Who is a system administrator what is their job?

A system administrator is a professional in information technology and makes sure that computer systems in an organization run efficiently and smoothly. They are employed for marinating, installing and configuring software along with supporting hardware and related infrastructures in an organization. They makes sure that all the software and hardware along with network segments, servers, middleware, mainframes, databases and data storages and backups and all the software related issues are maintained properly and work properly . They frequently conduct technical research work and make the management for any further recommendations for systems upgrades.  They manage system changes and respond to user reported problems and implement security controls to protect the unity or integrity of the core infrastructure.

System administrator mainly troubleshoot technical issues in an organizational setup by providing support to software developers, technical architects, project managers, and many other professionals in using the complex computing platforms and shared technology environment . They are the main people who will decide technical requirements in the organization and identify the risks if any to the existing infrastructure and help in developing the organizations technology. They maintain all these programs by using utility programs which will optimize the processing environment on a computer system. They are typically found working in data processing or information systems department.

Educational requirements of system administrator:

System administrators are responsible for the overall development of the computer systems in organizations.

They maintain, install and configure systems and help all the employees in the organization by frequently looking into the systems.

They require a set of qualifications to meet all the duties in organizations.

The following are the requirements for system administration profession.

• The basic qualification required for system administrator is a four year bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, MIS, or information science or any other related courses which will enable them to enter into computer programming field.

• Having knowledge in software programming like C++ programming is an added advantage along with general system aspects, statistics and mathematics.

• Most of the employers will look for the candidates who have master’s degree so having a master’s degree in related fields like network and system administration, MIS would be very helpful for a higher post in the organization.

• For carrying out the better responsibilities as a system administrator they need to have knowledge in marketing, finance, accounting and management which are considered important and many business schools and universities offer these courses.

• For some employers having a associate degree with related certification may also be enough for entry level positions as computer support specialists and they can get higher positions by experience or further education.

• For that extra credit thing candidates can go about getting an internship while at the final semester in the college level which should be done under the supervision of reputed system administration organizations which in turn prove them as better candidates for the job.

• As an intern they will have chance to learn about the theoretical skills and analytical skills which are required for system administrator who places theoretical skills into practical use and also use analytical thinking to solve problems related to software and hardware.

Salary and remuneration for system administrators:

Depending on various factors like years of experience, geographical location the salary of office assistants differs according to rules and regulations of each state.

• The median average annual income of system administrators is between $67,710 and an hourly wage of $32.44 per annum.

• The starting salary of system administrators who less than one year of experience is between $29,277 and $58,429 per annum

• System administrators who have   more than one year of experience earned an average salary of $32,578 and $63,140 per annum.

• System administrators with more than five years of experience up to nine years earned between $36,872 and $71,733 per annum.

• The income of system administrators who are with ten to nineteen years of experience earn between $41,570 and $83,572 per annum.

• System administrators with more than twenty years of experience will get an average income of $43768 and $93,349 per annum.

The type of employer they work also plays an important role in determining salaries as it mostly depends on the company size and the industry type.

Salaries according to different employer

• System administrators working for information technology and IT services earn the highest salary of between $34,724 and $78,881 per annum.

• System administrators working for manufacturing and distribution earn an average income of $40,520 and $70,689 per annum.

• System administrators working for Health care industry earn an average income of $40,385 and $81,035 per annum.

• System administrators working for financial services earn an average income of $36,948 and $80,178 per annum.

• System administrators working for military and armed forces earn an average income of $26,552 and $80,045 per annum.

• System administrators working for Education, college or university earn an average income of $37,297 and $67,752 per annum.

Salaries according to different states in United States:

• System administrators working in New York can earn an average income of $39,568 and $90,989 per annum.

• System administrators working in Houston can earn an average income of $31,119 and $80,293 per annum.

• System administrators working in Chicago can earn an average income of $30,884 and $75,394 per annum.

• System administrators working in California can earn an average income of $35,442 and $77,544 per annum.

• System administrators working in Atlanta can earn an average income of $30,400 and $88,188 per annum.

Skills needed for system administrator:

A system administrator not only requires technical knowledge but having skills are also very important.

Employers look for the candidates those who have more of general skills than technical skills.

So skills and abilities are equally important to technical skills for them to get hired.

