My Journey From Zero to Linux SysAdmin

I never expected that I would be where I am today in my Linux journey especially because I never expected to be training in a tech-based field. I started off lost and unsure of what do to do with my life after resigning from my previous job after a workplace injury. I made a big move from South Carolina to North Carolina for a new start and for the first time ever I felt that I could do anything with my future. I took time to go through a program called Step Up Durham and a tech-based schooling program called Digital Bridge at the advisement of my spouse (who is also my biggest supporter along with my Linux coach Mr. David and my Digital Bridge coach Mr. Demetrius Greer who was the one who assigned me to Mr. David as his student) and after some aptitude testing and some meetings with Mr. Greer I was on my way to learning Linux and Salesforce.

Getting started

In the beginning I had no idea what I was getting into when I signed up for Linux. I asked my friends what they knew about it and I heard everything from “It’s very user friendly” to “It’s very simple to learn and install”. Little did I know that my friends had barely scratched the surface of what Linux operating systems are truly capable of, and all of this became evident after meeting Mr. David Both. Mr. David and I met at a local Dunkin’ Donuts after exchanging a few emails and texts and from our brief interaction in that small doughnut shop I could tell he was brimming with knowledge. The way he presented information about his multitude of PC’s and their components in an easy to understand manner while also asking me about my interest in technology in a manner that seemed as if he saw me, a tadpole in a Linux pond of seasoned frogs, as someone deserving to hold the same space as him.

After providing me with a copy of “Understanding the Digital World“, a book about the things everyone should know about digital technology and security, and imparting a few words of wisdom, I was on my way to becoming an intermediate user of Linux Operating systems.

I spent the next few months absorbing as much information as I could, when I could and where I could. As much as I knew (or at least thought I knew) about technology and how it works I was learning so much more about the history of computers and their components and creators of UNIX and the perks of open source software and its versatility. The person I was when I opened the cover of that paperback book is not the same person I became after closing the back cover, and that is for the better. After all that reading my brain felt like a bucket, filled to the brim with knowledge about the world of technology, sloshing and splashing puddles filled information with RAM and hyper threading.

Starting with Ubuntu

The next step of my journey took me to the lawless wasteland known as YouTube where I would learn to install Ubuntu. Before getting the PC I have now, I was practicing installs on a older model hp laptop with about 8GB of RAM and an i3 processor (but it did have a touch screen which was cool) and there was something exhilarating about ‘shopping’ for a Linux distribution and creating a bootable USB and the failures that came along with attempting install Linux on my worn out laptop. One thing that they don’t tell you about installing Linux on your machine, even after the first 5 times, is that the hardest part is customizing the look and feel. Setting up the partitions and allocating space is considerably easier than making the Linux distribution feel like yours and even seasoned users can attest to this.

The next leg of my journey was learning as many commands as possible and how they’re used. I spent weeks poring over a 2hr video of commonly used Linux commands, their syntax and how they can be used as well as their versatility and how they can be paired with other commands in order to do truly astounding things. I took the time to have my laptop with me at all times so that I could continue my learning. I spent time repeating the same commands over and over and practicing out of a practice guide Mr. David gave me about the basics of Bash, and as I progressed through the book my hubris was challenged consistently. I felt that I had a decent grasp of Linux and how things worked but the true test came from consistently making errors and learning how I made the errors and why I made them. Mr. David, a seasoned user of Linux and making errors, was able to deduce where the problems were and how I may have managed to create them. I feel that making errors and wanting to find solutions to problems make for a good Linux user. Learning and growing from the errors I made with help from Mr. David, I was able to develop a miniature program that gave witty quips, the date and a random fortune similar to that of a fortune cookie. The feeling of accomplishment after applying what I had learned and molding a creation of my own and successfully getting it to work is a feeling like no other.

On track

I continued my studies and received a stack of tomes titled, “Using and Administering Linux,” from Mr. David and I am currently almost complete with the 1^st volume out of the 3. If I could sum up the experience of delving into this book it would be like , what I assume, the same feeling Neo felt when Morpheus showed him how deep the rabbit hole goes. The information gained through watching YouTube and reading articles about the command line was vastly expanded upon.

Partition is a word that struck fear in my heart as a beginner, I saw it as an object that could do irreversible harm in the wrong hands but now I understand the ins and outs and I feel comfortable handling them. I think the biggest contributor was how easy it was to consume the material and how casual of a tone it was in. It meets the reader where they are at as a beginner and guides them with simple terminology as well as examples and definitions for further explanation if necessary.

There’s also the subtle training to be more more detail-oriented and use your problem solving skills. The first volume of the series expects you to have an external HDD to complete the experiments if you lack internal storage and it shows you how to set it up. In my case, I have adequate storage to complete the experiments and didn’t need the external storage. Yet when I got to a few experiments where you have to list storage devices I was finding that all the results in the book showed sda1, sda2, sda3 and sda4 but my results only showed sda1, sda2, and sda3. What was I missing? Why were my results different? I had to take a step back and remember what sda signified and why I only had 3, not just that but also what could cause there to be an sda4 and my deduction was that because I DIDN’T have an external HDD like the book asked for, my results for this experiment and any future experiments involving partitions may not be 1:1 with the book and so I need to be smart about doing the experiments and make sure that im able to complete the experiments as close to perfectly as I can. This flexing and training of my brain will push me and others like me to become a better sys admin.

Some final thoughts

I feel that I’ve come a long way in my journey to becoming a system admin. It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows but learning never is. I am lucky enough to be trained by someone who feels that knowledge should be easily obtained and easy to consume and I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve attempted to get into programming and things o that nature years ago but it was very overwhelming and it felt as if I was tasked with digging a hole with nothing but a plastic spoon.

Mr David and I have discussed on multiple occasions how having a welcoming community can keep new Linux users around for longer especially with harder Linux distros where it takes a bit more know how in order to use the distro effectively. As someone who started off scared of what I had gotten myself into I don’t think I would have lasted as long as I have without this fantastic community, the support of loved ones, and my coach. I plan on continuing this journey from a tadpole to a seasoned frog and helping those like me on my journey from being a zero to a Linux hero.