I got into bioinformatics as a sysadmin, and loved it. You are right on the money with your links, but what I would say is to first take the time to learn the g

I got into bioinformatics as a sysadmin, and loved it. You are right on the money with your links, but what I would say is to first take the time to learn the general overview of genetics first. I would have been so lost managing the data I did if I hadn't taken the time to listen to all the latest lectures on genomics. I would also encourage a heavy emphasis on bacteria and the microbiome, it's largely an unexplored wilderness.