I have a 2-year degree in a general IT program which had a lot of Linux courses in it. I learned the very basics of using the command line, bash scripting, virtualization, user management, messing around with the filesystem and DE, networking, etc. I've even used a BUNCH of different distros throughout the years thanks to distrowatch.com and used to modify and tweak android and iPhone firmware.

But I'm not at all comfortable enough to take on a big role. I still need more training and experience which is where I'm a little confused. Lots of options, not sure what is best.

Don't get discouraged if you need to look up everything, even after working with it for a while. I almost constantly have tabs open showing me how to do things I've never done. We don't get paid to know everything. We get paid to know where to look and to understand what we're looking at.

This really eases me. I can definitely figure things out on my own but if I'm expected to know exactly what to do in every moment right on the spot I will likely fail hard.

I think I'll get myself a cheap laptop and learn to install arch from scratch. Thanks for the suggestion!