Unix administrator

[Chris Parker]

Student here from a micro$oft school of thought and sick of it.  What
do I need to read...study to gain the honor of a unix admin.?  Is
athere any good online classes or tutorials that i should check into? 
Also what would be a good route to take for a beginner programming? 
Hopefully the Debian gurus will reply.
THANKS TO ALL THAT REPLY!