Server Admins: What does it take to be one?

[BinaryData]

I can echo the experience side of it. I landed a network administrator role at the age of 18... I had only a basic set of college qualifications that didn't even have an impact on me getting the job... I tinkered with hardware and server software, networking etc as much as i could so i was able to do a basic set of stuff, if you have an aptitude for this kind of work then you should be able to work your way around all systems easy enough.

 

I generally found if you are meant for this type of work you are able to pick stuff up as you go along, looking at something you have never seen before will actually make sense within a couple of minutes.. I've been presented with systems to fix that i'd never seen in my life, yet am able to do the work with minimal fuss.

 

I have worked with volunteers and apprentices who just didn't have this mind set. Spending spare time messing about to learn was a big no no, and each task was learned on a step by step basis, rather than taking everything in and applying it to each task that you do... naturally they didn't make the cut and i still work alone  If you feel like you do have the mind set and aptitude for this work just throw yourself in at the deep end i'm sure you'll manage just fine.

 

If you feel like you don't have that mind set then college is not a bad idea because you will learn the basis skills that you need to develop.

 

Of course you have Google and the good folks at Neowin for help

 

You know, it's funny you mention the "deep end". That's EXACTLY what happened to me. I went from fixing Desktops, and tinkering with desktop "servers". (Windows 7 hosting Apache/SQL/PHP etc..) and things of that sort.

I applied for a few jobs, one of them being at Microsoft's Columbia Data Center, I was tossed out the door, so to speak. I didn't have any experience, not with anything they wanted. I even knew people who worked there "blue badges", it's the color of the Microsoft badge, and not the Atos one.

I applied for the job I have now, but was turned down in the spring of 2014. My current PIC, was hired, instead of me. But I still got in, simply because they were; 1. Desperate to find someone, 2. My Supervisor used to run a school's IT Department where I did an internship. So, those two factors landed me this job. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I thought I was doing physical repairs, and being a hardware monkey. Nope. Not in a long shot.

 

I understand a bit more how Data Centers work, and I'm continuing to grow. My next aim is an SA position, after that I want to climb the ranks of programmers, and then hit the security side. I plan on doing this sort of stuff well past my 60s. A co-worker of mine, he's 65 or 70s now, and being forced to retire. Sad too, he's one of the most influential people I've ever worked with.

[sc302 Veteran]

Pulling in people you know is part of this field (it isn't necessarily what you know but who you know...one time I was over looked by someone who had obvious less experience and less knowledge because the manager knew who the person was and their capabilities....my wife was friends with the CEO and he was overruled by the CIO)

 

SA goes to security as DBA goes to programmer.  SA rarely ever goes to programmer, programmer rarely ever goes to security.

[BinaryData]

Pulling in people you know is part of this field (it isn't necessarily what you know but who you know...one time I was over looked by someone who had obvious less experience and less knowledge because the manager knew who the person was and their capabilities....my wife was friends with the CEO and he was overruled by the CIO)

 

SA goes to security as DBA goes to programmer.  SA rarely ever goes to programmer, programmer rarely ever goes to security.

 

I know that, but it's something I've had my eyes set on for quite some time. Every IT person I know has given me funny looks for that.

[T3X4S]

IMHO many certs arent worth the piece of paper they are printed on.  And many employers think this way too.  However there are some certs that, in my opinion, are great.  CCNA, or the CCNP are 2 certs that make you valuable, but that is leaning towards a network engineer role, not necessarily a SA role.

Experience is a must.  In the beginning of the tech boom, companies would pay ridiculous amounts to anyone with a cert.  Then employers realized that certs alone mean nothing as so many people would be paper certified out the wazoo but couldn't turn on a computer without a book.  So a backlash ensued.

I think many people (myself included) did the transformation from PC Tech, to Systems Admin to Engineer, to ....

I worked many years repairing computers, then was lucky to find a company that needed a PC Tech that wanted to be more - thats how you get to the next level.  Pay your dues, and be ready to see the opportunities when they come.
There isnt a blueprint to success.  Not a deadset way.

Either get in with a good company as a lowly tech and work your way up by proving yourself dependable, smart, and always willing to take on more responsibilities - or find a company that you might want to stay with because of good atmosphere, good mentor, opportunities, etc.

Sorry I cant give more - I dont know everything, and have only recently made the jump to NOC Engineer with a great company just a few months ago.  Omnitracs is a great company, but you have to move to Dallas. 

