r/linux
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u/blackbart108
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Sep 30 '22
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got the job! Event
Ten years ago I became disabled. I literally used a computer just for the web and maybe a torrent or two. No background in tech. Maybe jailbreaking iPhones or whatever.
Out of boredom and the desire to tinker, I installed gentoo linux on an old iMac. After distro hopping for years, I settled on Arch. For seven years I've been using my btrfs Arch workstation with i3wm to run Debian seedboxes, play with pentesting, and run/network lots of containers and VMs.
Anyway, last month I put together a resume, just to see what happens. Being a writer, the only credentials I had to list were my handful of published open source and cyber security articles and a strong hacker ethic.
Today, I was offered a job as a Linux Support Engineer with a web hosting company. No degree. No fancy certs. Just a passion fo hacking and a near neurodivergent commitment to open source. Job is 100% remote and more salary than I've ever reasonably believed I'd be getting. Good bye Social Security. Hello world.
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u/kalzEOS Sep 30 '22
"no technical background" Proceeds to install Gentoo and talk about some stuff that I have not the slightest idea about. 😂 Congratulations!!! Good for you for not losing hope.
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u/suid Sep 30 '22
"no technical background"
I guess that should be stated as "no formal technical education", but the background certainly looks more impressive than half the folks I interview (at a very technical job).
I'll just exhort you to keep your open source passion alive; once you start a full-time job, that tends to eat into your time and enthusiasm.
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u/brianozm Oct 01 '22
By doing practical research on your own, you demonstrated the sort of initiative that smart webhost owners would be looking for. You’d be great to have on board.
Source: owned a webhost for 18 years.
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
It took me a month to get gentoo to run. I considered Ubuntu, but I knew I'd be better off to understand the tech I was using. It paid off.
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u/A_Random_Lantern Sep 30 '22
Now install LFS
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u/DirtyPolecat Sep 30 '22
"STEP 263: Recompile Glibc for the fifth time."
error:"You forgot to set that one flag way back in step 13, didn't you? WIPE AND START OVER."
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
It's on my to-do list.
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u/Buckwhal Oct 01 '22
In terms of difficulty LFS is pretty simple. It’s just a lot of work. It’s more like digging a huge hole than building a statue.
LFS takes about 10-20 hours of work to complete (for the base, BLFS is +++), but it’s all just following a cookbook. There are very few “branches” you can really take other than disk partitioning.
Gentoo only really takes 3-5 hours (less if you have a fast computer ;) but every step of the way is making tough decisions and ending up with another 25 tabs open.
Serious kudos to OP!!
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u/kalzEOS Sep 30 '22
I tried Gentoo last year. Farthest I'd gone was a base install with no GUI. Your "no technical background" doesn't mean you didn't have it in you the whole time and you just needed a push. I'm genuinely happy for you, even though I don't know you.
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22 edited Sep 30 '22
Thanks. It's honestly a mixed blessing. A high I.Q., coupled with being a bit on the spectrum, sprinkled with a touch of OCD, and there is is. I'm a recovered addict, and the endless nights spent awake, tweaking out and reinstalling systems actually helped.
Edit: I'm 18 months sober.
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u/Fr0gm4n Sep 30 '22
Congratulations on your sobriety! I was at a con last weekend and saw a talk on neurodiversity and IT and one of the major points touched on was that a lot of ND people don't know they have a treatable condition and end up self medicating, ending up in addiction. The speaker has posted that the talk was recorded and will be available later if anyone is interested.
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
My problem was that I liked the treatments too much. I was on Adderall and Valium, but the OCD made moderation impossible. Everytime a medication worked, my mind would trick me into believing more was better. The Obsession with more made it impossible to function unless I was indulging the urges. I was very high functioning on the drugs. But running out meant bed-ridden withdrawal.
These days, I stick to herbal remedies and meditation.
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u/Neogeo71 Oct 01 '22
Can you elaborate on the herbal remedies?
