"Need a job? Learn Linux" But how?

[j814wong]

I'm currently only a high school student but I plan on going into the the computer science/engineering industry. How can I start learning Linux skills?

[ccrs8]

I'm currently only a high school student but I plan on going into the the computer science/engineering industry. How can I start learning Linux skills?

The best way is to just do it. Install Linux. You are on an Ubuntu Forum, so you obviously aren't a complete noob or completely unaware of Linux, so that's a good first step. If you have a computer that is powerful enough, you can install a program like VirtualBox and install many different Linux distributions to try them out. If you actually want to "learn" Linux you honestly should stay away from the ultra user-friendly distributions like Mint or even Ubuntu and go to one of the older more traditional distros that other distros are based off of. Debian or Fedora are both nice traditional distros. Gentoo will force you to learn the ins and outs of compiling from source. Heck, one of the BSDs would be a great way to learn the "Unix" way, which is the basis of Linux.

[Lucradia]

Python is a good way to start.

[keithpeter]

If you actually want to "learn" Linux you honestly should stay away from the ultra user-friendly distributions like Mint or even Ubuntu and go to one of the older more traditional distros that other distros are based off of.

Hello j814wong and all

Disclaimer: I don't work in IT

When you have your virtual machine running, try CentOS. CentOS is a binary equivalent to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) which is widely used commercially on servers.

[Paqman]

The money in Linux is in servers. Get an old computer, put a copy of Debian or CentOS on it and learn how to administer and secure it. Run a few different things on it (web server, firewall, mail, DNS, databases, etc).

[rg4w]

The money in Linux is in servers. Get an old computer, put a copy of Debian or CentOS on it and learn how to administer and secure it. Run a few different things on it (web server, firewall, mail, DNS, databases, etc).
Extra bonus points for using your router to practice penetration testing - some notes from Kyle Rankin's session at SCaLE 10x:
http://greenfly.net/talks/security/practice_hacking.html

[rk0r]

aix 6.1 or 5.3 - also learn about IBM P550 / p720 eservers and that range.

[winh8r]

The money in Linux is in servers. Get an old computer, put a copy of Debian or CentOS on it and learn how to administer and secure it. Run a few different things on it (web server, firewall, mail, DNS, databases, etc).

+1 to this advice

The best way to learn is to do it yourself,read as much as you can, IT blogs, user manuals, this forum. And if there is a Linux User Group near you , join up and benefit from the experiences of the members.

Most important of all is ask questions and take notes, write down what you learn for future reference, and keep a record of every configuration change you make, when you made it and why you made it. You will soon build up a useful reference guide of your own that will prove invaluable for troubleshooting problems.

Good Luck.

[husnos]

youtube tutorials

then pick a book on linux administration

or sign up with one of those online video learning websites. some of them are like 30$ per month and you get to access many professional video tutorials to prepare you for certification exams.

i've just noticed you want to get into the computer science/engineering industry. you need a college degree. they will teach you whatever you need.

[spynappels]

Also, learn how to use Wireshark/tshark, similar tools are available on all UNIX systems and WILL be required as part of most Linux/UNIX server administration jobs.

[TeamRocket1233c]

Arch. Simple as that. Also, OpenBSD might help if you're willing to try and learn BSD too.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

What you really need to learn for a job in IT is getting more than one computer to work together on a network in order to get a task accomplished.

Just about anyone can get a Linux distro to work on one computer. "I isnatlled Linux" or "I use Linux" isn't going to get you a job in IT! What companies are looking for are people that can get multiple computers to work together in order to get business tasks accomplished. If you have one computer then learn Linux commands. It is a good start; however, it is not a very good reason for someone to hire you.

If you can get a second computer; then, set it up to be a domain name server, mail server, print server, file server, Apache web server, and so fourth. That is the sort of computer integration skills companies are looking for. The wonderful thing about FOSS is that you can learn all those things without paying anything for the software, and the FOSS is used frequently by companies.

Also, learning how to use applications; such as, Wireshark and netstat to find problems with the network is a plus.

[effenberg0x0]

My advice would be: Contribute to Ubuntu.

If you join one of the many teams here (QA and, testing, bug management, maybe developers, etc) you'll immediately be in touch with people that know a lot about Linux (from support, testing, programming, UI/UX points-of-view) and they will be happy to teach you a couple things. All teams, no exception, need motivated members and are always looking for people interested in learning.

No LAN/WAN infrastructure management or Software/Services company is more complex than a full professional Linux distro such as Ubuntu. You'll get to know a lot about Linux in no time. Much more than "certified guys" that memorize a few commands.

It works exactly like a very complex and demanding IT job at a huge company with thousand of employees. The difference (besides not getting paid) is that here you are allowed to say "I don't know, can you teach me?". In the real world, you can't really say that out loud.

Finally, know that your experience here counts. It's nice to add to your CV something like "I have contributed to the development of <name a known software here>", "I helped develop a strategy to reduce Ubuntu evasion to other OSs by reformulating aspect <xyz>, "I have contributed with bug fixes to the Linux Kernel", etc. It shows that you are not only skilled, but that you actually can generate results.

I've seen people go from the first install of Linux ever to coding for projects and even small kernel contribs in little more than one year. It's just a matter of how much you want it.

Check out these:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ContributeToUbuntu
http://unity.ubuntu.com/getinvolved/
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment

Regards,
Effenberg