Safe ways to do things in bash
I've written a ridiculous amount of shell script in my day, especially when doing "devops" before we had a term like "devops" to describe it.  I've fallen in almost every pit bash has.  With that background, here is my opinion.1.  This article contains excellent advice and should be starred for later retrieval.2.  Having basic scripting skills will make you a way better programmer.  Many times I've done huge refactors and needle-in-hay-stack searches using only shell commands.3.  Shell is the universal language.4.  Bash isn't that bad once you get used to it (seriously. 
 I'll grant you tho that arrays are still nasty ;-) ).5.  Bash is not that dangerous if you follow best practices.  Don't be lazy!6.  You will not regret getting really good at shell script.  You'll have to take my word for it now because you don't know what you're missing.