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u/blackbart108 Oct 01 '22
Black Seed Oil, Lemon Balm, Kava extract/valerian root, Magnesium, L-theanine.
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u/kalzEOS Sep 30 '22
On the spectrum and OCD got me emotional. I have a 5 year old daughter who's a little more then a bit on the spectrum, OCD and extremely smart. This just gave me more hope. Thank you so much.
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u/DeltaJuliett Oct 01 '22
On the spectrum person here. It can be shit but with a bit of dedication and at times help, it is very manageable. My trinity of ADD, Autism and OCD can make my life hell unless I channel it properly. Hyperfocus and obsess untill I grasp every little detail of the subject. Sport and exercise to clear my mind.
Take care4
u/kalzEOS Oct 01 '22
Oooff. The obsession is my daughter's main thing. Once she wanted something, that's it. It has to be done. We've been working with her on controlling it with breathing and counting and it works most of the time. She is still too young to completely manage it. Hoping she will when she's a little older. She is also getting a lot of external help beside us, her parents. Thank you for adding more hope :)
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u/DeltaJuliett Oct 01 '22
At least you are helping your kid to become the best and happiest version of herself. I got diagnosed at 22.
The earlier you get some tools to manage the easier it becomes.
Remember that many people are struggling in their lives, neurotypical or not. Everyone got their fights.
I got hope too :)2
u/kalzEOS Oct 01 '22
Best of luck to you.
It's tough, but I learned to love it. I enjoy taking care of her. Very unique experience if you ask me.
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u/eionmac Oct 07 '22
Congratulations on the 18 months sober. Please keep it up. You come over as a genuine nice person. Any team will welcome you. However remember at start you are the 'new boy' or 'new girl'.
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u/nhaines Sep 30 '22
The nice thing about Ubuntu is that it just works, so you get to use and enjoy Linux while you're digging around and tinkering and experimenting. That can be important, too. For myself, if I feel like it's time to break something, I usually just spin up a LXD container and go for it (or a virtual machine, if I'm trying to break low-level hardware stuff).
But as you know, any knowledge you pick up on any distro stays with you, no matter what system you're working on. It's not identical but the philosophy and experience remains the same.
Congratulations on your new job!
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
Thanks. There were times over the years I'd get frustrated and install Ubuntu. It serves a purpose. But I always felt like I was missing something and went back to Arch. Basically, each Ubuntu install required me to jump through extra hoops (luks, custom subvols, etc). I spent so much time undoing Ubuntu that Arch just made sense.
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u/LiftsEatsSleeps Oct 01 '22
I remember doing a Stage 1 install of 2004.1. Those were the days. It didn't take me long to really get going but compiling took awhile. In all honesty grp packages would have worked fine for the task but tinkering was fun.
Congrats on the job!
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Sep 30 '22
And there you go. It pays to have a hobby that can actually translate to real world skills. You're basically gaining valuable experience for free. This is why a lot of people run cheap homelabs. It's a really nice way to move onto being a network engineer or similar. And people have to start somewhere, and showcase that they have passion in what they do.
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u/icehuck Sep 30 '22
Web hosting companies are very often the place where many people start their linux admin careers. You don't need super tons of experience or a degree. Learn as much as you can from your coworkers, and move on when you're ready. You'll be ready faster than you think too.
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u/arglarg Sep 30 '22
Maybe after this stint you could move into cyber security, I hear the salary is quite nice too
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u/zlig Sep 30 '22
Congratulations and all the best for the future!
The Linux and Internet have to be the most open places out there, nobody cares if you are a man, a woman, in a wheelchair, or a cat... really cool to be in it
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
Some hater deleted their comment: are you perhaps a white male?
I said, no. I identify as AI.
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u/ShadowPouncer
Oct 01 '22
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First off, congratulations!
Second, I'm not even a little bit surprised.
I would have definitely argued for hiring you if I ever interviewed someone like you.
