GoldenEgg

Introduction

Did you ever have an issue with your computer at work? Or were struggling with the internet and had to call your “Tech Guy”? That is the System Administrator of your company. They have a really important responsibility in the company so all the electronic and tech work is running smoothly. With the growing dependency on tech and Tools, the demand for this job is rising. This is why we will talk in this blog post about what an IT Administrator does, his role and his responsibilities.

1. What is an IT Administrator

An IT Administrator is responsible to manage the company’s computer systems, servers, software and network.

So is System Administrator, Network administrator and SysAdmin the same? Not quite. We often use the terms interchangeably. SysAdmin is a short version of the System Administrator. So yes this is pretty much the same. Network Administrators focus on the network infrastructure, while System Administrators manage the individual systems and servers that make up the network.

It is often a behind-the-scene job, but it is a really important job. Without them your cash register wouldn’t work, if your internet or computer fails, you wouldn’t be able to do your job at all.

2. Daily Responsibilities of an IT Admin

IT admins have a lot of different daily tasks the work wwith. The job is never boring. Their responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Managing and configuring computer networks
• Monitoring system performance and uptime
• Creating and managing user accounts
• Setting permissions and access controls
• Troubleshooting hardware/software issues
• Installing software updates and patches
• Running backups and recovery tasks
• Setting up new employee computers and access
• Handling IT tickets from staff
• Coordinating with vendors (e.g., internet, security, cloud services)

3. Tools and Technologies Used by IT Admins

What technology they use and work with, depends a lot on the technology the company uses but it does not hurt to have a lot of those technologies under your belt so you can use it in different jobs.

Operating system is the most important tool they work with. In it we add, remove and change users, we change settings, install software or check network settings and troubleshoot errors. An other important tool are Networking Tools like Cisco or Wireshark. Some companies might also use Virtual Machines for running different OS. An other example for tools that is really important is the ticketing system like Jira. These tools including features for bug tracking, issue tracking, project management, and IT service management. Many System Administrators also work remotely. They don’t travel from New York to L.A. to New Orleans to cover all the locations of a company. They work from one location with remote desktop tools like TeamViewer, AnyDesk or others that give them the opportunity to access your computer remote to troubleshoot the problems. Others can be Backup & recovery software, Active Directory, Group Policy and Cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud basics).

4. Skills every System Admin needs

This list is of course not complete but some of the important skills are:

• Technical knowledge (networks, hardware, software)
• Problem-solving under pressure
• Communication (with tech and non-tech coworkers)
• Documentation and process management
• Time management and multitasking
• Cybersecurity basics
• Ability to learn new systems fast

So, why is that? the technical skills seem pretty obvious considering the responsibilities we talked about above. An IT Admin has to be able to fix and install networks, hardware and software. You need to know the tools you are working with in and out. What tools that is, can vary from company to company but the basic OS systems, the basic hardware (printers, mouse, keyboards and more) as well as the software that are common in many companies should be known.

Communication is key and you might say now I can communicate. But can you explain someone who knows zero about computers and has issues with those 2 tools this person is using all the time explain where the problem is? Without any tech jargon? Can you ask your 60 year old coworker who doesn’t know that Bluetooth has nothing to do with having blue teeth the questions in a way so he can give you the information you need without feeling stupid?

Multitasking and time management is an important part. If your VP is upset because his word doesn’t start which he should have for the meeting in half an hour but at the same time a network issue prevents all the cash registers in the store to not working during peak time, can you multitask multiple problems at once or prioritize what has to come first because it is more pressing? At times a job like that can be stressful.

Cybersecurity basics come in at multiple level. It starts with the passwords for new coworkers and goes on to have a good antivirus system on the computers and a firewall as well as a save network. If a coworker opened up this one email everybody else knew it has to be fake because you don’t just get a million dollar, clicked on the link in it and infested the whole system with a virus, You need to be able to clean the network, computers and system to ensure a safe work environment again.

5. Career Path: How to become an IT Admin

Depending on the company you don’t necessarily have to have a Bachelor’s degree in IT anymore to do this job. You can be self-taught if you can show that you have the skills needed. There are many Certificates that can help like Azure Administrator Associate, the Google IT Admin Certification or many others. Look in spots like Coursera to get started and increase your skills over time.

Good entry level jobs are Help Desk Technician or IT Support. From there you can Grow in different Careers like Network Engineer, IT Manager, DevOps or Security Analyst.

6. Challenges IT Admins Face

Over time you can face a variety of challenges as an IT Admin where upset Clients because they have to wait a little bit or they think you should just give them a new device instead of fixing it is only one of them. Its pretty common to work on-call. For example on the weekend. You are off but if there is an emergency happening it’s your on-call weekend where you have to go and take care of it if needed. You can also work odd hours, like staying until late in the night so the outage is fixed in the morning when the workers come back and need to be back up and running. The job also can come with a lot of pressure. If the stores whole system of cash register is down in the time where the store would be the most busy, the boss would rather have it fixed 5 minutes ago but in 2 hours. The balancing act between security and convenience is not always that easy neither. The user might be upset that he has to change the password again since he finally can remember the last one he changed 90 days ago without always having to look on the sticky note under the keyboard but the companies security policy requires you to do so.

7. Why Becoming an IT Admin?

The job security is pretty high and the demand too. We work with more and more tech and IT and while AI can help troubleshoot some, there is still the need for that person who solves all the problems for the people. Which also makes you this “Tech Hero” of the company who comes every time someone’s stuff doesn’t work does his magic and solves the problems. It also is a good entry point for a broader tech career. You might consider becoming a Network engineer later or a Software Developer. This skills will help you in many other IT jobs too. And it is a good mix of independence and team work. While you sometimes work with the user to fix the problem you also have a lot of jobs where you just can sit on a computer and talk only with the computer to solve an issue. Maybe even with nobody in the company after hour in a quiet, peaceful environment.

Conclusion

The role is essential for almost every medium-size to big company. It is in high demand and every company who has that one computer or this cash register with card reader needs someone who knows how to fix it. It is not all about tech, though you do have to have an interest in IT and tech for it, it involves a lot of problem-solving, investigative skills and communication. It is as much about Tech as it is about helping people. What do you think. Are you interested in anything related to this job or want to learn more skills in this area? Let me know in the comments and I will provide more.