From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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My personal experience: Absolutely!
I've always landed on jobs/projects that involve Linux server. Generally startups with not much expense to spare would go for this route. However, even bigger companies would opt for enterprise Linux.
I wouldn't say that will work on every IT jobs out there, but when it does, you know you're in for a fun ride!
Specifically for a job of Linix sysadmin, probably yes. If you can afford it do a certification, it will help you stand among other candidates with no work experience.
For other IT jobs it's not so relevant. Linux is technically on the servers but the infrastructure is hidden from you by multiple levels of abstraction.
Certifications will absolutely get your foot in the door if you have zero experience.
Don't think of it as "affordability", but rather an investment in your future. In the US, you're spending $400 to study and successfully get a cert in a few months versus $80k doing a college program.
But lets say you seriously can't afford it at all, then the $10 udemy courses to train you is pretty good to at least know the lingo, and then a few years setting up your own self hosting.
If your goal is to make yourself more valuable to employers/clients the best path is to specialize in some critical and niche enterprise tech. People that are good at stuff businesses were lured into using get paid very well. In my case it was SharePoint, but that's just an example.
Knowing your way around the OS is taken for granted in these positions, so you have one piece of the puzzle, which is great, but you need the other pieces.
But be careful, if I have to choose between two experts, one with basic win+linux and the other only linux, I'm choosing the former.
I had the same question. I have rather good understanding of Linux and command line however at my job where Ubuntu is used other people easily caught up with me. They still don't know much about what exactly a command does but they know when to run it so IMO it doesn't matter how much Linux you know the only knowledge matters which you could use to have your job done quickly and efficiently.
I'm in data engineering and that market is dominated by Microsoft. Understanding an os is essential if you're, say, a sysadmin.
I'd recommend looking into some certifications. Some businesses are very sensitive to those.
Yes if
but not really if you are mostly clicking through buttons of the window manager and/or would work in a Microsoft environment with its own set of tools, conventions, etc.
Which brings up obvious suggestions :
I had a job offered based on the fact that if you know bash, you can translate that to powershell, as translating knowledge is easier than learning from scratch.
Makes sense to me. I would also assume that if one can program in bash they can program in pretty much anything. Yes it will take some time to adapt but a lot less than somebody who can't program in any language in any environment.
That being said, I would advise against starting in an environment that is possibly alienating and exclusive. Microsoft does everything it can in order to lock-in users but also developers. They find bridge, like PowerShell or WSL, then IT relies on certifications specific to their ecosystem. So if OP is fine with such practices they could start there but I'd suggest to keep that only if more direct alternatives are not available.
True. Learning your first programming language (or scripting language) is usually the hardest.
"In IT" could mean anything from first line support worker to software project manager to network engineer. Can you be more specific...?
Put it this way - it doesn't hurt.
Nothing fully replaces real world experience with the exact software and technologies your potential employer uses, but having demonstrable ability to use and understand linux is very transferrable. Ultimately it comes down to the interviewers and what they're looking for, and to the more technical of those, choosing linux as a daily driver shows you're more interested in understanding how computers work and that you have a degree of problem solving ability.
Read some adverts of the jobs you want to get, being realistic that you may need to start low to get that experience, and build ability in what's wanted, especially the bits that are marketable.
When looking for Linux tech jobs to apply to, a lot of them actually have Vim experience as a preferred quality. Can any experts confirm this?
Nah. That's like bragging that you memorize a lot of Pi digits.
Some on the IT team in my company use vim, some use nano, some probably use notepad or something ridiculous.
It's just a text editor and knowing vim doesn't automatically make me assume you're competent at anything.
“The Cloud” is mostly Linux—specifically Linux containers. Kubernetes and Docker are Linux specific technologies.
Most “IT” roles these days will be for from Linux knowledge ( not all of course ). It is a good skill to have.
If you do encounter an environment where they do not use Linux, it may be because of a lack of skilled staff. You could be the reason they adopt it.
Probably not. I guess it depends what you want to do in IT. And the org. Some orgs use a lot of Linux, and Linux is a whole different ball game at the enterprise level. It's not just knowing about Linux, but how to properly manage, secure, and patch it at scale.
It might also depend on if you have previous IT experience. If you've got a ton of previous experience it could help.
the point that I could be considered a so-called "power user."
There is no certain point. Power user is a rather vague description. It still includes "user" as opposed to admin or developer or guru etc.
If vague is good enough in your area, go for it. Otherwise look for a more formal qualification.
Good luck.