I'm 28 and currently work part time at a cigar lounge. Before that, I ran a family business for about three years and relied on trading as my main income for several years. Although I made six figures one year, the stress, expensive mentorship, and some poor decisions eventually left me with significant losses and debt.
I've become increasingly interested in IT, especially Linux system administration and cybersecurity. A few friends work in the field, and about a year ago I started building small Linux labs and documenting what I learned. I enjoyed working with Linux and learning how much there is to explore, but I never fully committed and gradually stopped. Now I want to take my future more seriously and give myself a real chance to build a career in this area.
If you were starting with very little professional IT experience, how would you prepare for a sysadmin role? Where would you focus on gaining practical experience and learning the skills employers expect?
Is the Google Cybersecurity Certificate useful for foundational knowledge? Would you recommend building a home lab and practicing on an old computer? I currently installed Rocky Linux on an older laptop because it is similar to the Red Hat ecosystem.
What else would you suggest for becoming employable—certifications, a degree, help desk work, open-source projects, or something else? I have an associate degree in liberal arts but no IT certifications.
Finally, if you became a sysadmin in 2026, what specialization would you pursue afterward? Cloud security interests me, but I'm open to other directions.
3 Answers
I’d start with the fundamentals: CompTIA A+, Network+, and eventually Security+. Try to get a help desk or service desk position so you can build real experience with users, systems, troubleshooting, and business networks. There usually aren’t many true entry-level cybersecurity jobs, and a strong understanding of networking and general IT will help you move into security later.
A home lab is still worthwhile for learning and giving you projects to discuss in interviews, although it usually won’t outweigh professional experience when a hiring manager compares candidates. Keep building skills, documenting what you do, and applying for roles even if the local market is limited. AI is becoming a useful tool in IT, but it hasn’t eliminated the need for people who understand the underlying technology.
Use a public code and project portfolio to show what you can actually do. Find a small open-source project you care about, learn how it works, and contribute bug fixes or documentation. Even a few useful contributions can give employers something concrete to review. You can also answer technical questions on sites such as Stack Overflow or Server Fault and build a history of thoughtful troubleshooting.
You don’t need to be an expert programmer, but being able to read scripts, automate repetitive tasks, and understand basic code will expand your options as a sysadmin. If you use an AI assistant, treat it as a tutor: review the output, test it, and make sure you understand why it works rather than submitting code you can’t explain.
I already have a code portfolio started, so I’ll look for a project where I can make useful contributions. I know some programming, and when I use an AI tool for help I try to go through the explanation and understand the result instead of blindly copying it.
A practical progression could look like this: begin with A+, AZ-900, and ITIL Foundation, then pursue a service desk or level-one support job. Spend roughly a year learning how IT operates in a business while working toward Network+ and perhaps Server+.
After that, aim for desktop support or level-two support and build hands-on experience based on the job descriptions you want next. During that stage, Security+ and a role-specific cloud certification such as AZ-104 may be useful. A lab, website, or project portfolio can help demonstrate your knowledge, especially when you don’t have much professional experience.
For a sysadmin role, focus on networking, storage, Windows and Linux administration, cloud platforms, monitoring, infrastructure as code, backups, and disaster recovery. Depending on the company, one operating system or cloud provider may matter more than another, so read job postings and let them guide your study plan.
After several years of broad experience, you could specialize in cloud engineering, DevOps, security engineering, or cloud security. The exact timeline is flexible, but genuine curiosity, consistent learning, and being willing to help people are more important than collecting certificates solely for their own sake. IT can be rewarding, but it is stressful at times, so make sure you enjoy the work and not just the potential salary.
That makes sense. I’ve been looking for help desk jobs nearby but there don’t seem to be many, so I’ll keep expanding my search and work through the certifications on my list.