[BinaryData]

IMHO many certs arent worth the piece of paper they are printed on.  And many employers think this way too.  However there are some certs that, in my opinion, are great.  CCNA, or the CCNP are 2 certs that make you valuable, but that is leaning towards a network engineer role, not necessarily a SA role.

Experience is a must.  In the beginning of the tech boom, companies would pay ridiculous amounts to anyone with a cert.  Then employers realized that certs alone mean nothing as so many people would be paper certified out the wazoo but couldn't turn on a computer without a book.  So a backlash ensued.

I think many people (myself included) did the transformation from PC Tech, to Systems Admin to Engineer, to ....

I worked many years repairing computers, then was lucky to find a company that needed a PC Tech that wanted to be more - thats how you get to the next level.  Pay your dues, and be ready to see the opportunities when they come.

There isnt a blueprint to success.  Not a deadset way.

Either get in with a good company as a lowly tech and work your way up by proving yourself dependable, smart, and always willing to take on more responsibilities - or find a company that you might want to stay with because of good atmosphere, good mentor, opportunities, etc.

Sorry I cant give more - I dont know everything, and have only recently made the jump to NOC Engineer with a great company just a few months ago.  Omnitracs is a great company, but you have to move to Dallas. 

 

Well, the company I'm with now, is pushing for us to know more. They offer to pay $5,000 towards college tuition, which I'll be using when I convert. You pay first, then they reimburse you, is how it works. My goal is to be focused in one area, primarily security, and well rounded in other fields. As of right now, I'm the only person whose been able to talk shop with the Linux SA's, and that's really sparked a HUGE deal with my boss. My lead, supervisor and my "boss" (Supervisor's boss), have made the promise "get the Red Hat Cert, and we'll ship you to Pittsburgh".

I know just getting the cert doesn't make me an SA, the experience struggling through it, will make me better. I find what you said to be fairly true, though, some companies, like Microsoft, value Education + Certs more than just education or certs. I know a few MS Employees and they told me to grab my MCSA/MCSE if I wanted to be a Windows SA at Columbia.

So moral of the topic, Experience, Experience, Experience, College, Certs. Since class registration isn't until next month, I'll have to wait until then. My classes won't start until Fall. I'm taking the necessary classes like English 101, Interpersonal Communication Class (I Fail horrendously in this section), and Algebra 1 & 2.

[T3X4S]

From what you said - it sounds like that company likes to promote from within - that is HUGE.  They could go out and find a Linux SA, but it sounds like they would like for you to be that guy.  Sure a cert alone wont do the job, but you dont need to worry about finding a company that will hire you and give you a chance - you already got through the door - thats the hardest part !

So I say, keep doing what you're doing, get some education (Red Hat cert) and see how far you can go with this company.  ANd if it doesnt work out the way you envisioned, well look elsewhere because now you are talking to companies with experience and a cert ! 

HOWEVER, since you want to go the IT Security route - maybe take a Computer Forensics class and/or Ethical Hacker cert - that will open doors.


Good Luck

[binaryzero]

Certs defiantly make your resume more attractive, and you should be earning your certs while on the job using the technology.

 

If you'd like to work in Enterprise IT, whether it be some sort of consultant or server admin they give you an advantage. Experience also helps, but when you're new to the game you need something else to make your resume stick out.

 

Get on CBT Nuggets or Pluralsight and study up, you'll learn plenty.

 

To the people saying no need for certs - go test yourself and see if you can pass. Giving advice on an internet forum is one thing, doing it in front of senior executives and other high level staff is another...

[PaulATMOS]

I've been making $100K in Australia managing a few servers and their workstations/printers etc. for different small businesses. These servers run Windows 2008/2012 with Exchange, Sharepoint, Accounting software (Prosystem Engagement, Billquick, Quicken) and Remote Desktops for MYOB. Most administration is done from my home so my fuel costs are low. In addition to this, I have a large network of contacts who provide me with work repairing general issues with laptops and desktop computers.

[sc302 Veteran]

bTo the people saying no need for certs - go test yourself and see if you can pass. Giving advice on an internet forum is one thing, doing it in front of senior executives and other high level staff is another...

I have one cert, mcp, have had several jobs since I entered the field in 96, am training 2 junior people who are also studying for their Ccna..they are 3/4 through and they have said they already know what the material is with what I have shown them. Next will be mcse, I will put money that what I give them in experience will cover 3/4 at least. I will give them enough that if they supplement with learning (we don't deal with international so the language parts will not be covered) they will ace the test. Being that I have had more than a few jobs (one a local government contractor), I can confidently say that certs are not needed.

