> > Doing this does three things: 1) You learn the thing by presenting it to > your blog's "Readers;" 2) You reinforce understanding by scripting it; As > you work out bugs, it will help you better understand the intricacies of > the process you wrote about; and 3) It gives potential employers an example > of the kind of code you are capable of writing. It's like a self writing > resume... It's both educational AND valuable. >
Tyrell - Thank you for all your ideas around scripting. That's really good information and I Especially like the idea of having a blog that I can point potential employers too with scripting examples. Your experience with Linux certs is a bit different than mine. Most Linux Sys Admin job postings I come across don't say anything about Linux certs and the general vibe I've got from most working Linux Sys Admins is that they don't mean all that much unless it's for a Red Hat Enterprise specific environment. I was A+ and MCSE certified when AOL was the INTERNET, so to speak. I know a lot has changed w. pc/server hardware but I really don't want to study and take that cert again. I should take the Linux+, as I think I could pass it with some light study. The big difference between Network Engineering and Linux Sys Admin is that a Cisco or other vendor specific cert will very often times get you the job where w. Linux Sys Admin jobs they all want many years of work experience. What I've recently discovered with Network Engineering jobs is that although I have over a decade of high-end enterprise LAN and ISP/Telco WAN Network Engineering experience I don't have current Cisco or Juniper certs and recruiters won't even consider submitting me for a position. > I?m not aware of any easy way to a solution for what you?re asking. The > field is very broad, and there are many places you could stop along the way > and specialize. You could easily spend a year going through material for > (each of) virtualization, storage, automation, performance tuning, and in > 5yrs, you?d have to go over it all again because its changed. > I haven?t seen a better approach than wading in and figuring it out along > the way. Love to hear ideas from other people. > > > Louis - Yes, all of this is true. Not looking for "an easy way" or a "solution", just some ideas or other people's experiences to forge a path of development as a "working" Linux Sys Admin. Specialization is the key in a field that covers many things. In my > industry there are folks who claim to do everything for everyone. Yet no > one > can be an expert in everything. The narrower our focus the more we know > about it which leads to two (potential) benefits: 1) while not everyone is > a > potential client or employer who needs our expertise all the time, when > they > do they'll be more inclined to call for help; and 2) if you're really good > at what you do you'll find folks asking if you're also able to resolve > another issue they have. You may not promote all the expertise you have but > that doesn't mean you can't effectively help in other areas. And, you know > how to learn what you need. > Hey Rich - After being highly specialized about 15 years ago as Network Engineer at Nortel and then having a really difficult time finding a job and then continually re-tooling myself since then I'm not so excited about specialization anymore. But when I was specialized and my skills where in high demand, work was fun and interesting and my personal economic situation was pretty great to boot. > > Another consideration is to be an independent contractor rather than an > employee. While not everyone is wired to do this, if you are it opens doors > helping a variety of folks who gain value from your expertise while > avoiding > the shifting needs of a single employer. I read that this is becoming a > more > common option for companies; they contract for specific expertise when they > need it and often pay very well because they don't have the long-term > financial obligations they do with full time employees. > I've done a lot of contracting over the past 15 years and I very much prefer it when I can get it. I used to be much easier when Network Engineers weren't on staff and I was a hired gun. A lot of travel and hotel living though. I've no idea what particular topic in IT might be the best for now and > the > foreseeable future, but based on what I read in the news and on Brian > Kreb's > blog (www.krebsonsecurity.com) becoming an expert is preventing > penetration > of POS systems and corporate networks should be at the top of the list. > > I've done specialized security work too. Mostly a mind-numbing, ghost chasing experience that never gave the same sense of accomplishment of designing and implementing a network. Thanks you all for the ideas, feedback and interesting conversation. It would be great to share a beer and talk more about all this some time! Cheers, Mike _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