The essential skills that are important for system administrators are as follows:

• Learning skills: System administrators should be able to learn new things by themselves as this career requires them to learn new and upcoming new technologies and software to learn by themselves without any guidance. Most of the times they will have to do something which they haven’t learned could be installing a new product or trouble shooting a new product.

• Troubleshooting skills: System administrators should be able to fix any kind of problem in a speedy manner. They should be able to solve any issues with ease. So that their abilities be top notch.

• Customer service skills: System administrator frequently interacts with everyone in the organization and responds to their problems while resolving them. They need to make the employees understand the problem and resolve it and see to it that they don’t have any problem using the technology. By this they don’t only make individuals happy but also the company.

• Able to work under pressure: System administrator should be able to work under extreme pressure when system in the organization goes down they need to provide immediate support immaterial of time as the whole organization will be waiting for the system to be up soon. And also a company will have to lose drastic amounts of revenue if the systems are down so they need to troubleshoot them immediately and make the systems up at the earliest.

• Writing skills: System administrators should be good at writing skills as they translate and document some of the important usage of operating systems it should be understandable to everyone in the organization.

• Communication skills: They need to have good communication skills as they deal with all kinds of employees in the organization from software engineers to the technical architects they are expected to have very good communication skills. Having good communication also plays an important while being hired in the organization.

What does a system administrator do?

As almost all the organizations in the world today depend on computers in their offices and warehouses.as these computer systems need frequent maintenance and sustainment a system administrator will be able to manage these computer system to work and function properly.

Mostly these system administrators are found working in office setups like corporations, small and medium sized business and government agencies.

Duties and responsibilities of system administrators:

• They main responsibility of the system administrator is to install, design and configure computer systems in an organization.
• They are responsible for efficient running of LAN’s, WAN’s, internet and intranet systems for organizations computer systems.
• They need to maintain and operate system software and hardware in all the computer system in an organization.
• They need to ensure that system hardware and software configurations, its operating systems and procedures are according to the organizations norms, standards and values.
• They are responsible for creating accounts when any new employee comes in the organization and create passwords.
• They need to help software engineers and other technical architects in using and understanding the new software.
• They may also have to train staff about using the new software in groups and the programs installed on the system.
• They need to immediately troubleshoot the problems which are reported by the users in the organization.
• They need to frequently collect data from various sources to monitor system efficiency.
• They need to take the backup of the data daily and purge the data when necessary.
• They need to provide system and network security always.
• They are always expected to update systems when any new version of operating systems and application software comes into the market.
• They are responsible for verifying the working of peripherals in the organization.
• They are responsible for frequent security check ups to detect any infections and clean them immediately.
• They are responsible for training newly hired technicians and junior workers in the organization.
• They are responsible for implementing policies for the use of computer system and network.
• They need to setup security policies for the users and must have a strong grip of computer security like firewalls etc…
• They are responsible for communicating about any system failures to the users in the office and also need to update them about the possible uptime.

Certifications for system administrators:

Certifications and licenses differ from one state to another seeking to become system administrators.

As Microsoft provides number of certifications for system administrators these would help them get better opportunities and fetch them higher positions.

Having these certifications will help them show their abilities to the employers about properly administering of systems and networks.

• MCSA-is an acronym for Microsoft Certified System Administrator which will allow system administrators in managing and troubleshooting network systems which are implemented on windows server operating systems.

• Interested candidates must go through two examinations on networking systems and an elective examination.

• MCSE- is an acronym for Microsoft Certified System Engineer – having this certification provides knowledge in skills which involve designing, implementing, and administering Microsoft Windows server platforms.

• Candidates who are interested must go through four examinations conducted by Microsoft systems for different versions of windows and examination on network infrastructure and an examination on electives.

• MCAD-is an acronym for Microsoft Certified Applications Developer this certification validates the knowledge in skills as an application developer for windows platforms.

• This certification is actually designed for intermediate level programmer who works as a member of development team in an organization.

• MCSD- is an acronym for Microsoft Certified Solutions developer which will validate skills in developing and designing applications using Microsoft development tools and technologies and other Microsoft framework.

• MCT is an acronym for Microsoft certified trainer this certification gives the ability to lead training programs which will be conducted in organizations for other certification tracks.

• Interested candidates must have extraordinary instructional skills to become MCT certified.