From 1992 to 1999, Steve used systems administration and software engineering to help fund his academic career. During those 7 years he managed over 10 flavors of Unix, a touch of Windows, and was a very early adopter of Linux having installed Linux 0.99 in 1993.
Some of Steve's work during this time included managing and developing for key infrastructure for medical billing systems, supporting environmental research, and building out the infrastructure for one of Southern California's first cyber-cafes. (Commodity internet routers and cheap DSL were not available back then!)
In 1997, Steve was approached by Sams Publishing to contribute to the Unix Unleashed series. This later expanded to include multiple editions of Unix Unleashed, RedHat Linux Unleashed, Practical Linux and Using Linux. In 1999, Osborne Publishing (the technology arm of McGraw-Hill) asked Steve to author a complete text on Linux Administration. Linux Administration: A Beginners Guide has since gone onto four editions, 9 international/foreign language editions, and one spin off (RedHat Linux Administration: A Beginners Guide). The complete line is estimated to have sold over 50,000 copies world wide.
In the networking world, Steve contributed to Content Delivery Networks which was also published by Osborne. In addition to books, Steve has written and contributed to numerous magazine articles.