[Cialug] a question

[chris]

Thanks for the advise guys.

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 00:24, Morris Dovey <mrdovey at iedu.com> wrote:

> On 8/23/2010 9:25 PM, chris wrote:
> > I would like to be a linux/unix system admin. Some have said that is
> > crazy but its where my passion seems to be taking me. And of course
> > having the skills and pay that goes along with the title, in the 40k or
> > higher ranges.
>
> I'm a programmer and not (ostensibly) a sysadmin, but my experience is
> that the pay is a lot more closely linked to the degree to which the
> system(s) is/are judged "mission critical" and to an individual SA's
> ability to "walk on water" than to the job title.
>
> > Learning on my own and stumbling makes the trip very hard and slow
> > going. I learn better by doing and learn better with a hands on guide to
> > assist. Also need to be in the wild, there is only so much you can do
> > without being in a real environment.
>
> OTOH, you can go a long way without being "in the wild". When things go
> to hell in a live environment, absolutely no one wants to hear: "I need
> a day or two to research a solution."
>
> > I would need to find an NPO that was willing to take an inexperienced
> > person on board.
>
> Try local organizations, and offer to assist whoever they're already
> working with. I'm pretty sure there are folks here who're already
> helping local organizations and who might be willing to help you help
> them help the organization. :)
>
> Matthew's book offer is golden. Some of the O'Reilly books are really
> good (I'm not familiar with Apress). In my *nix work I've found the
> books in the Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series to be
> universally excellent for programmers and administrators alike. I
> suggest reading library copies first, then buying when having your own
> copy of a particular book becomes appropriate.
>
> Systems exist in a context of managers, users, developers, and vendors,
> and the best of the SAs I've known have had the ability to recognize and
> deal with all of these groups perspectives and priorities, and
> communicate with each effectively. I honestly don't know if that was a
> learned skill or a natural talent - but, either way, it's an ability
> worthy of developing.
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