Hi, Scott,, and everyone else, > Problem is, I work in a 100% MS shop. The > product was built on 2000 Server, SQL 2000 and ASP 3.0 with IIS 5.0. I have > to use ASP right now. This put's me in a odd situation with everything I > feel. I need this job and really think it will grow, but I want to do more > with the web site (that is what I work on.) I want to feel good about what I am doing-- > but the job market in this area is just about all MS. Where do you live? I really doubt that the market is 100% Microsoft anywhere in the US. Your shop, absolutely, but every shop? Microsoft only has 40% of the server market. Most of the rest is some flavor of UNIX. Having said that, I am not going to get down on you for working in an MS shop. Nor am I going to say you should suddenly up and leave. You likely don't have the *nix skillset to do that at this point, anyway, though everything you do with Linux, even at home, is helping you build good skills. IME, Microsoft people make x, *nix people make y (which is usually a bit more than x), and people who can do *both* earn more than either group. You are building in that direction, and you should look to do that every chance you can. Also, let me give you some encouragement. For the first 15 years of my career, I had zero *nix experience. I am a relative newcomer to Linux. In 1995 I was certified in OS/2, very strong in NT and Novell, and had zero UNIX (or Linux) experience, and no real desire to get any. Then our only UNIX admin went on medical leave, and when problems arose I was thrown into HP-UX, sink or swim, with nothing but documentation to help me. It was an *interesting* experience, and at that point, if anything, it convinced me that the difficulties involved with using UNIX were going to be it's undoing. I managed, but was pretty anti-UNIX at that point. Incidentally, when our UNIX person came back, she and I worked together pretty closely, and she gave me my very first look an Linux, a 3.x version or Red Hat with CDE as the UI. I was not terribly impressed. Before I left, in 1996, I did by a copy of the new Red Hat Linux 4.0 to give it a proper evaluation. I never installed it, and it's still on my bookshelf. In 1996 I went back to the company where I had started my career with as an IT Director. They had evolved into an HP-UX shop, with Windows only on the desktop. It was a relatively small IT department, and I always keep my hand in, technically, plus I had to supervise the developers and lead us into the Internet-centric world, so I learned HP-UX with a vengeance. The company was sold in 1997, and I had to move on. By that point I still thought that Microsoft would eventually make NT a true enterprise-level OS given enough time, and I still wasn't enamored with UNIX, though I certainly had a growing skillset and was very concerned about security issues in Windows NT. In early 1998 I took a job that forced me to pick up a great deal of UNIX system administration experience, mainly Solaris and BSDi. It was during that job that I finally gave up on OS/2 and went to Linux as my main OS at home, this time Red Hat 5.1. By then I was getting to where I liked UNIX, and getting to where I really had grave doubts about NT. That company was sold, too, and early in 1999 I was, once again, contemplating a new position. I went through an interview and a tech screening with Tivoli for a permanent IBM position (something I coveted), allegedly with a mix of NT, Novell, UNIX, and legacy OS/2 skills required. The tech screening focused heavily on Solaris, which worried me, but I did OK and was called in for a full day of interviews. That day went well, perhaps too well. By the end of the day they were talking to me about coming in as a UNIX guru. I felt totally unqualified, no matter how many questions I had answered correctly. When I got called back for a final interview and discussed the position with my boss-to-be I got very cold feet, expressed my concerns about my lack of skillset, and backed out despite a very good offer. I took a more NT/Novell-centric contact position elsewhere in IBM. In retrospect, it was a huge mistake. I could have handled the Tivoli job, but I totally lacked confidence in my own abilities. The saving grace of the IBM contract was that I was the only person with Solaris experience, and the customer I was supporting had a Solaris-based Checkpoint firewall. I also had firewall experience (Gauntlet and Raptor), so that became mine to administer, and I also got to be a backup admin for a couple of AIX boxes. By the time that contract ended a year and a half later I was a convert. I believed (and still believe) that Linux is the future. When I left I wanted a UNIX position. I started on my current job last October, and it, thankfully is an excellent permanent position. Here I am very much considered a UNIX/Linux guru (or should I say gurumai?) and I wrote the standards for Linux system configuration and Linux security, I give presentations on Linux, Irix, and security issues, I do some system administration (less and less all the time), and also am a resource and mentor for other sys admins. I've just found out I'm getting a promotion. Not too shabby for someone who had zero UNIX experience six years ago and felt totally unqualified to concentrate on UNIX and Linux just two and a half years ago. I know there are still holes in my skillset, but I learn and get things done. A few classes and a certification didn't hurt, and thankfully my employer was happy to pay for all of that. I told this story not to say "look at how successful I am", but rather to show how I reinvented myself as a UNIX person rather than an NT and Novell person. Take every opportunity that is offered you on your present job, and keep an eye out for a chance to move to a mixed Microsoft/UNIX shop. (I'm including Linux in UNIX for this discussion, BTW.) Never, ever say "I can't do that". Rather say "I'll give it a try" or "I'll do my best". Take every chance to learn. Right now UNIX skills are in high demand in a lot of places in the country. In the meanwhile, be the absolutely best Microsoft guru you can be. Good luck! Caity _______________________________________________ issues mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linux.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/issues
