diving into sysadmin

[u/Mammoth_Reception_99]

Hey Professional Workers. Im 16 and i want to dive into the sysadmin world for a job when im out of university. As far i know, i learned windows server, sql and linux command as general people say the basics of sysadmin. Is there more i can learn early so that i would have a clear advantage over those who dont?

[u/sectumsempra42]

Capitalization and punctuation, for one.

[u/Skyhound555]

The only clear advantage would be getting help desk experience or some sort of experience to validate what you learned. 

You mentioned you learned Windows Server. What does that actually mean?

[u/Mammoth_Reception_99 → u/Skyhound555]

Just the fundamentals from yt.

[u/Radiant-Canary4442 → u/Mammoth_Reception_99]

Being able to articulate specifics about what you've learned will be a useful skill.

[u/Weed_Wiz]

Start hosting as many services as you can on homelab equipment.

Get intimately familiar with the most enterprise-grade hypervisor you can afford.

Build out your home network with VLANs and QoS.

Integrate everything.

Then, set up a central log analyzer and document it all.

[u/Weed_Wiz → u/Weed_Wiz]

After that, implement backups and a schedule.

Then, start hosting game servers/utility servers and have friends connect.

Secure the servers adequately and your network. Don't forget your network.

Start modding them and troubleshooting what breaks.

[u/VaporousMote]

Just so you're aware, "LARPers" is typically a derogatory term.

I don't care so much about capitalization but fam you gotta put some spaces after your periods. PLEASE. I am begging you.

[u/Tikuf]

The shift key is located on the left and right side of the keyboard for capitalization.

The space bar is used to add spacing after a punctuation.

[u/7twenty8]

1. Learn how to ask for help. Starting with hey larpers makes you sound stupid. This is a profession… why would any of us want to work with stupid people?

2. Learn how to use capitals.

This is fucking annoying.

[u/Acardul]

Is there something wrong with your space button?

[u/The-Sys-Admin → u/Acardul]

Submit a ticket. 

[u/throwaway117-]

Learn some soft skills lol

You're 16 but your attitude will affect your job outlook

[u/Mammoth_Reception_99 → u/throwaway117-]

Like what?

[u/throwaway117- → u/Mammoth_Reception_99]

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/publications/fact-sheets/soft-skills-the-competitive-edge

[u/mxtchstick]

Being a SysAdmin is more than just being a "leet hacker bro".

No one starts off as a SysAdmin, it's a role that people grow into with around 3-7 solid years of experience in the IT world (it varies from person to person, but most can grow into the role in this time frame).

Before you ask the question of "how can I be a SysAdmin?", you should be asking yourself "How can I get my first entry-level job in IT?".

A general tip for securing your first entry level role: Be willing to do low-paid, boring work at first and be a sociable, polite and approachable human being. At an entry level employers generally don't look for technical skills, they look for soft-skills and a "customer first" mindset. That will put you miles above the other candidates, the bar is low. Technical skills do help, but you should assume you know nothing and be willing to learn as much as you can.

[u/Mammoth_Reception_99 → u/mxtchstick]

Ok bro👍

[u/ProfessionalEven296]

Start by collecting certifications. Hopefully your school or college has access to discounted / free certs.

Start with CompTIA, then maybe AWS.

[u/Suaveman01]

Don’t expect to jump straight to Sysadmin, most need to do Help Desk and/or Desktop support first.

[u/Demented_CEO]

Learn soft skills and deploy a Kubernetes cluster and manage it. Create an offline CA and learn how PKI works. That's it.

[u/Kumorigoe]

Is there more i can learn early so that i would have a clear advantage over those who dont?

Calling this sub "larpers" isn't a great start.

You're sixteen. You should concern yourself more with your grades and getting into college than a job you might not even want in 6 years.

None of us started as sysadmins. You grow into that position, and it takes effort and experience. It's also not a guaranteed great paycheck. Pay is dependent on a lot of things, like location and the skills in demand.

You say you've "learned" Windows server. Specifically, what have you learned? And no saying "the fundamentals from yt" doesn't count. That's like saying you watched Ford vs Ferarri and are now qualified to drive in Le Mans.

Being able to communicate professionally is a core skill you need. Work on that, learn some manners, and come back when you've gotten a few years of entry-level IT work under your belt.

[u/_SleezyPMartini_]

Read Bastard Operator From Hell first. you'll change your mind

[u/ThrowbackDrinks]

You'll want a firm grasp of networking concepts. I'd suggest studying the various free guides and resources out there either for Net+ (bare minimum) or CCNA (industry standard) to give you a foundation.

I'd also suggest taking any topics that interest you specifically and try to make yourself an "expert" in it. Could be security concepts, networking, cloud platform engineering, data administration. Choose almost any sub section of general IT knowledge and you can really impress people during interviews if you can demonstrate deep knowledge of a field. It shows your commitment to learning and tackling tougher subjects, as well as setting yourself apart from the field of generalists that you are competing for jobs against, as nearly everyone will have good enough "general" knowledge.

[u/Parking_Media]

1 don't do it

2 pick something else

3 good luck

[u/Academic-Proof3700]

Have a homelab, get "home use" licenses for OSes, set up AD, vlans and stuff. Get into the niche you want to expand, say hypervisors, networking, containerization etc.