Any1 work as a Systems Administrator?

cheghead

Got a job interview at the NHS tomorrow and wondered if any1 had any experience in this field and could let me know whats involved.

Or have any questions I could ask?

Tallymanjohn

Hmmm, what does the job spec say? - usually NHS have very detailed criteria/descriptions. Sys. admin's job is basically keeping the network up & running.

startrekker

Bit scary this(no Holloween pun intended). I mean if you dont know what it means why are you going for it?

BillScarab

I work as a Sys Admin, working on HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, RedHat and Windows systems. Basically the job involves managing servers on a day to day basis, so we're responsible for applying patches and upgrades, montioring the servers and fixing any problems that occur, capacity management and User Admin. We are also responsible for building nw servers and installing the applications and decommissioning servers when they are no longer required. Sometimes we also get involved in the design of systems as well.

We don't get involved with teh networking side much, all of that is managed by the network admins.

Kevicho

startrekker wrote:

Bit scary this(no Holloween pun intended). I mean if you dont know what it means why are you going for it?

typical of the NHS, hiring people who dont know what they are doing

cheghead

startrekker wrote:

Bit scary this(no Holloween pun intended). I mean if you dont know what it means why are you going for it?

Put forward by HR. The job description is quite vague.

Personally I think they are just putting any1 forward for any vacancy if they are 'at risk' as they call it.

cheghead

BillScarab wrote:

I work as a Sys Admin, working on HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, RedHat and Windows systems. Basically the job involves managing servers on a day to day basis, so we're responsible for applying patches and upgrades, montioring the servers and fixing any problems that occur, capacity management and User Admin. We are also responsible for building nw servers and installing the applications and decommissioning servers when they are no longer required. Sometimes we also get involved in the design of systems as well.

We don't get involved with teh networking side much, all of that is managed by the network admins.

How much training/qualifications did this require before or after you started the job?

pksaraf

sysadmin covers pretty much as described by billscarab. basically you maintain the systems to ensure they run efficiently, have the required availability and perform according to the expectations. monitoring, resolving issues, managing backups etc are the day to day activities involved. you may get involved in the likes of network admin etc depending on the size and complexities involved. for a small org, you will see yourself doing anything and everything as a sayadmin, but i dont think that will be true at nhs!

pksaraf

to start with, you will require training based on the operating system you are working on. you do see people with no background becoming sysadmins as part of graduate programs, starting with 2-3 weeks of training courses, and then increasing their knowledge as they go along. a lot of certifications are available (like mcse / mcsd for Microsoft) if you want to further specialise..

it is a wide field - you can start with zero training and may spend your entire life doing it, and still require training every year as new technologies come in..

cheghead

pksaraf wrote:

to start with, you will require training based on the operating system you are working on. you do see people with no background becoming sysadmins as part of graduate programs, starting with 2-3 weeks of training courses, and then increasing their knowledge as they go along. a lot of certifications are available (like mcse / mcsd for Microsoft) if you want to further specialise..

it is a wide field - you can start with zero training and may spend your entire life doing it, and still require training every year as new technologies come in..

Thanks for all the replies!

Although I am from an electronic repair background and I think maybe I could do it, taking into account most of the feedback and my sceptical nature, I had pretty much talked myself into not persuing it further. There are some Filing/Clerical vacancies also at the same interview which I think I'll probably go for instead.

BillScarab

I got into through working as a Mainframe Operator and Operations Analyst many, many years ago. As the industry changed and things moved on I drifted into Systems Admin. Personally, I don't actually have any specific qualifications. I have done some courses paid for by my employers, the rest is what I've been taught or picked up on the job. For anything not covered by training or experince there's always Google!