IT Network Systems Administration 39
An IT Network Systems Administrator works in small or large organizations in the commercial and public sectors, offering a wide range of IT services which are critical for the operation of daily business. Any ‘downtime’ is costly for an organization therefore the IT Network Systems Administrator has a responsibility to work professionally and interactively with users in order to meet their needs and ensure continuance of the systems and service levels they require to perform their roles effectively. The IT Network Systems Administrator also offers advice and guidance on the development of systems and services to take the organization forward.
The IT Network Systems Administrator works in diverse environments including network operations centres, internet service providers, data centres e.g. Amazon and climate-controlled server rooms. He or she offers a wide range of services based on: user support, troubleshooting, design, installation/upgrading and configuration of operating systems and network devices.
The IT Network Systems Administrator may at some stage in their career specialize in user support, design, installation of operating systems or configuration of networking devices. Irrespective of this, work organization and self-management, communication and interpersonal skills, problem-solving, a dedication to research/keeping up to date with industry developments and a consistently methodical and investigative approach are the universal attributes of the outstanding IT Network Systems Administrator.
In a mobile labour market, the IT Network Systems Administrator may work in teams, or alone, or both from time to time. Whatever the structure of the work, the trained and experienced IT Network Systems Administrator takes on a high level of personal responsibility and autonomy. From ensuring businesses remain consistently in operation, with limited IT systems breakdowns, to contributing to the design of new systems, every process matters and mistakes cost the business money.
With the fast globalization of IT systems and the international mobility of people IT Network Systems Administrators face rapidly expanding opportunities and challenges. For the talented IT Network Systems Administrator there are many commercial, public sector and international opportunities; however, these carry with them the need to understand and work with diverse cultures, and to keep up to date with fast changing industry developments. The diversity of skills associated with IT network systems administration is therefore likely to expand.
Required skills
Attention to detail, technologically savvy, critical thinker, problem-solver
Career info
As all of us realize, a wide range of IT network administration services are critical today for the organization and operation of business, industry, and government. Any “downtime” is costly in terms of both lost productivity and cost.
The system administrator may apply a broad skill set or may choose to specialize among services including design, system installation/upgrading, troubleshooting, configuration of systems and network devices, and user support. Experts in this field keep up to date on research and technology, products and services in the industry, and maintain a consistent and methodical investigative approach to their work.
From ensuring commercial entities remain “up and running” with limited systems breakdowns, to contributing to the design and development of new and innovative systems, the role of the IT network systems administrator is widely accepted as business critical.
At the Competition
The Competitor is judged on their knowledge, understanding, and abilities to install, run, configure, and troubleshoot various components of the following:
- Various operating systems, both client and servers
- Wired and wireless internetworking devices
- Network security and system integration