From the course: Career Essentials in System Administration by Microsoft and LinkedIn

What are the roles of a system administrator?

From the course: Career Essentials in System Administration by Microsoft and LinkedIn

What are the roles of a system administrator?

“

- You want to be a systems administrator, but what does that mean? There are many roles a sysadmin can take. Let's take the role of a medical doctor. You could focus on the heart, lungs, feet, hands, teeth and so much more. It's the same type of choices you'll be faced when becoming sysadmin. Will you focus on networking, security, servers, backups, recovery or something else entirely different? These are all systems and becoming proficient in managing them is what makes a systems administrator. Many times we abbreviate systems administrator to be called sysadmins. A sysadmin starts out with a passion for technology. The best way to learn is to go, and buy an old computer and take it apart. Don't be afraid to break it. When I first realized this was an area in which I wanted to pursue, I went online and bought some old computer equipment. It included a pre-Pentium series processor, 20 megabyte hard drive, green screen monitor, and some other old parts and pieces. I took them all apart on my mom's kitchen table. I had no idea what I was looking at, but I was jumping with excitement at what I was seeing and doing. I tried and failed multiple times to put them all back together until I finally got it right. I went to sign up for community college courses, and I was on my way. Just being excited about computers isn't going to be enough however. You'll need to learn basic troubleshooting methodology and critical thinking. You'll be faced with many new experiences every day of your career right up until you retire. That's because technology changes faster than any other profession in the world. I have to rewrite all the college courses I teach every three years just to stay up-to-date. When you do get your first IT job, you may be the only sysadmin or technology employee there. Or you may be a part of a large team. You never know until your first day what your job and responsibilities will be. You can lean heavily on the training you'll receive on your way to becoming a sysadmin to get you through the interview process, and on your way to solving your first computer problem professionally. That day you may be the active directory administrator, but a year from then, you may be the security specialist keeping the company safe. A few years from now you may be the IT manager. You'll need to keep your education, and certifications up-to-date to be ready for anything. So go on, get out there and break something. Learn from it and get excited for what's to come.

Contents