If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of learning something new—especially something as seemingly intimidating as Linux—then you’re definitely not alone. Today, I want to take you back to a time when I was in your shoes, facing the very same fears and challenges. Let me tell you about the summer that changed everything for me.
How It All Began
Three years ago, during the summer between my third and fourth year of undergrad, I found myself entering a completely new world. I had just been accepted as an undergraduate research assistant in my supervisors’ research group. And if you’re wondering where that path led me—well, it’s the same group where I completed my Master’s now and where I’ll be working on my PhD for the next few years.
Now, you might be thinking, “That sounds exciting!” And it was, but it was also one of the most challenging experiences I’ve ever faced.
My First Encounter with Linux
Imagine being tasked with helping a graduate student run computationally heavy Monte Carlo simulations on a high-performance computing cluster, all while learning Linux and Julia programming language for the first time. Sounds intense, right? Well, it was. I was a long-term Windows user and only a few months prior to starting this summer research thing, I bought my MacBook, which is a bit closer to Linux, but still not quite it.
The personal workstation I used during that summer research ran on Linux CentOS 7, and so did the HPC cluster where we ran our simulations. So there I was, staring at a terminal window on a system I had never used before, feeling more than a little anxious.
First I had to figure out how to use ssh to access remote clusters. And when I finally figured out how to do that, I was like, “I’m unstoppable!” …until I realized I had no idea how to upload files there and download the files back.
Next, I need to learn to write bash scripts to automate the running of Julia program files. And those scripts? They weren’t your average bash scripts—they had to incorporate commands for the SLURM workload manager, the software that helps request resources from the cluster so the files can run.
If you’ve ever felt like you were thrown into the deep waters without knowing how to swim, you’ll understand exactly how I felt.
Overcoming the Challenges
For that first month, I was completely overwhelmed. The amount of information I had to absorb felt like drinking from a firehose. It wasn’t just Linux I had to learn; it was a new programming language, bash scripting, and Monte Carlo simulation methods for physical systems.
And on top of that, I faced some pretty common fears that many new Linux users have. I remember being terrified that I might accidentally break something important or mess up a file, especially on the cluster.
But here’s the thing: those fears are normal, and they’re something every new Linux user goes through. Slowly but surely, I started to realize that the terminal wasn’t as scary as I’d imagined. The commands that once seemed like a foreign language began to make sense, and the more I used them, the more confident I became.
I spent a lot of time reading online forums, diving into documentation, and reaching out to the community for help. And you know what? That’s how you learn. That’s how you grow. And that’s how you go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling empowered. It felt pretty good once I at least sort of knew what I was doing. But before that there were a lot of times when I had to ask: “Okay, Google, how do I undo everything I just did?” sort of thing.
A Few Words of Encouragement for New Linux Users
So if you’re just starting out with Linux, and you’re feeling that same fear and confusion, I want you to know—you’ve got this. You’re not alone, and you’re not the first person to feel this way. Every expert was once a beginner.
And if my story helps you feel even a little more confident, then I’ve done my job. Remember—there’s a whole community out there ready to help you on your journey.