UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hello all,
I'm new here and I've done some searches, but the posts I've found of relevance are nearly a decade old now. I want to get into the sys admin side of unix, but I have no idea where to start. I have grown up working on and tweaking computers my entire life. I have tooled around with numerous versions of Linux and even (please don't judge me on ethical grounds) have loaded OSX on my PC. I love the flexiblility of unix based systems, and hate the "canned" feeling of MS systems. I'll stop rambling now and get to the point. What I have read is that the only way to truely learn unix is to get on site and do it, but that seems like a catch-22. I want to know is what do I need to get my foot in the door so I can actually start working in the field? I'm capable on the windows side of sys administration and while I'm no expert I'm familiar with networking and tcp/ip. I have almost no knowledge of C :-(. As far as unix goes I have been able to set up and install Linux and osx on various platforms and get them to at least a functional state for the purposes I intended for them. Well I'll wrap this up, and I'm sorry it was so long winded, but I'm trying to get a good handle on what I need to know in the current market.

Thanks in advance,
Don Reilly

A useful link:

I'm new to Unix. Which books should I read? - The UNIX and Linux Forums

Regards

Thx for the link! My search just brought up one of the older stickied threads....I didn't see the whole topic >.< , but I think I should rephrase my question to "What skills are required for an entry level job in the Unix admin career path?"