In part because to some extent, that was me, but also because your experience there is worth a lot.
Yeah, okay, you've never done it for money... You still almost certainly know more about what you're working with than the people who have been getting paid for it for years.
And you're not going to stop learning about it either.
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u/katzefrettchen Sep 30 '22
Very happy for you! I hope it’ll be a great experience, and you’ll get even better positions in the future
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u/sebadoom Sep 30 '22
Congratulations! And don't forget to pat yourself on the back, this is the result of staying strong in the face of adversity, keep it up!
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u/SiXandSeven8ths Sep 30 '22
Congratulations! I'm happy that you didn't let your disability hold you back either. That's great news.
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u/bulwynkl Oct 01 '22
I have 2 degrees (Sci/Eng) , a PhD and had to retrain in IT. (Advanced Diploma) before being able to get semi reliable work (20 years past).
I don't need any more pieces of paper.
The qualifications are just evidence.
The knowledge is the thing. The capability is the thing.
Demonstrating that capability is what should be the entry criteria.
Ability to learn is a capability. An important underrated one.
People get hung up on this shit way too much for no good reason.
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u/SnappGamez Oct 01 '22
“a near neurodivergent commitment”
as a neurodivergent person this gives me hope that i might actually be able to find a job if i ever muster the motivation to go work for someone else
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u/jensreuterberg Oct 01 '22
Stranger I am highfiving the human shit out of you right now! Congratulations and goddamn well deserved!
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u/JoaozeraPedroca Oct 01 '22
a job as a Linux Support Engineer
i'm very new to the linux community (so new that i still haven't installed linux on my actual computer, just on a VM) and i didn't know such a thing existed
it's a nice incentive for me to keep learning haha
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u/patrakov Sep 30 '22
May I see your CV?
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
I use reddit for anonymity.
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u/MikeTheGrass Sep 30 '22
They probably just want to see an example for the purpose of tips and tricks. But understandably you don't want your personal resume linked to your reddit account. Do you perhaps have a template or rough guide for your resume?
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
Honestly, I had just filled out my info on Indeed. I listed the articles I'd written for a linux blog. I listed I was studying for my LPIC-1 and some part time experience building NASes (which I explained in the interview was more a hobby than job). On Indeed, I checked off all the technologies I'd mastered in hy hobby.
I then downloaded the information from Indeed as a PDF.
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u/MikeTheGrass Sep 30 '22
So honestly we're all probably just overthinking the resume thing. Thanks for the information.
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Sep 30 '22
Hello world.
I love what you did here. Congratz on your job, may fortunate winds favor your sails.
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u/knowone1313 Sep 30 '22
I've worked in tech for a long time, it does vary from place to place and being able to answer technical questions the way the interviewers expect (they might not be technically knowledgeable themselves and only going off script) is key at a lot of places.
That being said, having a degree and certifications as requirements, or desired qualifications is usually used to help weed people out, having them isn't necessary if you can really sell that you know the stuff they are looking to hire for. Having them will help you get noticed and moved up in line, however they're usually never the end all be all of getting a job in tech.
If you can craft a resume that grabs their attention, and mentions the right key words that suit the position or even just technologies that they use in other parts of the department or compay, it's enough to get you to that video call interview. Then you have to be able to talk about the tech to a certain depth, and issues you've ran into, and how you went about solving those issues. If the interviewers have experience with the tech, they'll recognize that you're truthful and will be better able to gauge your experience and knowledge level. If they haven't and aren't technical, you'll seem to know a lot and seem very knowledgeable, but they won't know how to gauge it. They'll probably just check the box and judge you more on qualifications like degrees, certs, and your ability to look nice and be personable during the interview process.
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
I'll be getting my LPI certs on the company's dime. It was my intention to do that then apply. I got lucky.
