Dear SysAdmin: A Letter to Your Past Self

Remember what used to keep you up at night but now seems trivial? We promise, no one else noticed your acne back in high school or that time you busted a move on the dance floor. We’re all shaped by life’s countless awkward, funny, difficult, proud, or painful moments and experiences. So, what if you could go back in time and give the past version of yourself some advice?

To celebrate SysAdmin Day this year, we want you to tell us about the start of your SysAdmin career and what advice you would give your past self. What do you wish you knew about your job when you first started? Maybe it’s your most frustrating moment, or your funniest *SysAdmin fail*. Would you have done anything differently if you knew then what you know now? Whatever it is—whatever makes you who you are today—we want to know.

Although it’s impossible to travel through time (yet), reflecting on the past is often the best way to avoid repeating mistakes, grow from our experience, and help others. So, we’d also love to know: what advice would you give future SysAdmins and tech pros after reflecting on your own career?

Tell us by Tuesday, July 16, and we’ll drop 250 THWACKRegistered points into your account.

  • Second this: never stop learning no matter how busy it gets.

    mudassir  wrote:

    My advice to my past System Admin is to get trained! Spend time in reading blogs, watching videos and taking up courses. It definitely helps, you recall/remember what you learned years later when you least expect it. Also, don't just confine yourself to one topic/area. Talk a lot to your colleagues from different teams like DBAs, SAN Admins etc to understand other's perspective.

  • The main thing and most important simple thing I'd tell myself... "YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS!" - The simple key is just letting the customer know that your concerned about their problem and you're trying to help.  Also this means just telling them with status once in while that "YOU ARE WORKING ON IT!"  I've found, the hard way, that you don't even really need to solve all the problems... but it's so important to make sure the customer knows you are actively involved with working their problem and their problem is important to you.  It sounds so simple but boy can it get in BIG trouble if you don't do this!

    Bill

  • You've offered an interesting point of view.  Where I work, being a System Administrator (Server admin) pays better than being a Network Analyst.  About $10K to $25K, depending on the position.  It probably depends on industry and location.

    Certainly working in bigger cities for bigger companies can result in much bigger compensation.  But some forms of lower pay come with their own better non-salaried compensation, like living and working where your friends and family are, where you grew up, where you have no traffic to contend with, where you can have a lake home or cabin (or both!) for very-affordable costs, and where the air is clean and it doesn't get too hot or too humid or too cold.

    On the other hand, some negatives can accompany those jobs that are occasionally in "better" environments.  Mosquitoes, for example.

  • My advice to my past System Admin is to get trained! Spend time in reading blogs, watching videos and taking up courses. It definitely helps, you recall/remember what you learned years later when you least expect it. Also, don't just confine yourself to one topic/area. Talk a lot to your colleagues from different teams like DBAs, SAN Admins etc to understand other's perspective.

    When it comes to being technically strong, always reach out to tech support without hesitation and ask questions!

    Thanks

    Mudassir Syed

  • Don't sweat time on call and accept it.  You are going to be on call one way or another the rest of your IT career even when scheduled not to be.

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