There are a lot of IT professionals who are trying to make their resume look better by taking Linux Administration classes. In fact, 80% of the people taking classes from us are Windows administrators who are trying to protect themselves from losing their job or who are out of work trying to find a job, as the jobs they see available are looking for Linux skills. So, I thought I would provide some tips that may help those in this situation in regards to what to do to prepare yourself for these new job opportunities.

Develop Real Skills
I know going in for an interview can be taxing, stressful and downright difficult. I also know that requirements for jobs are usually way out of line for any human. You know the list, be certified in everything and have 20 years experience in all programing languages and be 21 years old. Let’s face it, most organizations looking for skilled administrators are asking too much. But, even though that is the case, what can you do to best demonstrate your yourself and give yourself a chance at the job.

My interaction with companies has shown that ultimately they are all looking for one thing that they do not talk about in the interview. They are looking for someone who can manage an apache web server, set up a DNS server, create backup scripts that work automatically, create quotas so user resources are guaranteed, clean up the queue on a Postfix mail server, monitor servers on the network for failures…in other words, they are looking for people who can do stuff! I know that sounds too simple, but think about your last interview….. talking about certifications, experience, last job assignment, etc.

What companies want is someone who will walk into the interview and say:

“I can build you a Samba server … today, that will save your company thousands of dollars over the next 5 years.”
or
“I can build a Postfix Mail server … today, that will replace your Microsoft Exchange server and you can get rid of the license fees.”
or
“I can create an iptables firewall that protects your data center from intrusion and monitor your internal network for intrusion 24/7 … and I can do that this afternoon.”
or
“I can set up a monitoring solution … today, that will alert you if your database is down.”

Today’s interview is too focused on information and not application of real skills. Separate yourself by developing skills in specific areas that you can actually do.

Companies are looking for real skills from confident administrators who can get the job done, today! Ultimately, companies do not care if you read a book, took a class, or got a certification…they care about getting a job done. My impression, is that many people looking for careers in Linux administration are too focused on book learning, classes, and certifications and are not enough focused on real life abilities. There is nothing wrong with books, classes, certifications….however, what separates you from everyone else is your actual skill level … what you can do today.

This has big implications for how to prepare for a career in Linux administration. This means that you need to have your hands on the keyboard and actually work on a live server. This means that you need to be able to be competent in specific skills that you can demonstrate. Don’t try to develop skills in 1000 topics, rather develop skills in specific areas do that you can exhibit those skills, today. It is unrealistic to think you are going to know how to do everything.

So how do you develop real skills? I would suggest that in your preparation you:

• Focus on Skills Not Theory
• Use Training Integrated with Labs
• Work on Live Servers

Linux Administration opportunities are on the rise and will continue to be needed for many years to come. Prepare yourself for these opportunities by developing real skills that you can perform on real servers…today.

We are currently interviewing  for several experienced Linux administrators to do live virtual classroom training. We have opportunities for instructors in the evenings and daytime, both short contract which is more flexible and 40 hour classes which require specific times of day.

Short Contract Training
Experienced Linux administrators are needed to help fill training needs on specific topics which may be short contracts, under 20 hours total.  This training may be over a period of weeks and the instructor may be able to work out the schedule with the students to fit both instructor and student needs.  These training  topics are:

Linux Server Management (we provide the training materials)
Linux Server Daemons (we provide the training materials)
Nagios Server Monitoring (we provide the training materials)
Postfix Mail Server (we provide the training materials)
other (depending on instructor experience)

Virtual Classroom Training
We are also interested in locating experienced Linux administrators to help fill training needs  for 40 hour segments of classroom training.  This will probably be in 4 hour blocks either in the evenings or during the day.  Content will be Linux Server Management, Linux Server Daemons and Postfix Mail server.  Content has been developed and labs are all written so that is all in place for potential instructors.

Pay for these positions will depend upon experience and if the instructor must create the documentation of if we provide all training materials.  Instructors must have good English skills and be able communicate clearly.  Patience with students is a priority as most of these students will be Windows admins moving to Linux and have a hard time with the command line.

If you are interested, please send a resume to:

mweber at spidertools.com

If your financial resources are very slim and you are interested in moving into Linux administration you still have a few choices.  If you are not a self-motivated individual stop reading now and take a class with an instructor.  Developing a Linux Career on a Budget means that you must be able to force yourself each day toward a specific goal.

1. Purchase a Used Server ($300.00)
Go to Ebay and purchase a used server with at least 1 GB of RAM and two drives.  It is imperative that you have a machine that you can work on and  create a working server.  You want the 1 GB of RAM so that you can get decent speed and so that you are able to run a number of daemons effectively.  Slow servers impede learning.  You want two drives at lease because you will want to learn how to work with LVM and RAID.  You will also want to learn how to do backups and add drives once the server is up and running.

2. Download and Install CentOS, Ubuntu or Debian 5 (Free)
These three Linux distributions have several things in common.  First, they are Enterprise level servers that you will need to develop skills on.  Second, these are probably the most popular server options for small business.  Large corporations tend to move to Red Hat as it provides support with the purchase of the license.

3. Purchase Training ($99.00) Here is an excellent Self-Teach Package
You need systematic training with Labs that will take you step-by-step to set up a Linux server.  If you are self-motivated and are an excellent problem solver you may be able to depend on a book or manual for training.   However, you must be able to overcome those times when you get stuck.  The most common failure that occurs in self-taught situations is that when a person gets stuck and cannot resolve the issue, they stop. If that describes  you, then do not depend on self training but rather take a course with an instructor that will help you over each of those hurdles.

4. Build a Working Server (Priceless)
The ultimate goal of any training is to achieve the goal of setting up a production level server.  It is great to set up and play with a test server but that should never be your goal.  Your goal should be to build a working web server, FTP server, mail and DNS server that is fully functional on the Internet.  host your own web site and a few friends, make it real. Set all of your mail to be used on the mail server you built.  One of the biggest failures in self-taught situations is to stop once you have a test server up.  Real administration only comes when someone else depends on your set up.  Make your family and friends depend on your services by providing them free web sites, FTP sites and mail.  This will be absolutely priceless experience.