Linux

1. don't call yourself "power user"

It might just be me but it gives off "I can set up a printer, yay!" vibes.

As many people here have pointed out already, it's highly dependent on what type of Job you're looking for and in what industry.

When I was applying for my entry level Job (actually an apprenticeship to become a sysadmin), the fact that I was a linux user (especially daily driving Arch) and that I had set up my own self hosted projects was a factor in me being set up in the department that was actually interesting to me (the Linux/Server department) instead of the Windows/Client department but I probably would have gotten the job either way. My work there set me up deeping my path into Linux sysadminship where I still am today.

In my personal experience, yes. There are so many jobs that exist around the Linux ecosystem, being comfortable with concepts like piping, file permissions, scripting, git, etc, will invariably give you a leg up.

In my area being a linux admin actually pays less than I expected. I kinda always hoped to get into a linux admin role. Now I have a sort of cloud ops role and it makes more than a typical linux admin would. It would just be silly for me to pursue this any further. That doesn't mean I don't touch Linux on a daily basis at work. But it's more alround.

get a cheap mini-pc and set it up as a linux router/server/lab

does wonders to teach you the tech used in the industry, and you can even setup your own netflix, google drive, spotify and more.

This morning I was still awake, my veines exploding because of all the "anti-sleep medication", having a quick cool-down from the party still going on inside, when I hear someone randomly say: "yeahh rm -rf!". One thing let to another...

Linux skills make you friends as well as get you jobs.

"In IT" could mean anything from first line support worker to software project manager to network engineer. Can you be more specific...?

“The Cloud” is mostly Linux—specifically Linux containers. Kubernetes and Docker are Linux specific technologies.

Most “IT” roles these days will be for from Linux knowledge ( not all of course ). It is a good skill to have.

If you do encounter an environment where they do not use Linux, it may be because of a lack of skilled staff. You could be the reason they adopt it.

Depends on the job, a lot of places don’t use Linux

However Linux jobs tend to pay more than the non-Linux equivalent if you can find one

Learning Linux was probably the very best thing for my career.

The fact that I use Linux as my primary OS has been a positive in almost every interview I've been in as the interviewee. Linux has been used everywhere I've been, and that represents a huge amount of upskilling they can skip.

As an interviewer, I'd say that developers who use Linux generally understand their development stack better.

You didn't tell us what you think the usual 9 to 5 pays. Are you asking whether a tech job pays more than minimum wage? Many of them do. Also, when you're interviewing, and even when you're writing a cover letter, try to avoid the term power user, and instead provide details of things that you've actually done. Anyone can call themselves a power user, but what does that even mean? If you say you're a power user, if you're lucky the interviewer will ask you for details, and if you're unlucky they won't, because they'll assume you're just grandstanding. So you're better off providing a little extra information up front, and not gambling on them asking for it.