Not knowing enough?
Posted by iekozz@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 12 comments
Hi all,
Currently I've deployed fully managed entra/intune across multiple tenants. Aswell as various tools like papercut and encrypted mail and so on.
However as i've had no formal training I feel like I'm lacking in the on premises side. I know how to set up a domain but never really dived deeper.
My networking experience is also limited to opnsense and UniFi.
I did get a ccna years ago. I'm now beginning to expand my powershell scripting knowledge.
What would you guys suggest I learn first? Powershell or more linux?
420GB@reddit
You cant know everything. If on-prem Microsoft infrastructure interests you, learn it and then find a job where you can deepen the knowledge. It's far too big of a topic to learn from books or a small homelab, you really have to work with AD to learn the advanced usecases I feel (just an opinion though).
That being said you can also choose to ignore on-prem MSFT tech and just find a few other marketable skills. It's not required knowledge anymore.
patmorgan235@reddit
For me a great way to learn is watching conference talks, they're more engaging than pouring over documentation and often have unique insights about what does and doesn't actually work.
Security conferences often have talks about the really nitty gritty details on how specific systems work and interact (great for things like AD).
Other than that there's no substitute for labbing and seeing a system in use in production.
mixduptransistor@reddit
Learn how to learn. A curiosity and willingness to learn, and ability to find information is way more important than having the knowledge. You've got a computer sitting in front of you with access to all human knowledge, use it
My greatest skill after working in IT for over 15 years is being able to leverage Google. Now, as I've moved up the ladder it is good to have experience and battle scars that inform your decision-making and instincts, but at the end of the day I still get questions for stuff I've never done and the key thing is to know what you don't know, and know how to go find it
OneSeaworthiness7768@reddit
Very few of us have had formal training in the things we’re doing on a daily basis. You learn by doing.
Soft_Attention3649@reddit
Since you already have experience with Intune, Entra, and some networking, I’d suggest focusing on PowerShell first. it’ll help you automate and manage Windows environments more efficiently. Once you’re comfortable, diving into Linux fundamentals and scripting will give you a well rounded skill set, especially for hybrid or cloud environments
No_Match_6578@reddit
How did you learn how to setup entire domains, fully managed entra IDs? I always wanted to learn but it feels like I never found a well documented learning space.
iekozz@reddit (OP)
Pretty easy actually. Lots of blogs and videos. There is also this recent videos aimed at beginners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atwcPj5DMgo
Also the open intune baseline is pretty handy: https://openintunebaseline.com/
thesysadm@reddit
Whatever your job calls for, learn that. If you’re heavy into M365/Windows, then Powershell works be the pay.
iekozz@reddit (OP)
Thanks, will look into powershell.
ryalln@reddit
Are all these things done in the job or in a home lab? Also certs can mean fuck all. I’ve worked my way up the chain with 0.
iekozz@reddit (OP)
Yes all in my current job.
Helpjuice@reddit
So you are best to maintain knowledge of multiple cloud provider services and on-premises capabilities. The well I don't use it on the job will get you burned if you loose your job and need another one or your current job wants to go with a hybrid approach or move out of the cloud.
If you don't know use certifications to get a baseline knowledge of the capabilities and what you should know from the vendors of the technology. CCNA, CCNP, CCIE (Routing and Switching, Security) are the top shelf of networking certifications. As if you get a job working for a CSP doing physical networking you still need to know how things actually work, same goes with Windows Active Directory and others for physical servers in environments that are not connected directly to the internet (sovereign cloud, dedicated cloud, etc.)
In terms of what to learn first if you want to broaden your job opportunities learn Linux first as there are way more Linux demand and higher pay for Linux System Administrators and Engineers due to the bulk of the internet sites being hosted on Linux.