8 ways I quickly leveled-up my Linux skills – and you can too

When I first started using Linux, I was thrown to the wolves. I unwittingly installed Linux over Windows and, at the time, couldn’t afford to purchase a new Windows license. Because of that, it was sink or swim.

I decided to swim. Within a week or so, I felt comfortable with the OS, but I wanted more, so I spent the time learning the ins and outs of Linux, and look at me now. 

Also: This lightweight Linux distro makes switching from Windows 10 easy

You might be thinking, “I need to find a replacement for Windows 10, but I don’t want to have to have elite IT skills to do so. Fortunately, you don’t have to. With modern Linux distributions, you can get up to speed in no time, so that you’re using Linux for all your needs.”

Even so, if you’re like me, you’ll want more out of the OS. I’m not talking about reaching a skill level that requires a degree in Computer Science. I’m talking about gaining an understanding of the OS that makes you feel competent enough to maybe help others learn the OS. If that sounds like you, read on to find out how you can level up those skills.

1. Use it… a lot

This is the most obvious bit of advice, and it’s what helped me develop enough skills to make a career out of using Linux. You have to use it… a lot. You know what they say: it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master something. That’s over a year of 24‑hour days, so we’re talking several years. But we’re not talking mastery of the subject. You want to get proficient enough to feel comfortable helping others learn Linux. For that, you should consider installing Linux and making it your default operating system. 

Also: Installing apps on Linux? 4 ways it’s different than any other OS – and mistakes to avoid

After using Linux daily, you should start feeling comfortable enough that you can do just about anything with the OS. You’ll no longer fear opening configuration files in /etc or installing services like Samba or a web server. Get familiar enough that you can troubleshoot issues and understand what’s going on under the hood. This will take time, so have patience.

2. Don’t be afraid to break things

One way I leveled up my skills was by breaking things. I didn’t do it on purpose, but when things broke, I had to fix them. As I fixed more and more things, I found that I was understanding how the OS worked more and more. Now, before you raise an eyebrow at me, I’m not saying you should intentionally break your operating system. Don’t go running sudo rm -rf / (seriously… don’t), but don’t let yourself get so worried that what you’re going to do will damage the OS. 

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Linux is fairly resilient, so the chances of you breaking it are slim. If you do break something, consider it a learning opportunity. If you do feel the need to intentionally break something, I would suggest doing so with Linux running as a virtual machine, so you don’t wind up without a working computer.

3. Take notes

This might seem silly, but I recommend taking notes… lots of notes. Why? Because Linux is different than Windows. You’ll need to remember things like ~/ is the equivalent of /home/USERNAME (where USERNAME is your Linux username), which is the equivalent of the Windows C:\Users\USERNAME (where USERNAME is your Windows user name). You’ll also want to take notes on where certain configuration files are, such as ~/.local/share or /etc. 

Also: You can try Linux without ditching Windows first – here’s how

You might want to keep track of what log files there are and what information they keep. As you learn the Linux OS, you’ll find a lot of cool tips and tricks that you’ll want to take note of. If you keep notes, you won’t find yourself at a loss as to what you need to do. I suggest taking notes with an app like Simple Notes or Google Keep, so you can access them from anywhere.

4. Find a ‘mentor’ or a community

When I was first using Linux, I was lucky enough to glom onto a mentor, who helped me learn some of the trickier aspects of Linux. 

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Back then, installing a different window manager or desktop environment was challenging, and having a mentor really helped a lot. Finding a mentor might not be easy, because you need someone who’s willing to spend the time answering questions and chatting about the finer points of Linux. If you can find someone — a friend, a family member, or someone in the Linux communit — make sure to treat them with respect and always remember to thank them for their help.

5. Read, read, read

You’ll find tons of Linux content online (such as on ZDNET). There are also books, like How Linux Works by Brian Ward or the free book The Linux Command Line by William Shotts. As well, you should check out Linux Bible, by Christopher Negus. The point is to read about Linux. Read anything you can find. Print out articles or save them in a collection to read later. 

Also: Linux’s remarkable journey from one dev’s hobby to 40 million lines of code – and counting

The more you read, the more you’ll know. You can also read the manual (man) pages to learn about Linux commands. To read a man page, open a terminal and issue the command man COMMAND (where COMMAND is what you want to learn about).

6. Learn the command line

I almost always tell those new to Linux that you don’t have to use the command line, and you really don’t. Even though I am 100% confident in my command line skills, I’ll go days without using it. However, if you really want to up your Linux skills, you’ll want to learn the command line because that is where the real power is. There is so much you can do with the command line, but I do understand that it can be intimidating. Because of that, I recommend always starting with the simple commands, such as cd, ls, and mkdir. 

Also: The first 5 Linux commands every new user should learn

Eventually, you can graduate to commands like chown and chmod and continue moving up the command line ladder until you’ve mastered a good chunk of them. Don’t worry about knowing every command because there are a lot of them (and some of them won’t be of any use to you). The important thing is to reach a level of familiarity so you aren’t hesitant to ever open a terminal window and run a command.

7. Try different distributions

You might find yourself stuck on a distribution simply because it has become familiar to you. If you only use an Ubuntu-based distribution, you’re missing out on those versions based on Fedora or Arch, and there are always new things to learn when you hop to another distribution. From my perspective, I always say new users should start with an Ubuntu-based distribution. Once familiar with that, hop over to a Fedora distribution and learn the ins and outs of that flavor. 

Also: 6 reasons why I’ve stuck with Ubuntu-based Linux distros for the last 20 years

Finally, hop over to an Arch-based distribution, where you’ll learn quite a bit more. If you really want to continue your education, make the leap to a distribution based on Gentoo, and you’ll feel as if you’ve finally mastered all that is Linux.

8. Join a Linux User Group (LUG)

When I was first learning Linux, I joined a LUG (Linux User Group) at the local college. There, I was able to chat and learn about Linux in ways that I couldn’t otherwise. On top of that, it was wonderful to meet other Linux users and chat about the open-source operating system. That LUG hosted install fests, where people would come and have us install Linux on their computers for them, which was also a great experience. If you can’t find a local LUG in your area, you could always seek out a group on Facebook or another social networking platform. 

Also: 7 things every Linux beginner should know before downloading their first distro

The important thing here is to get social, so you can not only learn about Linux but also help spread the word about the open-source operating system.

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