[]SK[]

As someone with only one MS cert I would agree certification is not everything.  That said certification proves your competent and looks great on the CV.  When you struggling to find work to gain experience then doing certification is the next best thing.

 

If you needed brain surgery would you be happy if your doctor had no qualifications?

[sc302 Veteran]

You would hope he has experience and mine weren't his first brain out of school.

[BinaryData]

From what you said - it sounds like that company likes to promote from within - that is HUGE.  They could go out and find a Linux SA, but it sounds like they would like for you to be that guy.  Sure a cert alone wont do the job, but you dont need to worry about finding a company that will hire you and give you a chance - you already got through the door - thats the hardest part !

So I say, keep doing what you're doing, get some education (Red Hat cert) and see how far you can go with this company.  ANd if it doesnt work out the way you envisioned, well look elsewhere because now you are talking to companies with experience and a cert ! 

HOWEVER, since you want to go the IT Security route - maybe take a Computer Forensics class and/or Ethical Hacker cert - that will open doors.

Good Luck

 

I've been looking into that as well; cybrary.it has a lot of good information in it. I plan on studying quite a bit, as well as setting up my own lab. sc302, and BudMan have helped me perfect my knowledge quite a bit. I'm looking forward to testing myself. Also, sc302 hooked me up with Udemy's CCNA course. Freaking amazing, the guy looks like my Uncle, so it makes it even more enjoyable.

Certs defiantly make your resume more attractive, and you should be earning your certs while on the job using the technology.

 

If you'd like to work in Enterprise IT, whether it be some sort of consultant or server admin they give you an advantage. Experience also helps, but when you're new to the game you need something else to make your resume stick out.

 

Get on CBT Nuggets or Pluralsight and study up, you'll learn plenty.

 

To the people saying no need for certs - go test yourself and see if you can pass. Giving advice on an internet forum is one thing, doing it in front of senior executives and other high level staff is another...

I hate the cost of CBT Nuggets. Honestly, I obtain my information through other sources. I'd rather spend 50$ on a damn book, than 100$ a month on CBT Nuggets. But still a good source.

 

 

As someone with only one MS cert I would agree certification is not everything.  That said certification proves your competent and looks great on the CV.  When you struggling to find work to gain experience then doing certification is the next best thing.

 

If you needed brain surgery would you be happy if your doctor had no qualifications?

Considering my Doctor doesn't have a Doctorate or a Ph.D. I laughed at this. She's something else, but everything she's told me has been right, and confirmed by other Doctors. So, I can't say too much, but brain surgery is another story. Haha.

 

You would hope he has experience and mine weren't his first brain out of school.

^^ This. This is just, everything right.

Company does like to promote within, but they are sticklers when it comes to money. I was offered a job on the Playboy account, I make between 20 - 30$ / hr. They wanted to drop me to 15$ / hr. Refused to pay for moving costs, and help find living environments. That was an immediate no. Not moving to California, just to pay more for less, and have sweat roll down my a** crack like Niagara Falls. NO thanks!

[Praetor]

You would hope he has experience and mine weren't his first brain out of school.

 

except that's not how that works in the real life

 

in the real life, medicine students study for several years, do several internships and fellows in all the fields a hospital has and must pass an endless number of exams; in my country not only that but also they have to pass the exam for the Doctor's Order because without that they can't even work in their profession.

 

so it's a combination of studding + experience + degree each of them are important and risking a single one will create a incomplete or incompetent professional.

 

So OP, for a Server Admin the path should be similar: be objective of what you want (remember that IT changes alot; 10 years ago VMs, SAN and VDI didn't even had coined terms and now there's professions just for those alone), study alot and get the experience that it carries. Good professionals are passionate of their jobs, are curious (and learn new stuff by studding it and get the experience) and get stuff done. Great professionals are good professionals that are more persistent, more curious, do more with less and don't get stagnant - they want to evolve.

 

It's really difficult to get a good professional, not to mention a great one...

btw: udemy has their entire catalogue for only 17

[sc302 Veteran]

Point was that regardless of education no one really wants someone who just has education. Just like I wouldn't want someone just out of school with cadaver and some internship training to be screwing around in my brain if I were on the table. I would want an established doctor who has years under their belt, regardless of education. There comes a point where education is a piece of paper on a wall or line on a resume, which would you rather have...someone fresh out of Harvard with a doctorate or someone out of Rutgers that has 10 years under their belt. You think the Harvard guy is going to have the experience to handle the possibility of something not going right or or according to textbook?

