So I have an old computer that's running Win7 and I'm looking into changing OS to a Linux OS. So the question is what would be a good one to start on. I'm looking into changing my career to an IT tech so having a Linux OS and a Window OS will be great for me to learn on.
Manjaro is a good place to start - opens you up to a powerful architecture, being based on Arch, but is developed enough to not help new users into the world of Linux.
If you're looking at an IT career in support to consumers, you should really go with Ubuntu/Mint on Ubuntu, because that's what most consumers use, and Ubuntu based distros have their own set of ever recurring problems that other distros just don't have because they're better quality, so you wouldn't know how to solve those problems. If you're looking at enterprise support, RPM-based distros is where it's at, they have much more features than most other distros that are specifically made for enterprise use, they don't use the same firewall, the same logging system, etc... and they focus on security (e.g. SELinux, you HAVE to learn how to deal with that in an enterprise environment, and most non-RPM distros just don't do SELinux, etc...).
But I agree with Brennan though, Manjaro is a very good place to start learning and being Arch-based, it's way more enjoyable than Ubuntu & Co.
Ok thats good to know, will definitely look into all three of them. thanks guys!!
I would go with Debian or Debian based. In my experience you are more likely to run into a Debian based distro.
From personal experience, the only thing that got to really understand linux was installing gentoo, i would now recommend installing Arch instead, it's hard I know, but if you want to learn more about the system internals, a manual installation is a really good option..
I’d recommend having at least 2 partitions for 2 separate linux installs, 1 stable for day to day use, and 1 for playing around, experimenting and screwing with in general, and keep your /home on a separate partition or drive, EG: ubuntu/debian/mint + arch/gentoo
if moving from windows 7 i'd recommend KDE. XFCE or similar as a Desktop environment, just to minimalise frustration, but the good thing about linux is you can experiment with how ever many you like and switch between them at any time.
Start off with Ubuntu if you have no experience then move on to Crunchbang. Once you get to intermediate I would recommend to Arch or Gentoo and manually configure everything.