New intern, now what??

[Rob]

Well, one of my friends younger brother is a high school student. Hes very interested in computers, but has a hard time with the course studys of normal school (i did myself too, just too slow and boring) Plus, they don't teach anything really good.

Being noone ever gave me a opertunity when I started (im entirely self taught for years of CLI hacking) I thought it would be a nice gesture to offer him an intership with my corporation and get him started.

Were a linux shop, game server, web server, general stuff. Fiber Optic networking, Vlans, and all the stuff that comes with the territory.

My question to you all, has anyone seen like course study material?? I'm unsure at what pace and where to start this kid off. I don't want to throw him to the sharks and see if he sinks, but I've been a professional administrator so long I forgot where to start. Something with a rough outline of beginner material for linux and commercial networking. Online material preferably, something I can use as a reference on what to get him to start learning.

Thanks for any advise, hopfuly some of you are students aswell.

[Thrax]

If you want to slap him into networking, the Cisco web curriculum for CCNA covers everything you just mentioned in regards to networking.

As far as Linux goes, some of the Linux for dummies books are actually pretty good.

[Clutch]

Thrax is right, me and him both took the same course in high school, it covers basic networking, and then steps it up as you go along. Do you want to start him off with how to operate linux or more on the networking side? I wouldn't shoot too much info to him at one time.

[Rob]

Well, Networking is one of those things that you need to know when you need it, but takes a side roll when everythings running smooth. We do have a new P880 lucent I have to setup and configure, with telco style punch downs. But really, I think linux is going to be the meat and potato's.

If you guys had any course layouts , ya know like a flow chart on what's covered, it would help with some structure. I would really like to focus on linux, with lessons in networking as they come up (and they do). I just don't want to throw him into the heat of the fire, I would rather set him up slowly at first.

I could probably come up with one on my own, but I thought someone here might have a course outline for introduction to linux. Maybe I should contact one of the local college's and see if I can get a professor to take a min and share there course outlines. Really, I'm shooting for more of a educational experience for him than work. Odd's are he'll break more than he fix's and require more time to help than time working ;)

[primesuspect]

It's always good to have fake "projects" set up to give him and a must is a dev box for him to tear apart. I don't know if he knows anything about hardware, but I believe it's a must to at least tear apart and build a computer from scratch, and install an OS just to see how the stuff fits together and works. It's a requisite skill for any techie.

As for Linux learning, just give him some fakey (or real!) projects to work on:
"Hey dude, I want this box to be used as a backup server. Can you set that up?"

"Hey, I would like to set up this computer to cron remote SFTP sessions at night, pull a log file, and parse it for this one thing, can you figure that out?"

"Hey, can you get xbill installed? Thanks"

[Rob]

.. I guess I have to wait and see how geeky he really is ;)

[Clutch]

Yea, see how much he knows to begin with. And if so, do as prime suggested and let him tear apart a system and then re build it, and start from there. Also might want to stroll down to the book store and look at the outline of one of the linux dummie books to get a glance at what you want to start if off with.

[panzerkw]

WTF...they offer networking classes in high schools now? The only computer courses we had at my high school were one that taught how to use all the modules of a DOS version of Microsoft Works, and the other taught how to use a DOS version of AutoCAD.

That's what I get for growing up in NY City I guess.

[McBain]

Don't feel bad, the only comp classes Dearborn offers were mac related....we did/do have a nationwide recognized a/v dept where one would do a helluva lot of 3d studio max work. Might have heard of it, kid invented the wearable computer that won't make you run into walls, little mini-hud on a 2"x2" piece of glass over 1 eye, neat stuff, although pointless at the time.

/me laughs at kid walking down hall playing d00m completly missing mini-skirt wednesday.

[Rob]

WoW! we never had mini-skirt wednesday!

[Gargoyle]

Our school had some ancient IBM pentiums. Windows 3.0. The textbooks in the computer class were a few years older than the already ancient computers. "This is a floppy drive... This is a monitor..." And those computers were top of the line compared to the stuff in the rest of the school.

/me is a little bitter :shakehead