My advice would be to start small. Don't quit your day job but spend some time learning more and if you feel you are ready, try getting some one off / part time gigs to apply your knowledge in a real world setting if possible. If you can afford to offer your part time efforts for free, I'd recommend volunteering to open source projects.[1] These days most popular oss projects have no trouble finding development contributions but sysadmin / infrastructure help is hard to find. Once you have done some real world work and made contacts, switching carreers should not be hard. Hang in there and keep working at what you feel you should do. I personally know a number of people who have switched carreers successfully. Don't despair.
I would recommend gentoo. Especially if you don't want to be a consumer but someone who cares (aka sysadmin). There is always time to move back to debian world.
As a Linux sysadmin of 17+ years (and now a CIO), this is the best advice posted to this thread. After you complete this I'd suggest Linux From Scratch (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/) as it'll teach you about the inner workings of a Linux system, which is vital if you want to be a really good sysadmin (a good troubleshooter understands the internals). I would hire someone for an entry level position if they went through this process and if they could explain things at a deep level as that would show me that they have the potential to take it to the next level.
Learn how to be a Linux user first. Are you using Linux right now? If not, either install Linux on your computer, or get another computer you can install Linux on, and start using that as your main computer. immersion is a great way to learn.
Yep, VirtualBox + CentOS and go nuts. Don't waste your money buying a separate computer, and don't waste your time trying to dual boot or removing Windows and using Linux full time.
My suggestion is to stop for a second thinking about the fact that you are broke. It's the easiest problem to solve (unless you need 2 billion dollars).
In my opinion the first thing you need is a clear understanding of what your goal is. Why do you want to be a linux admin? What do you like about it? What makes you say, "I want to spend my life configuring linux systems"?
If answering these questions requires more than 1 minute of your time, you are probably on the wrong direction.
Whatever you decide to do this is my advise. First, use internet. There are amazing tutorials out there for anything you want to learn. Find something that you enjoy and that makes you feel good. Experiment and "taste", the more you explore the easier will be for you to understand what you want.
Keep your job or find another job to cover your expenses. This means you have to work hard because probably you will have to study at night. I've been there, it's tough but at the same time you'll feel alive, I promise.
Learn and practice! This is specially important in computer science. Build something then try to find a way to break it. Once you broke it, build it again!
Go to meetups for people in the same field you choose. You'll learn a lot. You'll be able to start networking but mostly, you'll be able to measure your preparation and this will tell you when is time to start searching for a job.
Searching for a job won't be easy with no academic preparation. Start from the bottom and don't think about salary. For you is much more important to get hired than a good salary. Remember, you need to get hired once to be in the game!
I hired a PHP developer with a similar story as yours few years ago. I took extra steps to understand his preparation but at the end I couldn't ignore the effort and the commitment that this guy put into his preparation. Today he is a valuable component of my team and he makes me very proud of what he has accomplished.
I should've been more specific, I have ~6 years of linux experience as a hobbyist but most employers will not accept a hobby as a certified profession. I have managed game servers/IRC/email/apache/nginx/etc I know perl and use perl to automate some things, etc I know what I'm doing but I've yet to even get an offer from any employers
First, stop using the word hobby! If it's an hobby it's an hobby, if it's a profession you have to be professional!
Second, the way you are describing your experience doesn't really help you. It's too vague. Describe instead the problems you have faced. How did you solve them? What kind of value were you able to add to the entire system? (more stable, faster,...)
Hiring someone is an investment and a commitment. To pass the investment part you have to prove your skills, your ability to solve problems, your personal motivation and your growth potentiality.
The commitment part is more subtle and complicated. It mostly applies to the employer and it would take this conversation too far away. To keep it simple I can tell you that is very very important to get information about the company you are interviewing for. Try to think which challenges they may be facing and ask about these challenges during the interview. Think to possible solutions to these problems and discuss that with them. Don't worry about being right, nobody would expect you to know exactly the problem a company is facing but it would show vision and initiative on your side.
Last suggestion, you say "I know what I'm doing but...". No you don't, you would have a job already. Keep pushing. Do not fall in the stupid trap of thinking that the world is against you. I don't know you but I've been around the world many times. I can tell you that you can make it. Don't give up and keep working on your skills!
Give yourself an online profile with screencasts of what you can do.
Then sell yourself internationally as a trainer. Not high level stuff, but stuff you're very solid in in English language. Sell yourself not to large companies, but vendors of large companies. Charge fairly. Collect lots of name cards and keep in contact with people, especially the trainees (that actually work for the larger companies, but also keep in contact with the vendors). In a few years time you could be able to secure a very senior position with a larger company, or have already made a good enough living as a travelling consultant not to care.
But get those videos up and find a hungry vendor, that's step #1.
