System/Network Administrators and Programmers
 

Where's a good website where I can learn more about being a system/network admin? I'm a pre-CIS major right now and was wondering if that's the major I should be in; I originally wanted to be a programmer, and still might become one. Is learning linux a good idea for someone who's interested in becoming a sys admin? I'm pretty sure it is, but I don't know if it's that big of a deal... Around how much do sys admins get paid? I heard around 100-300k/year!!! Seriously, I did. So yeah, I don't see any majors that jump out at me saying "system admin" or "network admin," so I'm sticking with pre-cis.

Oh yeah... I read that it's hard for a programmer to find a job after the age 40. Is that true? I'm pretty sure I got it from here.

1st Learning Linux WILL help you to be a sysadmin! One thing you should consider is working on a project like, build a firewall/router, run a web server, try and run Linux full time, set up a Windows domain using SAMBA. All of these projects will help you learn not just Linux but also something about networking, and something about maintaining a system or group of systems.

I graduated college with a degree in computer science, and currently work as a developer, however I was a sysadmin through my college career and loved it. In fact I do sysadmin work on the side for extra money. I did find, however that the best sysadmins knew how to program and computer science is a big boots. Some may say you dont need a degree in CS to learn sh or Perl (two languages that you are required to lean to be a good *NIX admin), but some of the most interesting work I did as an admin was deploy an enterprise Java app, which required a lot of understanding of the Java programming language and a lot of CS fundamentals.

I'm not saying you should jump into CS but that you can do CS and not be a programmer, and that it will help you on your way to be a very good admin.


-Matt

P.S. I think its crap to say that is hard to find a programming job after 40. If you stay on your game and keep up with technology then you will never have trouble getting a job!

Re: System/Network Administrators and Programmers
 

I am a Systems Administrator for a large company... it is possible to make 100k(american) a year... but making much over it is a rarity. It's also a rarity to be fresh out of college with a CIS and make 100k as well. count on making around 40-50k a year fresh out.. get a year or two's expiernece then you should/may be able to get anywhere from 70-100. I have no degree.. and it has taken me 5 years to make a decent amount of money but its not close to 100k. without a degree however I doubt I will ever see over a 100k. I am currently working on a degree so hopefully it will happen one day.

Location is a huge part of what you will make. Living in an area with 3 Universities pushing out various CS/IS graduates does not help the average wage around here. :rolleyes:

I would recommend Linux if your interested in sysadmin. You might wind up supporting Solaris or AIX but it's probably better than the alternative.

Some may say you dont need a degree in CS to learn sh or Perl (two languages that you are required to lean to be a good *NIX admin^ç

That is true, I am a Comp Sci Student right now, and I knew perl before I even started school. Well actually C also, but you get the point.

Perl is one of those languages, where it isn´t hard to learn or pick up. I love it, my main language.

If you intend to be a Unix or Linux System Admin, you have got to know how to bash script or code in perl. The reason is, there are plenty of tasks that you will have to do, from deleting files that end in .pl to deleting many users accounts, to chroot jailing someone.

Being able to do basic tasks with coding is a must for any System Admin IMHO. I have to also agree with Mhiggins, I system admin now, and it is a blast. I get to have fun.

It is definately one of those jobs, that is rewarding if you like what you do.