I want to become a Unix Systems Admin?

Question

I want to become a UnixSysAdmin but have no on the job experience, what is the best way to enter this career field with few or no college classes?

Answer 1

Check out a local community college (where tuition is much cheaper if you decide to take any computer classes) and volunteer to help in the administration of their Unix lab. Ideally you should get paid to work there, but if you're desperate enough to get into the field, then offering your services for free is a win-win situation. They get free labor and you get experience....experience that will eventually $$pay$$ you back!

Answer 2

Without job experience, the only way you will get a job as a UNIX SysAdmin is to get certified in one of the UNIX flavors (HPIX, Solaris, Linux, etc). Employers are reluctant to hire SysAdmins with no experience; the certifications will at least prove to the employer that you have the skillset required. You can take classes to prepare you for the exams or prepare on your own. The classes can be anywhere from one week to several months long; basically the shorter ones will teach you just enough to barely pass the exams while the longer ones teach you how to really manage the servers.

You can learn more about what to expect on the certification exams, how many you need to take and what the fees are by visiting the vendor's web sites (like redhat.com or solaris.com).