UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I am currently an AIX operator at IBM (Montreal Canada). In my career path, I wish to become a system admin. I know about Linux because I'v had ubuntu at home for 2 years.

What platform should I aim for in becoming a system admin ?

What book would you recomand ?

What certification would you recomand ?

IBM's AIX is very hot these days. If you can get one or more of the many AIX certifications, you will be doing very well.

Oracle/Sun's Solaris OS is the hottest, however. This is because Sun's hardware is cheaper than IBM's, but in my experience, it breaks more often. This gives Solaris admins a lot of opportunity to keep their skills current.

Keep working on your Linux knowledge. Especially learn Red Hat and/or Suse. Ubuntu is probably a better OS, but no large company is going to let their servers run Ubuntu.

Mostly, however, you will need EXPERIENCE on your resume. This is hard to get if you do not have any. This is the catch-22 of any career choice. The way to get around this is to do volunteer work. Find a charity that needs help and advice on their systems, and become a system admin for them. Volunteer work does show on your resume and counts towards experience. You will need 2-3 years of volunteer work on your resume before you can claim to be an experienced sysadmin. Then, however, the job opportunities are pretty good.