I'm currently stuck in L2 IT support and feeling really lost about how to advance my career. I don't know what skills I should focus on developing, and honestly, a lot of what I've learned at home feels irrelevant to my job, which feels very professional and rigid. I've tried diving into Docker and DNS sinkholes, and I've even studied for the MTCNA certification, but I still feel underqualified and overwhelmed. I need advice on creating a solid plan to gain the necessary skills to become a respected sysadmin. What should I learn to ensure I'm useful in corporate environments?
3 Answers
How long have you been in L2 support? Gaining experience on the job while continuously learning is key to making that transition smoother.
One approach is to pick a specialty that interests you, like Cloud Engineering or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE). For those paths, starting with certifications like LFCSA, CKA, or AWS could be helpful. It's all about acquiring skills that align with what you want to do.
I really want to be a SysAdmin or a network engineer. Honestly, I just hope to find a new job and feel confident instead of like a deer in headlights on my first days.
That's solid advice! There’s definitely merit in focusing on a specific area.
It also depends on the environment you're in. If you're working in a company that uses Windows, you might encounter a mix of virtual setups using VMware or Hyper-V, and various Windows servers along with some Linux. In smaller companies, you often deal with a wide range of topics but don’t get deep experience in any. As a sysadmin, your role involves managing servers and the underlying infrastructure, which is a step above L2 support that focuses more on client issues. Given your setting, transitioning to sysadmin work means understanding these systems at a deeper level.
I've been working in L2 support for about 1.5 years now.