Brian Wall cried from the depths of the abyss...

>> THEY WILL GIVE YOU A PAGER AND THEY WILL NOT BE AFRAID TO USE IT.
>>
>>
>> Take that with all that implies. It's EXTREMELY high pressure, everyone
>> wants everything done NOW, everyone's priorities are way more important
>> than yours, and if it's at 4am after you've put in 12 hours straight
>> fixing something else, that's just too bad. It's a 24/7 kind of thing.
>
> Pager duty is a rite of pasage and it will drive you insane.  It is
> how you earn your stripes, and with any luck you'll get elevated to
> either light pager duty or non at all.  Don't expect that or ask
> thoguh, you have to earn it.
>

They might / probably will give you a cell phone as well.  Even worse, 
depending on the company/shop you work at, they might also have your home 
number on file if the pager/cell fails.

IMHO the recovery part of your skills is more valuable than then forensic 
factor.  Even better than recovery is knowing how to make good backups, 
and 
know how to recover them. 
I know this might sound silly, but it's true.  When something goes down, 
you need to get it back up now, and the data had better be current.
Honestly, the non IT people in the company 
(this could also be your boss!) will not care how & or what, just "can I 
log in now?"  This is the closest thing to actually having a gun to your 
head.  The longer it takes, the worse it will be.  If you fail at this 
task........... (to horrible to say).

With the economy being what it is, being just a Linux admin doesn't hold 
much weight {unless you can really find a Linux shop (good luck)}.  I hate 
to say it being on a Linux list & all, but you had better learn at least 
the basics of Windows server/active directory/mssql/etc.  You should also 
brush up on your Cisco.  I used to laugh once upon a time when I would see 
job requirements listed in the classifieds, but now I think this is a 
little more accurate.

There are a handful of head hunter companies around the twin cities.  I 
would contact them all.  They are a great help with getting you into the 
biz, and offering good advice on what you should/need to do.

Lastly, Mr. Brian Wall nailed it with "you have to earn it".  Once you hit 
the 3 - 5 years real work experience you will have a little more freedom, 
but until then take whatever pay they give you & put in your time.

Good Luck Brother!

Mr. B-o-B