all the way back to around 1997/1998...

I started the game small, working for a local Norwich firm specialising
in building (and repairing) custom PCs.  The MD there was fortunate
enough to know about Linux and was looking for somebody to set-up an ISP
based around it.  That job was advertised in the local rag.  Thus fresh
faced out of University I applied and got the job.  Pay was awful but I
had terrific fun building and learning everything that Linux could do in
the way of DNS, email and web hosting whilst on the job.  It ran rather
well for a year or two before being poached by the upstream ISP and then
went to work there for a year doing technical support more than system
admining.  Was then made redundan and the lack of jobs in Norwich
requiring Linux knowledge was so fantastically scarce that I looked
towards London.  Since I had a mortgage and everything, I had to work to
a plan that if I got a job I'd stay with my parents during the week and
go back to Norwich at the weekends to get out of their hair.

Luckily NetDirect came to my rescue.  I think I saw their job advert
directly on their web site.  They were looking for somebody with Linux
skills and I had the bonus of having worked for several ISPs and have
dealt with dial-up equipment.  I was eased gently into the world of
Solaris and was comfortable with using it to administer the Zeus web
servers and the Sendmail/Bind servers running on them.  I was introduced
to LDAP for the first time too.  Eventually I took some responsibility
for looking after the newly formed NDO service which gave away a free
domain name with every account.  Oh the stories I could tell about that,
but can't.  After the company changed hands several times and I lost a
chunk of money invested in the company, I decided enough was enough and
left without actually having another job to go to.  

Eventually found another job in Kingston upon Thames working for a local
web design and hosting company.  It was a small operation, but paid the
best salary I had ever had.  I had submitted by CV to Planet Recruit and
the MD of that company saw it and contacted me directly. No recruitment
agencies involved.  Dealt with the horrible Rackspace company for the
first time and consequently was made redundant from the organisation
after the company faltered big time.  Was made redundant on the eve of
my wedding and honeymoon, but fair dos to them they paid me well.  Now
re-established in deepest darkest Essex.

During my honeymoon I was job hunting.  After talking to my cousin who
was a PA with Cinesite, it seemed that after all the problems with ISPs
and web hosting it might be a good idea to shift industry.  Cinesite
were advertising a place of a Linux/Unix systems administrator directly
on their web site so I applied just before I left for New Zealand.  Was
amazed to get an email saying they wanted to interview me but by the
time I got back they had filled the position because they needed to fill
it quickly.  But big kudos to them they still took me around the company
and showed me what goes on there.  Tried Framestore CFC and never heard
back from them.  Tried MPC and I've been working there for the past
three and half years in a wonderful Linux environment.  In all cases, I
applied directly to the organisation.  Before MPC though,  I worked for
that horrible company I was talking about earlier.  I won't mention it's
name.  There I was a systems administrator managing several Linux boxen
and sorting out security and whatnot.  It was truly dreadful place to
be.  I was on the lowest salary imaginable with the "promise" that I
would get rises every three months.  That never happened.  It's taken me
about three years since then to get to the same salary scale that I was
on in Kingston.  In this day and age, you've got to take what you can
get. 

My experience with recruitment agencies has been piss poor.  I ended up
doing some temp work for the now defunct Sports.com and I absolutely
hated it.  I don't believe I was given much information by the agency
involved and when I got there the company seemed to be about as
organised as a dead rodent. The agency acted completely unprofessional
throughout the whole course of thing.  And during all the time I've had
my CV at various recruitment agencies they've ALWAYS tried to flog me
Solaris jobs.  The Linux jobs always seem to go like lightening - they
were as rare as hen's teeth.  I am not a fan of recruitment agencies.

So my advice over the past five years is this:

1) Apply directly to companies whether they're advertising or not.
2) Be prepared to take on a low paying position, possibly junior, to
begin with.  Depending on the company you should soon see things
improve. 
3) Never price yourself too high.
4) Be prepared to work strange and ant-social shifts if need be.
5) Show that you're keen to learn new things.

> Also usually you require having 3-5 years of multiple
> os's such as Solaris9/10, RH ES/AS, SUSE and HP. These
> os are not even available in public domain. Its
> chicken and egg problem, you got to know those fancy
> stuff but you got have a job that gives you the
> experience.

Absolutely agree on that.  Who has the money to (a) pay for courses to
gain certification and (b) the equipment to play with.  I've must have
forked out thousands of pounds of my own money over the years on
equipment and software because it has been incredibly difficult
convincing my employers to put me on courses or get me the equipment to
tinker with.  What I know now is a combination of learning on the job s
researching and playing about with stuff in my own time.

Throughout my entire career to date, I've *never* gone on a
certification course.  My colleagues have, but I have never been offered
such a luxury with the excuses given that there isn't the money to do
so, the isn't the time, and various other things.  I've been promised
many things course-wise in my time but it has never happened.  It does
make me a little bitter at times, but I get on with things.

> My understanding is (i might be wrong of course) if
> you have a good understanding in basic operating
> system structure and commands line skills you should
> be OK with specific OS's.

Yes, but employers usually want you to have experience with that
particular OS.  

> I have less than 3 years of commercial experience with
> linux server administration (last 5 months being with
> a web hosting company with Linux, apache, php, mysql,
> ipchains, scripting) but not fancy stuff like Veritas,
> SAN or enterprise servers. Also i am a graduate,
> infact postgraduate. But i find really difficult to
> gain entrance to a permanent starting Linux/Unix admin
> job.

See if any potential employers would be willing to send you on a course
to learn that stuff.  Employers shouldn't expect you to know absolutely
everything in the job description because that's just being
impractical.  I like learning on the job.  If you're particular strong
on a certain skill that can be sufficient.

> Please advise me of whats the current status of the
> Linux/Unix admin job market and why there is no space
> for the starters like me. Also do you think
> certifications will help?

My other advice is not to limit yourself to just one particular industry
(for example ISP/web hosting)_ - the financial and even the film
industry is something you might want to consider.  You'd be surprised
what you can find out there.  It is hard, but I think that ultimately
you will be able to find something.

Regards,

	Martyn  

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