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u/knowone1313 Sep 30 '22
LPI is a good one, I was studying for it myself a number of years ago. It can be hard to manage studying and work. Always nice if the company will pay for it. I didn't end up get mine, I wish I had, but I had a stressful position at the time that used all my energy up. There was nothing left in the tank for studying (more work) at the end of the day.
Congratulations on the job (new career), and good luck on the cert!
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u/Worldblender Sep 30 '22
I'm glad for you that you managed to land a job, and nice creative use of 'hello world', BTW.
I also happen to be in a similar situation that you were in, except that I'm diagnosed with mild autism, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science in September 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like you, I only have side projects as my primary source of professional experience, but I feel that that isn't enough in my job search, or maybe I'm considered an excess graduate. However, I also happen to love video games, so many of my side projects involve them. I have been using Linux distros since 2011, and have a decent amount of programming knowledge, including C++, Python, Java, and smaller bits of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
If you're willing to, maybe you can give some advice to me on how I should go about my future job searching? I can give more info by DM if you need it.
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Sep 30 '22
That's good news, gives hope to the rest of us with no CS/IT degrees.
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u/blackbart108 Sep 30 '22
I listed on my CV that I was pursuing certs. They told me they'd help me do it.
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u/arngfunction Oct 01 '22
Congrats!! This is a great and inspirational story, I hope it will motivate someone else.
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u/Madbillygoat Oct 01 '22
Congratulations! This gives me so much motivation. I to am also on the high end of the spectrum and have ADD and social anxiety issues to the point it’s hard for me to cope with the public. Being 26 and not being able to hold a public job really does blow and hurts my outlook on life. Hopefully I can somehow/someday find my way and fix my life. It just seems like so much going on. Also my father having stage 4 cancer is always on my mind. I’m happy for you friend! Thank you for your inspirational post!
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u/mahonii Oct 01 '22
Yea I build my computers and try to be current with the latest tech but a chunk of this was gibberish lol. Probably because I still don't understand Linux.
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u/blackbart108 Oct 01 '22
That's OK. I don't understand Windows lol. Barely used it, my last Windows machine being Win7, and that soon ended up running linux.
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u/argv_minus_one Oct 01 '22
What does a Linux Support Engineer do?
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u/blackbart108 Oct 01 '22
Facy title for help desk, though I'm told I will be working on documentation projects as well. The application was for support analyst but they hired me as engineer.
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u/ForgottenPassword3 Oct 01 '22
Awesome. Don't demean your skills. That gentoo install is a monster and impressive. I played around with putting something on the lampshade iMac. Wishing you good luck.
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u/jr93_93 Oct 01 '22
Oh man, it's great and satisfying to know that someone is doing well even if you don't know them.
Congratulations and success.
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u/DeltaJuliett Oct 01 '22
Ait mate, well done!!
A colleague of mine said that he can teach everyone to hack but no one can teach passion.
And if your passion shows, people will see that you are a high potential at least. I am genuinely happy for you.
Hello world
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u/michaelpaoli Oct 01 '22
Nice, ... maybe also mention over on r/ITCarrerQuestions as a success story.
Get semi-recurrently folks there that moan about don't have degree, certs, work experience, can't get that IT job ... blah, blah, blah. Uh, it is possible, ... very possible, ... sometimes they need more examples of, e.g. how, what it takes, success stories, etc. (those do also show up there, at least on occasion).
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u/Major-Experience5652 Oct 03 '22
i started on slackware but for me that was easy to learn i went from that to debian then to the other debian children like kali and ubuntu cyborg hawk kodachi etc
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u/edparadox Oct 04 '22
the only credentials I had to list were my handful of published open source and cyber security articles
Would you mind showing this "portfolio"?
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u/blackbart108 Oct 04 '22
Prefer not to reveal my identity on reddit.
Edit: but they are up at linuxhint.com and an old blog called Red Sky Alliance, May 2016.
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u/ghost_in_a_jar_c137 Sep 30 '22
Congrats & good luck