College gives you a base (I can't say this about certs) to which you continue to grow and add to. Experience gives you the knowledge to handle things that don't go right or things that don't make sense. Networks and computers don't always behave the same regardless of how many you have designed, implemented, and/or configured.

[colealtdelete]

I've been a SysAdmin for about ~6+ years now. I started in Desktop Support for about 8 months, but I was also doing junior administrator stuff.

 

If you want to be a good sysadmin you'll need to be able to self motivate to learn on your own. Everything I know is because I taught myself - I do not have degree and my employer does not pay for certifications. In my current position I'm pretty much a jack of all trades - I'm my managers go to guy for any issue that comes up. I do Windows, Active Directory, Linux, Solaris, enterprise storage, networking, email, scripting, etc. I suggest not siloing yourself into a Windows admin or a Linux admin or some other specialty until you've gotten experience with multiple technologies to find what you like.

 

With that said, I'm currently transitioning from heavily Windows/Active Directory admin to more Linux/Unix/automation type role because that's what I enjoy. Being a SysAdmin seems great to people until you realize you're usually the first one to be yelled at when something goes down/doesn't work right - it can be huge amount of stress and if you work for a 24x7/global company, being on-call can be brutal. (I get called anywhere between 6PM to 11PM or even 3AM). You need to take in consideration other than just learning the technical part of the job, can you deal with the politics? Can you talk to business service owners/managers of other departments? Can you handle the stress when your email server goes down in the middle of the day and you have 6000 users around the world who can't get email? Or getting woken up at 3AM when a LUN for your office in the UK goes offline and they suddenly can't ship product on quarter end? 

 

There's a lot more than just racking servers and making sure they stay up. A lot of people over look this and then get into IT/SysAdmin and hate there job. I enjoy what I do, and for the tough days....well that's what beer is for.

[tsupersonic]

I suggest not siloing yourself into a Windows admin or a Linux admin or some other specialty until you've gotten experience with multiple technologies to find what you like.

I agree with most of your post. This statement above becomes generally less relevant as you work for bigger companies where you have a very specific role. In some small companies, you may be the single IT person supporting everything (not good). It is good to get exposure to various things as you mentioned, but you can't specialize in everything. This is also somewhat similar to a doctor, and why we have specialists (like cardiologists, neurologists, etc.) 

[colealtdelete]

I agree with most of your post. This statement above becomes generally less relevant as you work for bigger companies where you have a very specific role. In some small companies, you may be the single IT person supporting everything (not good). It is good to get exposure to various things as you mentioned, but you can't specialize in everything. This is also somewhat similar to a doctor, and why we have specialists (like cardiologists, neurologists, etc.) 

I work for a 6000 person 90 site organization, and I've worked for a large tech. company (10,000+) in R&D where I was also a jack of all trades. It really varies - I think places like financial or insurance where there are more regulations and/or more complex environments that you'll find the more specialized model.

[BinaryData]

I've been a SysAdmin for about ~6+ years now. I started in Desktop Support for about 8 months, but I was also doing junior administrator stuff.

 

If you want to be a good sysadmin you'll need to be able to self motivate to learn on your own. Everything I know is because I taught myself - I do not have degree and my employer does not pay for certifications. In my current position I'm pretty much a jack of all trades - I'm my managers go to guy for any issue that comes up. I do Windows, Active Directory, Linux, Solaris, enterprise storage, networking, email, scripting, etc. I suggest not siloing yourself into a Windows admin or a Linux admin or some other specialty until you've gotten experience with multiple technologies to find what you like.

 

With that said, I'm currently transitioning from heavily Windows/Active Directory admin to more Linux/Unix/automation type role because that's what I enjoy. Being a SysAdmin seems great to people until you realize you're usually the first one to be yelled at when something goes down/doesn't work right - it can be huge amount of stress and if you work for a 24x7/global company, being on-call can be brutal. (I get called anywhere between 6PM to 11PM or even 3AM). You need to take in consideration other than just learning the technical part of the job, can you deal with the politics? Can you talk to business service owners/managers of other departments? Can you handle the stress when your email server goes down in the middle of the day and you have 6000 users around the world who can't get email? Or getting woken up at 3AM when a LUN for your office in the UK goes offline and they suddenly can't ship product on quarter end? 

 

There's a lot more than just racking servers and making sure they stay up. A lot of people over look this and then get into IT/SysAdmin and hate there job. I enjoy what I do, and for the tough days....well that's what beer is for.

