Sudo Apt-Get: Viktoriia’s Linux Essentials Preparation Story

Some decisions look small from the outside. You open a document, you download a file, you tell yourself, Today is the day! But sometimes that quiet moment changes everything. For me, it happened on a November morning in Warsaw. I had been putting off the Linux Essentials exam for long enough. I stopped waiting. I downloaded the Learning Materials and began an intensive effort that would have a long-term impact on my career.

13th of November, 2024

This was the day when my intention to start preparing for the LPI Linux Essentials exam moved from “future plans” straight into “action!”

I knew there was no more time to postpone the preparation. “If not now, then never,” I said to myself. And I started.

The first thing that amazed me was that LPI provides complete, high-quality Learning Materials specifically for the Linux Essentials exam. I did not need to hunt for resources or external materials; everything was right there. That was my first move: download the Learning Materials. And that is how it began with Topic 1, Lesson 1.1: “Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems.” The studying process started rolling like a stone down a hill, and I needed only that initial push to get it moving.

November 2024 to January 2025

I enjoyed studying a lot. The free resources helped me navigate through the most important topics regarding working with Linux, and to be honest, I think all of them are important.

I already had a little knowledge about Linux, but I quickly realized that my knowledge was just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the iceberg, hiding under the surface, was what I still had to learn.

One of the biggest challenges was, of course, remembering all the essential commands used in the terminal to navigate the system. It was hard for me at first to understand how processes run in Linux and how they are managed. As I discovered more, I realized that the terminal itself is a running process. Everything in Linux is either a process or a file. What also surprised me during my transition from Windows was the security model: Linux uses a strict system of users, groups, and permissions (the classic rwx bits) along with the sudo command and the root user, whereas Windows relies more on a rigid separation between a normal user and “Admin” level of security.

Another “magic” moment, and a challenge, was learning to navigate the filesystem using absolute and relative paths. Understanding the difference between symbolic links and hard links felt a bit like sorcery at first.

I also learned that the building blocks of the operating system are organized into specific directories. Essential system binaries live in /bin and /sbin, variable data like logs are in /var, and the heart of the system, the kernel, resides in the /boot directory. The system relies on these special files for its performance and stability.

One of the other major hurdles was truly grasping the concept of open source and free software. Why do they exist, and how does Linux relate to them? Coming from a Windows background, my mindset was quite narrow regarding software licensing. I have Windows to “thank” for that proprietary mindset, which I am finally getting rid of.

Of course, there was a silver lining too. While some things were tough, other topics felt very natural to me.

For example, I really loved the lessons dedicated to hardware and networking foundations. I am not saying these are “easy” topics, but I found them natural and joyful to study. Maybe I had more previous knowledge here, or maybe I was just fascinated by how Linux connects to the physical machine. During this journey, the puzzles in my head finally started to connect into a structured picture: Linux as an operating system communicating with hardware and operating at the networking level.

I gained so many insights here. I learned how Linux communicates with hardware through the /dev directory, where every device (like a hard drive or a USB port) is treated as a file. I also learned that Linux depends on BIOS or UEFI to hand over control to a bootloader like GRUB, which then starts the very first process, the init or systemd process. This “parent” process then starts many other “child” processes, forming what I like to call the Linux Tree.

February 2025

That month, I realized a challenge I had not paid much attention to before: organization and discipline.

Since Linux Essentials was my first IT exam, I did not know how people usually prepare. I watched some videos online, but none of them quite matched my goals and studying preferences. So I created my own studying system based on the Pomodoro Technique: I studied for 40 minutes, then took a 10 to 15 minute break to hydrate, stretch, and breathe some fresh air. This kept me focused without exhausting my brain.

The Study Plan

Before each session, I set a clear goal. For example, “Today I am finishing lessons 1.1 through 1.3.” This plan removed the fear of the unknown and helped me track my progress. Seeing my success along the way gave me a lot of appreciation for my efforts.

Making Notes

Without these, there would be chaos in my head! When working with a huge amount of information, notes are vital to structure your knowledge. I used them to reread difficult sections and spot gaps in my understanding.

Tests and Homework

The LPI Learning Materials are beautiful because they offer questions and practical exercises after each lesson. I truly recommend not skipping these. If you do not know an answer, do not worry. That is why the tests exist: to show you what to focus on. As we say in my country: “The one who looks will always find.”

March 2025

As I got closer to finishing the Learning Materials, I slowly started to realize: “This is the month.” The month I would finally take the exam. During those weeks, I had been reviewing everything I had learned, and my notes played the key role. I could quickly refresh my memory on things like IP addressing, file permissions, and script basics just by glancing at them. I felt the pieces of the puzzle were finally locked together, securely.

26 to 27 March 2025

On those days, I was busy organizing the final details for my exam. I decided to take the exam at a physical testing center in Warsaw, Poland. I actually prefer testing on-site rather than online; I wanted to feel the full experience: the excitement and even the stress (yes, really!) that come with walking into a professional exam environment.

28 March 2025

This was the day. Once again, I found myself at a turning point. I was nervous and my heart was racing, yet I felt a deep sense of certainty that success was waiting for me. To keep my stress levels down, I had mapped out the route to the center in advance and arrived a full hour early just to be sure I was on time.

The staff at the center were wonderful. Their kindness and clear explanations of the rules helped calm my nerves before I sat down at the computer. The exam experience itself was intense. I focused hard, moving through the questions and testing my knowledge on everything from command-line syntax to licensing.

The moment I clicked the final button and saw the word “PASSED” flash on the screen, I was overwhelmed with joy. I felt so incredibly proud of this achievement because I knew exactly how much time, discipline, and effort I had poured into those pages of the LPI Learning Materials.

Closing Thoughts

This is my story of preparing for the Linux Essentials exam and earning my certificate. But my journey does not end with a piece of paper. It is actually growing into something bigger.

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