It's time to power network. Start attending local/regional linux meetups. Introduce yourself to the fellow attendees, try to be helpful, make friends.
Incidentally, this is where you'll hear about 'hidden' job opportunities. Say a contact realizes you know your stuff. He thinks you look normal-- he'll be more likely to refer you a hiring executive in his network who could use someone with your skills/background.
What makes you want to be a Linux sys admin?
Here's my 2 cents:
1. Create a grand vision for yourself,
2. See where being a sys admin fits into that
3. Give yourself a timeline into which both your vision and sys admin fit
4. With the big vision, start working small - create small daily tasks which will slowly but surely get you there within your timeline. This includes your need for funding your knowledge.
As they say, once you know the why, you can figure out the how.
20 comments
[ 6.2 ms ] story [ 80.6 ms ] threadThere are tons of tutorials online that can get you started.
Once you get some experience, apply for a job.
[1] For instance: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure
2) Install Gentoo
3) Set up ssh / webserver / mail server / irc / etc...
4) Buy domain and point to your server
5) Successfully run your own site/blog/wiki for a while, have it do neat stuff, write about and share your experiences of learning to be a sysadmin
6) While under oath, swear by the SysAdmins creed.
7) ???
8) Profit.
In my opinion the first thing you need is a clear understanding of what your goal is. Why do you want to be a linux admin? What do you like about it? What makes you say, "I want to spend my life configuring linux systems"?
If answering these questions requires more than 1 minute of your time, you are probably on the wrong direction.
Whatever you decide to do this is my advise. First, use internet. There are amazing tutorials out there for anything you want to learn. Find something that you enjoy and that makes you feel good. Experiment and "taste", the more you explore the easier will be for you to understand what you want.
Keep your job or find another job to cover your expenses. This means you have to work hard because probably you will have to study at night. I've been there, it's tough but at the same time you'll feel alive, I promise.
Learn and practice! This is specially important in computer science. Build something then try to find a way to break it. Once you broke it, build it again!
Go to meetups for people in the same field you choose. You'll learn a lot. You'll be able to start networking but mostly, you'll be able to measure your preparation and this will tell you when is time to start searching for a job.
Searching for a job won't be easy with no academic preparation. Start from the bottom and don't think about salary. For you is much more important to get hired than a good salary. Remember, you need to get hired once to be in the game!
I hired a PHP developer with a similar story as yours few years ago. I took extra steps to understand his preparation but at the end I couldn't ignore the effort and the commitment that this guy put into his preparation. Today he is a valuable component of my team and he makes me very proud of what he has accomplished.
Hope this will help!
First, stop using the word hobby! If it's an hobby it's an hobby, if it's a profession you have to be professional!
Second, the way you are describing your experience doesn't really help you. It's too vague. Describe instead the problems you have faced. How did you solve them? What kind of value were you able to add to the entire system? (more stable, faster,...)
Hiring someone is an investment and a commitment. To pass the investment part you have to prove your skills, your ability to solve problems, your personal motivation and your growth potentiality.
The commitment part is more subtle and complicated. It mostly applies to the employer and it would take this conversation too far away. To keep it simple I can tell you that is very very important to get information about the company you are interviewing for. Try to think which challenges they may be facing and ask about these challenges during the interview. Think to possible solutions to these problems and discuss that with them. Don't worry about being right, nobody would expect you to know exactly the problem a company is facing but it would show vision and initiative on your side.
Last suggestion, you say "I know what I'm doing but...". No you don't, you would have a job already. Keep pushing. Do not fall in the stupid trap of thinking that the world is against you. I don't know you but I've been around the world many times. I can tell you that you can make it. Don't give up and keep working on your skills!
Good luck
Give yourself an online profile with screencasts of what you can do.
Then sell yourself internationally as a trainer. Not high level stuff, but stuff you're very solid in in English language. Sell yourself not to large companies, but vendors of large companies. Charge fairly. Collect lots of name cards and keep in contact with people, especially the trainees (that actually work for the larger companies, but also keep in contact with the vendors). In a few years time you could be able to secure a very senior position with a larger company, or have already made a good enough living as a travelling consultant not to care.
But get those videos up and find a hungry vendor, that's step #1.
It's time to power network. Start attending local/regional linux meetups. Introduce yourself to the fellow attendees, try to be helpful, make friends.
Incidentally, this is where you'll hear about 'hidden' job opportunities. Say a contact realizes you know your stuff. He thinks you look normal-- he'll be more likely to refer you a hiring executive in his network who could use someone with your skills/background.
Check out Linux meet-ups--find one, get it on your calendar & go asap> http://linux-user-group.meetup.com/
As they say, once you know the why, you can figure out the how.