Get one of those really thick Linux books (you know the Linux Bible ones) I think any edition may work fine (though later ones will cover new technologies like

Get one of those really thick Linux books (you know the Linux Bible ones) I think any edition may work fine (though later ones will cover new technologies like systemd) Read it from cover to cover - not every word, take in what you can of what you see, glance over the complex parts and go back later, bookmark the interesting ones (you'll have a lot of bookmarks). This helps quite a lot to get an idea of the Linux big picture. Now pick up an administrators guide, and use a spare machine to play with and start working through it. I'd probably start on the basics like installing Linux, compiling programs (compile a a game to play if you find it boring) configuration (change Internet settings, set up a web server, file server) make a backup script, restore your backup, etc. Learn to document what you do so you: a) can see what you did later on and b) can do it again if you need to. I'm gonna say its going to take at least a 1/2 dozen linux installs and configures before you get the hang of how all that works and other things will be a little trial and error till you hit on the right way to do it.