I needed some advice,

I've been a Microsoft Web Developer/Database guy for the last few years.

What do I need to do to get an entry-level Unix Administrator job??

Where should I start to learn Unix??

Do you agree that there still seems to be a great need for Unix Admin. people?

I just wanted to know where to start and what employers are looking for....

thanks for any advice - I need it!!

Try taking a gander at http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/cert/unix.html.

It's a tad bit pricey, though.

You can also install many distributions of Linux and *BSD onto your machine and begin the learning process as well. You can obtain various distributions from www.linuxiso.org.

Go to the home page of this website. Go to the link for FAQs. It should be very informative.

Also, go to some job websites. www.monster.com, www.computerjobs.com

You will need to learn shell scripting as well. Here are some good sites.


there are a few things that you will need to know as an admin in UNIX.


-- Get a LINUX OS that you can dual boot on your PC. Go to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders or some other bookstore. Buy either RedHat or Mandrake version of LINUX, they are 2 of the best. It should be fairly easy for you to load with your experience.


-- Get some programming experience, either through classes or self-study. Necessary languages are SED, AWK, & shell programming.
Here are some good programming sites.
http://www.whereisit.com/shellscript/index2.html
www.perl.com
http://oase-shareware.org/shell/


-- Get a few books to read. Namely "UNIX in an Nutshell", "Unix Hints and Hacks" by Kirk Waingrow (www.ugu.com), "The AWK Programming Language" by Aho, Kernigan,Weinberger. Also look in the FAQ for this website for other books. You will also need to get platform specific books as well.

-- Explore the web for good sites. Here are a few:
www.unixreview.com
www.ugu.com
www.sysadminmag.com ( has a cool CD of the last 10 years of magazine! Retails for $55)
www.unixguide.net


That should get you going.