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Personal Transformation

"Work hard in silence. Let your success make the noise."

Do I need to use Linux?​

YES YOU SHOULD, BUT NO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

The server world runs practically on Linux. So there's nothing like working with it all day to learn by osmosis. It's possible to work on Windows with WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), but I've encountered several scenarios where I thought, if I were on Linux, everything would be easier.

  • If you don't use Linux in your daily routine, do it now. Install any distribution on your personal machine.

    • Back up your documents, or better yet, use some cloud storage like Google Drive. This tip is to ensure you don't lose any important files if you don't have experience with Linux and do something wrong. Always save everything to the cloud at first.

    • First install in a virtual machine to understand the installation steps. Choose an easy distro to start with like Pop-OS or Ubuntu. Avoid rolling release distros and choose one with more stable packages at first. Forget the idea of installing Kali Linux, because Linux is Linux, and Kali is just a pre-configured Linux distro with a bunch of stuff you probably don't even know how to use yet.

    • Find all the necessary apps on Linux that solve your problems and learn to install them first in the virtual machine before moving to the physical installation.

    • Don't make the mistake of keeping Linux on the virtual machine, install it on the hardware as soon as possible to force yourself to use it.

How's your English?​

If you need to improve, make an effort to do so, change the language of all your devices to English. I went through this... I even took English classes every day for more than a year. If you want to be part of elite teams, work in a multinational company, have opportunities abroad, English is the primary language.

The official documentation of tools is also in English, so it's good to start learning right away. Nobody needs to be fluent like natives, but you need to have at least an advanced level.

Find your tribe​

Try to be virtually present with people who are seeking the same thing as you.

  • Follow YouTube channels that talk about DevOps.
  • Find Discord servers with groups that discuss the subjects you're studying.
  • Follow the Twitter and LinkedIn accounts of companies and people who have "authority" in the DevOps world.
  • Look for channels on Twitch to follow.

Learn to learn​

FIGURE IT OUT.

Every day in an IT professional's career, you're given some task that you have no idea how to solve.

Most tutorials we find on the internet only do the basics that any documentation shows right in the tool's quick start. Nobody teaches the tricks of the trade, not even the basics.

If you want to stand out in something, you need to truly understand it.

There's a maxim that says 20% of the content solves 80% of the problems. Focus on the 20% to have it on the tip of your tongue, and for the other 80%, know that it exists, how to use it, and where to look. Only by knowing the nuances of a tool will you be able to create innovative solutions instead of replicating what everyone already does. The documentation is there to be consulted.

All those courses out there do nothing more than chew and hand-feed you, but life isn't like that. Nothing will be exactly like the little course you took.

If you don't even know where to start studying something, do the tutorials out there with the goal of familiarizing yourself with the content and then seek the rest on your own.