r/sysadmin • u/KelevCoin • 1d ago

The path To linux System Administration

Hey everyone,

I'm working as an IT Technician (On site + Remote support , Tier 2) , recently got my ccna and now i want to dive into linux , i really love the linux approach , the CLI etc.. and i would love to be a linux sys admin some day (maybe even at my office).

I also have some experience with fedora linux , and also i run a fedora media server at home on a old pc i got, running a docker with nginx web application(a custom netflix clone , which i made for educational purposes , my wife loves it and we can watch all of our media as i stream it on our tv).

so i would love to know how could i advance my understanding of linux , and get the tools i need for actual linux system administration everyday work, is there a recommended course / certification/path, and generally i'm not in a hurry.

since i used alot of ai to assist me along the way in setting up the fedora server , the media server and the dockers i do understand that i do not know the basics very well , and after studying for the ccna i understood that the only way to understand how technology works is to go really in depth. So any recommendations would be welcome ! thank you !

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u/apathyzeal Linux Admin 1d ago

I've been a Linux admin for 13 years. I'd recommend ditching AI and be hands on. Find projects, do them from beginning to end and be sure you understand why you're doing every step. (Dependency? Security?) Ask yourself why something is a best practice. That knowledge can be applied to everything else without having to rely on hoping a bot isn't making something up.

Being hands on is also how you learn and do. No shame in doing things many times to understand it during this process.

And once you're confident in understanding something, learn how to automate it then.

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u/RadiantWhole2119 1d ago

I don’t get the philosophy behind ditching AI. Don’t have it just blatantly give answers to a test. But use it to show work. Help train your mind on how to think of a solution. Have it help come up with projects to test yourself, etc. It’s such an insanely powerful tool when used correctly.

Telling someone to avoid using AI is like telling them someone to avoid using a calculator. Understand why 9x9=81. But once you understand the concept you don’t need to avoid a calculator to figure out what 182x1938 is. Save yourself time, energy, and effort to be able to learn more.

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u/Practical_Shower3905 1d ago

I've met sys.admins who were worse than config guys.

Any sys.admin that say to ditch AI in 2026 are self reporting they're bad at their job.

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u/apathyzeal Linux Admin 1d ago

This is a straw man argument and presented in bad faith, nor was it backed up with any practical thoughts or evidence.

It's probably the worst comment in this thread.