Just to give an outsider perspective to anyone reading this. I live in the Seattle Metro, have worked for Microsoft, and now work at a unicorn. I have a list of skill and experience that any ops department would drool over. Amazon is is one of the companies I won't even apply to unless I'm desperate for a job (and even then I'm not planning to stay).

And I know I'm not the only one.

We need less entertainment that runs forever and more that has a plan for how long it should be.

In this case it ran as long as it was feasible, then a little longer and then they where done.

If your installing, or deleting something and your package manager is modifying more then a few packages: stop, read and think about what your about to do.

That's the scary thing. It looks like this narrowly missed getting into Debian and RH. Downstream downstream that is... everything.

There is more to a program then writing logic. Good engineers are people who understand how to interpret problems and translate the inherent lack of logic in natural language into something that machines are able to understand (or vice versa).

The models out there right now can truly accelerate the speed of that translation - but translation will still be needed.

An anecdote for an anecdote. Part of my job is maintaining a set of EKS clusters where downtime is... undesirable (five nines...). I actively use chatgpt and copilot when adjusting the code that describes the clusters - however these tools are not able to understand and explain impacts of things like upgrading the control plane. For that you need a human who can interpret the needs/hopes/desires/etc of the stakeholders.

The people who are here are more willing to post. So less of us overall but also less lurkers.

It's a little more complex then that.

First we need to draft a project to keep the PMs happy. Then test the change...

Then get it through change management...

Or just have our friends in secops make it a security call and a priority. Not saying I've done this before - no sir.

First off, aiming to start in security is a fools errand. Security is one of the many paths that your career might take after you gain some knowledge.

Some more random thoughts before real advice. The two hardest things in IT are getting into help desk, and getting out of it. The reason is two fold: 1) help desk is the great entry point for the greater IT industry, and 2) one person in a help desk role is fairly similar to another when it's time to move out of help desk.

Now: If you have the time, go to your local community college and take their it/networking/security program. The degree will help - you won't skip help desk (unless your lucky), but you are better equipped for getting out of it. You will also learn a bunch of stuff, get some projects to stick on a resume, etc.

If you don't have that time you can go the cert route. Be warned however - certs do not substitute for real experience. Do not fall for the trap of thinking that getting X cert is your ticket to Y job. You will be in for a ride awakening when your sitting across from someone like me that only asks situational, hypotheticall questions with no correct answer ( I care about how you think and approach problems over book smarts).

Ok. Last bit of advice: the 10 things I look for (in order) when interviewing entry level help desk.

1. customer service skills,
2. ability to learn,
3. customer service.
4. some mild interest in tech.
5. customer service.
6. the ability to learn troubleshooting.
7. customer service.
8. the ability to admit you don't know..
9. customer service.
10. not being an asshole.

I can teach you how to fix a printer, design a network, or spin up infrastructure in the cloud. I can't teach you how to act around people.

Don't spend your money because it's a " good deal". In theory your guardian(s) are covering the expenses the rest of as as adults just accept. Therefore take advantage and spend your money on what brings you joy.

Shit. I think it took me 5 years on reddit to comment once. Now I have alts! Alts!

So the pop out handles on evs make a little sense. The goal is to reduce wind drag as much as possible. At least on mine (not a Tesla) you can still interact with the handle without the car exposing it.

Not having a manual way to open from the inside? No way in hell is that ok.

I for one am recommending pulumi for any of my teams new infrastructure needs.