Sysadmin careers: My road to a career in Linux system administration

This article revolves around my first ever failure at school, starting from my senior secondary when I received a grade of 59.8 percent. It seems so close to 60 percent, doesn’t it? Still, in reality, it is a complete failure in the eyes of your society, friends, and even your close loved ones. It was here where all the criticism started pouring on me.

I never lost hope. I got myself admitted to college. But, little did I know my passion would soon earn me a living.

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I was born and raised in a small town with little exposure to technology, but "The struggle is a sign to get started. When you struggle, things can't really get much worse. What you're left with is nothing but upside." -Tim Denning

I have always believed in the ability to cope with defeat and progress without the slightest hint of sorrow. With this in mind, I began to follow my dream and passion. I gave my utmost to learning and growing with technology. While learning Linux, I got stuck with a command called fdisk. The fdisk command, also known as format disk, is a dialog-driven command used for creating and manipulating the disk partition table. This challenge got me thinking outside the box. Since then, I started learning the details of cloud computing, DevOps, big data, ethical hacking, and I mastered every bit of these concepts. Time has come and gone, but I have always lived by my motto: "How we respond to challenge has a lot to do with the vision through which we observe the world."

Takeaway advice for Linux sysadmins (or for those who want to be)

If you are not able to decide where to start, you can start using Linux and learn by doing. You should explore topics such as cloud computing, DevOps, big data, IoT, edge computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. You should learn to operate comfortably at the command line and learn to configure the SSH server. Learn shell scripting so that you can automate repetitive tasks and create your own custom commands. And finally, explore containers and container technology because virtual machines are now a standard in data centers.

While becoming a pro with these technologies, there was a light of hope and a big dream in my mind. I started learning about Red Hat and I started doing everything I could to make my learning count. My learning wasn't just limited to gaining knowledge, but also to getting acknowledgment with Red Hat certifications.

Throughout my voyage on the Red Hat ship, I was not steering the boat nor simply observing the world around me—I was growing. I was making the most of it. I was pursuing perfection as a person who would never give up on responsibilities no matter how big or scary they may appear to be. At the same time, I proudly gained seven Red Hat certifications. It was a quintessential experience to become an RHCA (Red Hat Certified Architect – Cert ID - 140-149-584).

Since then, I have never looked back and have always followed this quote:

"Once you make the decision to move on, don't look back. Your destiny will never be found in the rear view mirror." -Mandy Hale

From the beginning of my career, I have had a passion for teaching. I read something that I would like to share:

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." -William Arthur Ward

A teacher has the power to transform souls and to positively touch other’s lives. It is the noblest of professions, because it deals with life-changing and destiny-altering opportunities. With this in mind, in 2017, I was hired at Red Hat and established myself as a GLS Instructor and Examiner.

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My excellence and hard work came through with flying colors, and I stood strong in front of the same society which once threw the stones of criticism at me and my failure.

I want to add that regardless of who you are in this world, life is full of challenges. Whatever your goals or dreams, you’re bound to encounter obstacles before hitting your targets. You’ll always have to fight through hardship and suffer your fair share of pain before you achieve success. But once you reach the level of success you’ve been working toward, it’ll be that much sweeter.

To date, I have 19 certifications from Red Hat (RHCA-Level-13). Today, people watch me as a technology speaker, and community promoter. I have never stopped working after making my way into Red Hat and have always aimed to stand tall and reverberate with unbreakable confidence.

"Will you give up or will you persist and keep fighting past the hurdles and obstacles? If your endeavor is driven and fueled by purpose, then giving up is never an option. You’ll find the courage and persistence to look past the problems and difficulties along your path to find solutions." -Norbert Juma, everydaypower.com

Wrapping up

Training and certification can help individuals, teams, and organizations validate the knowledge needed to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s enterprise architecture certifications, core Linux system administration skills, developer knowledge of specialized frameworks, or emerging technologies like containers and cloud, these are the skills needed for sysadmin success.

[ Want to test your sysadmin skills? Take a skills assessment today. ]