My suggestion is to find some older laptop that nobody wants anymore and put linux on that. Dual booting is more PITA than its worth to just try it out, and you’ll probably run into issues with the clock which will make you frustrated. Also, having another working machine that you can look stuff up in real time while you work through issues is gonna be key. Def approach linux on the desktop as a challenge / puzzle and you will be accidentally and painlessly learning everything you need to one day be a sysadmin lol