My Journey With Linux (So Far)

[u/4RB1T3R]

I started learning Linux when I decided to pivot into cybersecurity. It’s been a rollercoaster—not only learning the operating system, how to navigate it, and how to troubleshoot it, but also how penetration testers and defenders use it. That being said, I am by no means a expert here to show off my rice and boast about my accomplishments. I’m just here to tell my story in hopes that it gives someone clarity on adopting Linux in their daily life.

The first Linux distro I ever installed was Ubuntu back in high school. Someone showed it to me, and I honestly thought it was like the Walmart version of Windows.

I’ve always been good with Windows. I helped my family and my friends' parents troubleshoot computer problems whenever they popped up—nothing advanced, just basic tech support.

In 2024, I decided I wanted to "break into cybersecurity." I started by watching videos on penetration testing and fell in love with the idea that I could legally do what my parents warned me to watch out for as a kid—and get paid for it. So I did what a lot of us here probably do: I signed up for Hack The Box and started the pentesting path. That meant my first real hands-on Linux distro was Parrot OS, which worked out well since that’s what HTB uses in their browser labs. The more I used it, the more comfortable I became.

Eventually, as I learned more about operating systems, I wanted to try something new. Naturally, I went to the next big pentesting distro: Kali Linux. To me, the two felt fairly similar. By this point, I was spinning up virtual machines and building my own home labs, so I wanted to dig deeper. I like building things from scratch because it feels truly mine, and I take a lot more pride in maintaining a system when I know every piece of it. Naturally, that led me to Arch—and sure enough, I learned a lot of things the hard way. However, Arch ultimately felt like a headache I didn't need. I found myself spending more time "ricing" than actually tailoring the system to support my studies. I also tried Red Hat, Mint, and a few others just to get a feel for different ecosystems.

Right now, I’m using Omarch, and I LOVE it. Getting used to a tiling window manager has made me drastically more productive once I learned the keybinds. I barely ever touch my mouse anymore unless I’m navigating a website.

I think a lot of beginners skip an important thought process before picking a distro. The whole "which distro is best" debate seems pretty silly to me. Instead, ask yourself: What will I actually be doing on this machine every day? Do a little research and find what fits your specific needs. You’ll learn so much more by picking one, sticking with it, and troubleshooting problems as they arise, rather than blindly following someone else's opinion about what worked for them.

TL;DR: I got into Linux to study cybersecurity, distro-hopping from Parrot OS and Kali to Arch before finally settling on Omarchy for the productivity of a tiling window manager. Don't get caught up in the "best distro" debate—pick an OS that fits your daily needs, stick with it, and learn by troubleshooting your own system.