UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi everyone! I've been browsing the forum for a couple of days, and thought it was about time to chime in.

I'm having a pre-mid-life mid-life crisis (I think), and am seriously debating a career shift. I currently use a bash shell in my day to day work (very basic file management, FTP, backups, etc.), but my background (education, college, etc.) up until this point has been in music. I've always enjoyed tearing apart/modifying/upgrading my own systems (including several frustrating [but ultimately gratifying] weeks spent building a hackintosh), and have always been the go to guy for friends and family when they've had problems with their system or network (Windows and OSX)

Basically, my dilemma is this; the more I play around with shell scripting and the more I learn about the way UNIX works, the more I want to learn...and to this end I'm seriously debating the long lonely road to becoming an Administrator. I have been through several online tutorials, and am fairly confident that I have the basics of UNIX under my fingers, and I'm working my way through the WROX book 'beginning UNIX', with an eye to moving on to a scripting book upon completion. It's a way off yet, and I have a lot to learn, and a lot of experience to, well, experience, but I'm dedicated and self-disciplined enough to get it done. I also haven't mentioned the prospect to my girlfriend as I'm fairly sure it'll be dismissed as another 'project' that takes up far too much time!

I'm not fresh off the boat completely, as my fascination with computers started way back listening to cassette tapes being loaded on my old Atari, and learning some very basic Basic, through DOS and Windows 3.1 up to the present day. It's just never been of professional interest until now.

I know it's a fairly redundant question, seeing as the decision is mine to make, but if anyone has any advice or would like to to tell me I'm being a fool, please respond! Should I take the plunge, get a certification (Solaris?), look for a junior role and shadow someone? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Apologies if this post is in the wrong place!

We hire people with experience, not certifications. Consider that before spending lots of money on certs.

One of the best IT managers I know was a music major. Your degree is less important than demonstrated ability - good experience with references.

Not 100% agree. I knew the experience is most important, but before you can be picked up from hundreds of similar CVs by HR person, you need show off your certificate first. Especially for junior role.

To get certificate is not expensive always. You can self-study, there are plenty of free stuff for you. Just pay some fee for a quiz to get the certificate should be not big problem for you.

Thanks for the input guys. It's the age old catch 22...you can't get the experience without having had the experience. Certification, in my mind, is more of a self-confidence thing, and would reassure me that I was not going into things on a wing and a prayer. I think it would also give me a solid grounding on the basics, and those special little problems that come around every so often can be figured out (hopefully!) on the job. I'm not looking for UID=0 any time soon, but are there opportunities for me, or someone with basic certification, would you say? Or would it be more use for me to continue building my own systems at home, breaking them and fixing them in as many ways and configurations as I can, and hoping that an employer would ask the right questions and take me on my word?

Breaking stuff is a great way to learn. Ask for help only as a last resort. The time spent exploring dead ends and incorrect solutions can be a fertile source of new information, insight, and interest.

A record of your explorations, say in a blog, could be a valuable asset during a job search. It may impress upon the potential employer that you are someone who is passionate about the craft. Furthermore, the writing process reinforces the learning and often leads to deeper analysis and understanding.

Disclaimer: I have never blogged. But, hey, it sounds like a good idea.

Regards,
Alister

Since you already know windows, you might try for a job as a workstation support person in a larger company than also has unix and linux. Then try to get more involved in unix. There are people in our Unix group who followed that path. Being cross-trained in multiple platforms can be a real plus.

I think it is better to build something on your own first. Having experience in the shell is nice; but building a great web site, for example, will give you a lot of experience. You could also build other net services.

IMHO, certifications are nearly worthless. I would hire a guy much quicker if he can actually make things happen versus being "certified". In fact, a number of guys who run software development companies will always give first priority to people who have made demonstrated contributions to open source projects before any other candidate.

Think about it.

Who would you prefer to have on your staff? Someone with a wall of certifications, or someone who was a member of a open source project that made significant contributions in a virtual team environment?

PS: ... and I would nearly promise you that the successful contributors to open source projects have no certifications; they are too busy actually writing code.