Network Administrators! Tell Me About Your Job…please? ^_^?

1. rocknrol Says

   OK, I’ll start from the top.
   I’m 27, a Network Admin in a large Hospital in the UK, and we run multiple systems for all areas of the Hospital (Blood tracking, xray, data storage, record histories etc), as well as maintain and install hardware/software throughout.
   Females. You should not be discriminated against at all. If anything, women are under-represented because it’s not a subject which many women find interesting. I suppose it’s a bit like nursing, there’s not a huge amount of guys that do that. I’ve currently got a team of 12, and 4 are women. They’re every bit as equal as the guys, and there’s no difference in workload/type of work, or pay.
   In College, I had a part-time job delivering pizzas. That’s got nothing to do with the field, or industry, but y’know, paid for my beer.
   Once graduated, I looked on websites and in local newspapers for IT related work. Your first job might not be as a Network Admin. Many people have to start off slow, and work on the Helpdesk, or on Desktop support for a couple of years. I did Helpdesk work, then Desktop Support, then I ran a Helpdesk of 5 people, and now I’m a Network Admin. It helps to learn the systems from the bottom up. A couple of years experience with the setup of the organisation really, really helps in the interview for the next job. I actually beat a guy with more qualifications for my job, because I already knew the systems and setup inside out.
   It’s also worth remembering that every organisation is different. From the anti-virus they use, to their mail servers, to the way they ghost image machines, it will be bespoke to that organisation, so it’s hard to join a team half way up the rankings and hit the ground running.
   Daily, I start with ensuring backups are complete, and then give the green light for a member of staff to swap server tapes (there’s 42 of them, so it’s a pretty big job), and then I’m allocated jobs from our Helpdesk that are shared out amongst the staff. These can range from setting up new users, to allocating fixed IP Addresses to new printers, or as I’ve been doing today, putting a new switch into a hub to help expand how many users can work in a particular department.
   Lastly, the pay in the UK is pretty average. Those median income figures are way inflated due to contractors, who are paid by the day, and so their annual income is this massive figure, that they never actually reach, because to get that $77k they’d have to work every single day of a whole year.
   There is the option of contracting, which I’ve done, and although it paid way more, any holiday or sick days were unpaid, and you are paid for the work you do, rather than have a contract. You’re also at the mercy of the employer suddenly deciding you’re no longer needed, and then you’re out of a job with a day or so notice, just when you’d got to know everyone.
   Working for an organisation with it’s own IT department is, in my experience, the best way to go. The pay is less than contracting, but you’re so, so much more secure, knowing you have a full contract, with sick pay, and holiday allocations etc, and of course, you’re protected by HR/Personell rules.
   I wouldn’t say I was badly paid, at about $50k.

2. Fraggle Says

   First, avoid ITT. They pretty much rip you off and ITT grads have a bad rep. You’ll be much better off with a BS or even an AS in Computer Science from a real school, and that may even be cheaper than ITT. You can also look into various certifications, like Cisco certs, which are good for network admins. If you’re interested in data security, you might also check out the A+ Security cert.
   There is some discrimination against women in the field. Several years ago I was hired for a job that involved (so I was told) system administration of Solaris based DNS servers. They had me doing clerical work, despite the fact that I had more sysadmin experience than many of the male team members – some of them even asked me questions about how to do their jobs. Things aren’t usually quite so blatant these days, and it also varies based upon corporate culture. I’ve been working in academia at multiple universities because they’re much better about gender discrimination. But my husband’s office, for example, still only hires women in support positions. It’s not an official policy, but that’s the way it is. The only technical woman in his group (of over 50 people) has a Ph.D in Statistics and was hired because her mentor and thesis advisor works there and pushed hard to get her hired. My group, on the other hand, is almost 100% female now – we do Solaris and Windows administration as well as supporting the university Blackboard installation.
   I worked as a student for the IT department while in school. Again, I did clerical work. The VPIT had an assistant who had an assistant, and I was the assistant to the assistant’s assistant. My husband worked his way through college as a Unix admin.
   Getting your career off the ground can be daunting. Your best bet is to get involved while in school – look into internships or try to score a student job for the IT group, like working in a computer lab. Certifications can also help to supplement your degree. But networking with others is key. Find professional or student groups to get involved with. Be prepared to relocate if need be.
   Good luck. Working in IT can be challenging and really fulfilling, even if it’s frustrating at times. Ultimately it can be very rewarding.

3. Phlll Says

   Being a girl will not work against you. We’re about 40% female at my workplace (I’m male.)
   In college I worked at a photo lab, and also at a call center for Dish Network.
   Most of the job is user accounts/backup tapes/putting out general fires. Some days are exciting, others not so much.
   I work at a non-profit and don’t make that much (the 77k). My wife works at a steel company and is also below that amount. But we do not work in a major city, so the trade-off is there. (If I wanted to pay $20 a day to park and sit in traffic for 2 hours a day, I could make that much… not my bag.)
   You most likely will have to start as a Tech and work your way up. It’s learning the ropes and a very valuable experience. You’ll learn far more that way than you ever will in school.
   I took all my courses at a Community College. The lack of a 4 year degree hurts a little, but multiple Associates degrees help. CC is cheap, ITT is not. Avoid ITT like the plague.
   Good luck! You sound like the kind of curious person I look to hire!

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