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

[Liam Smit]

Hallo Wendy

> 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..

The reason they are looking is that those skills are hard to find.
Some ICT decision makers haven' t quite cottoned on to the fact that
weird and wonderful technologies are often only used by a small
percentage of the potential work force. Recruitment agencies are also
doing their bit to narrow down the number of potential applicants, so
they may be asking for more than they need.
 
> 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.

As to not in the public domain. You can get evaluation copies of SuSE
from Novell, open solaris for x86, and iirc there is a OS community
version of the RH Enterprise available - whitebox??.
 
> 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.

Ah but learning their quirks comes with experience. E.g. apt-get
install <package> is different to gentoo emerge or bsd ports. And
becoming familiar with different installers and config tools also
takes time. Also if you've managed to do remain in this line of work
for that long then it is unlikely that you are a complete nana. <g>
 
> 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.

Maybe these positions are filled more via internal placements or
recommendations than external advertisements / recruitment - except
for the hard to fill positions?
 
> Please advise me of what's 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?

Well it's not boom time in the IT landscape anymore and server admins
are just hired they are carefully vetted because you really don' t
want to lose a production server. So perhaps get in somewhere easier
e.g. tech support and get into server admin from there. That's what I
did a few years back to get into admin and am currently doing it again
(and have been promised access to the servers as a result of this).
Proving that you are competent and can be trusted I suppose.
Certifications will probably help somewhat for employers who want to
see pieces of paper but they will not solve the experience problem.

cheers
Liam
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