Network and System Administration – a Great Career Option
With automation/ computerization on the rise, there is a huge demand for Network and System Administration professionals. And the demand is still growing with more and more tasks / processes being computerized. Moreover, the demand is also being fuelled by the developing countries that are looking to automate their systems and processes using computers. And then you have newer industry segments looking to IT (Information Technology) for cost saving solutions. Finally, you have the ecological movements that are talking about saving paper (and the trees) and moving to an e-world i.e. electronic form of communications.
Wow!! That really seems like a huge demand. But then, what are the skills that a networking and system admin professional should possess?
Problem solving skill is the most important for any network or system administrator, and rightly so since that (solving computer / network related problems) is the most important expectation from a system or network admin. You must be able to build a logical approach for attacking a system/network problem i.e. you must be able to build a series of steps (check points) for identifying and solving the problem. If you are not able to build the right sequence of steps, you will end up losing a lot of time and might not be able to solve the problem altogether.
But you will be able to identify and sequence the steps only if you are thorough with your subject and have complete knowledge of various things that affect networks and systems. Here is a list of technical skills that you must develop:
1.On the networking side, you must have a good grasp over TCP/IP, network cabling, routers/ switches/ other hardware, data recovery tools, anti-virus software, Ethernet, directory services, domain configurations and networking concepts. However, for advanced network administration, you would also need to know concepts like VPN (virtual private networks), distributed computing and a lot more.
2.On system administration side, you would be expected to have a good knowledge of performance tuning, operating system updates / patches, back up utilities, setting up user accounts, system security, software/ hardware configurations and most importantly all sorts of troubleshooting.
Based on size of the organization, there might be dedicated people / teams with specialized skills or there might be one single person / team that would be required to do all the jobs.
If you are looking to build a career in network and system administration, formal education will be of great help. There are general courses in which you learn about the general aspects of network and system administration; and there are specialized courses that deal with specific aspects of network and system administration e.g. there are courses that are dedicated to Cisco network administration (CCNA -Cisco Certified Network Associate). And then you also have all-in-one kind of courses that teach you everything about network and system administration.
Besides providing you an overall perspective and education in the field of network and system administration, these courses will also add to your resume and will help you get your first job.
So, network and system administration is really a very lucrative option; and if you are really dedicated and skilled, there would be no dearth of opportunities for you (and that too with good pay packages).
About the Author: Read more about nettverksadministrasjon and systemadministrasjon at Noroff.no
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