I don't mind racking servers, what I hate racking are the 4U Servers, especially when they are in the 50 slot range. I can't say I love fixing problems, like right now I'm being told to cut tickets to SAs, and tell them how to fix it. I don't know how to fix it, and I can't figure it out because I don't have access. That's whats frustrating.

 

I agree with most of your post. This statement above becomes generally less relevant as you work for bigger companies where you have a very specific role. In some small companies, you may be the single IT person supporting everything (not good). It is good to get exposure to various things as you mentioned, but you can't specialize in everything. This is also somewhat similar to a doctor, and why we have specialists (like cardiologists, neurologists, etc.) 

I'm not focusing on just Linux, I'll learn everything I can. I chose Linux first, because I see it as a challenge, and in life, you need a few of those to keep you going.

 

I work for a 6000 person 90 site organization, and I've worked for a large tech. company (10,000+) in R&D where I was also a jack of all trades. It really varies - I think places like financial or insurance where there are more regulations and/or more complex environments that you'll find the more specialized model.

The DC I work in, has less than 50 people total, over 5,000+ servers in a 50,000 server DC.

I don't mind taking personal time to fix a work problem, I really don't. I love working with computers, I love the challenge, and I love to tinker. I have friends, family, even co-workers who toss me a call when they have a problem. The thing I don't enjoy is people calling me for when their illegally obtained stuff doesn't work, and ask me to fix it. As someone who does pirate, simply because I can't afford to spend $5,000 on an application or afford a $100 subscription. My general rule towards piracy is, if you like it/use it a lot, buy it. I youtube what I can, or download the full album, if I like most of the album, I'll just buy it.

 

Anyways, since school starts in the fall for me, I'm going to take the time from now, until then to study for my Red Hat cert.

[T3X4S]

Then go back to school for theoretical physics, focusing on quantum physics, and get a masters in Computer Science - build a quantum computer and let me take it for a spin

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

Being an admin also requires near constant study and re-education of new technologies. However qualified you are at one point, you need to keep that pace every day. You'll spend more time keeping up than actually implementing.

[BinaryData]

Then go back to school for theoretical physics, focusing on quantum physics, and get a masters in Computer Science - build a quantum computer and let me take it for a spin

Oh man, screw physics. I took physics in High School and wanted to cry. No lower level science classes were available. =/

 

Being an admin also requires near constant study and re-education of new technologies. However qualified you are at one point, you need to keep that pace every day. You'll spend more time keeping up than actually implementing.

That's fine with me. The IT field is much like the Medical field. Whats relevant today, isn't necessarily relevant tomorrow. I believe it's every 6 months the IT field changes, I mean, look at the direction of Hard Drives and Processors. Graphics cards are freaking insane too.

I'm studying what I can, doing what I can, so I can learn more.

[binaryzero]

You gotta keep updating your skills in this game, else you won't last long.

That's the beauty working as a consultant, I'm always around new technology whereas the guy in an in-house IT dept can sometimes be stuck due to internal budgets (I was).

[BinaryData]

You gotta keep updating your skills in this game, else you won't last long.

That's the beauty working as a consultant, I'm always around new technology whereas the guy in an in-house IT dept can sometimes be stuck due to internal budgets (I was).

One of the joys I have about this DC, it's so new, that they have all the latest new gadgets. I've had to do a few "tutorials" on previous versions because of things not matching up.

 

I'm always on the look out for new and emerging tech, I read google news when I can, neowin for sure, and "The Hacker News" on Facebook feeds some great stories & what not. It's how I found out about a lot of 0-Days.

[binaryzero]

It's not necessarily about learning new tech, but it's mastering the current tech you've got access too. You don't want to be a jack of all trades, find a few particular areas you want to be a specialist in and concentrate on those.

[Praetor]

You gotta keep updating your skills in this game, else you won't last long.

That's the beauty working as a consultant, I'm always around new technology whereas the guy in an in-house IT dept can sometimes be stuck due to internal budgets (I was).

 

I've worked as a consultant for the past 8 years and i prefer to work in house with a IT department; it's only 1 client (we have hundreds of internal clients but still..) so in a quick pace i can understand the problems, design and implement solutions and work on new projects, as well managing current operations. As a consultant i had to do not only that for 80+ clients but some helpdesk as well - it was incredible exhausting, stressful and a low paying job for the responsibilities involved.

 

oh and while working with new tech is great, it's not so great when one has to learn, master and implement new tech in record time to a costumer that wants the new stuff - and expects you, the consultant, to be the master in that field. I've learn most of the times that is not the case and consumers because guinea pigs for the trials and errors that new tech consultancy is.