Hi All

I'm having a issue with my boss regarding the difference and cover scope between

A - Linux Administrator ?

B - Linux Systems Administrator ?

C - Linux Engineer ?


Regards,
LinuxRSA

Hi neighbour ;-)

I'm not sure what the distinction between A and B would be? For B vs C, the Linux Foundation's certifications use the terms "Administrator" and "Engineer" respectively, so their definitions might help. Check out:

- https://training.linuxfoundation.org/certification/lfcs
- https://training.linuxfoundation.org/certification/lfce

Regards,

Clifford

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There is no standard meaning for these terms.

If this is what you and your boss are arguing about, seek employment somewhere else.Quite correct.

And highly depend on the environment/company/infrastructure/whatever.
Without context they are meaningless.

I've bolded a part above, which I believe is probably the cause of your 'issue'.

Short answer: your "cover scope" is WHATEVER your boss tells you to do, period. I've seen 'administrators' be responsible for doing one small thing, and others who will put memory into chassis, put box in rack, and run network cables too. Depends on where you are, and what your boss TELLS YOU to do. If he decides your 'scope' is picking up their dry cleaning and getting them coffee, that's your job scope...whether you DO IT or not is up to you.

Hi,
Do you have a contract with your employer? If so, how is your job description outlined and provided? Do you have a HR that you can query these issues with? We have no idea as to your environment within the company. You could do a 'DuckDuckGo' or 'Google' search but that too would not necessarily describe the job as applied to your company. The search results maybe broad for all your terms since each result will be for the scope as presented by each company. That is why your HR should be able to provide description as pertained to your company and your contract with it.

You could go to some major Gnu/Linux to get some descriptions. One such would be Red Hat that would have specifics for each. But that too would not necessarily cause proof to your Boss since the job is being defined by him or your contract with that company.

If you do have a open relationship with your boss then ask him to define each and see where your position fits as you know it to be.

Hope this helps.

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They're all arbitrary terms for somebody who administers (in one form or another) one or more Linux machines. The actual name and scope of your job is defined by your employer.

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@OP probably best if you relate additional details. Because my thinking is that this is all about any of:

(1) Salary
(2) Job Responsibilities
(3) Differences of opinion about one or both of above between you, the boss, other people, etc

Perhaps elaborating. Otherwise it's all academic, right?

Be grateful you have a job and get back to work.

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Hi All
Thanks for your feedback much appreciated.

I do have a contract in Place with HR and Job description - Problem is the company Advertised a Linux Systems Administrator post right, when i signed the contract it had Systems Administrator as a Job Title.
The reason i left my Old Post Being a Unix Administrator is to Focus on Linux only.
By Accepting this Systems Administrator post it has opened my cover scope broadly
eg; I now have to do VMware - Backups - Networking - Topology Design - Monitoring - Virsh/Snapshots with Various Random Tasks

My Understanding is
A - Linux Administrator? Administrators a Linux Server List doing maintenance via CLI
B - Linux Systems Administrator? Administrators Various Linux Flavours eg: Redhat - Ubuntu - Fedora - SUSE - Gentoo etc via CLI
C - Linux Engineer? Administrators servers via CLI and Completes Hardware changes/upgrades in the Datacentre hence the Engineer Title.

eg: in Solaris You actually have a Server Engineer Exam to work on the Hardware - Which means you don't send a boyscout(Admin) to do a Eagle Scouts(Engineers) work

There are to Various Linux Levels In no Particular Order You Get = Admin - Professional - Engineer - Specialist - Artictech - Consultant Surely all of these titles has a work set assigned to it and doesn’t make you a laundry boy.If you doing the laundry for your boss what else are you not telling us

What I mean to ask is if you have a Job Title as a Linux Systems Administrator do you work on only Linux or do you work as Systems Administrator? Do you stick to your standard working in the Dark(CLI) OR do you Open your cover scope till kingdom come. I told him he should of Hired a Systems Administrator with Linux Experience.

Thanks

Hi LinuxRSA,

As previous posters commented, there is no standard definition for any of these terms, or the others you mention (Professional, Specialist, Architect, etc). They mean different things to different people & companies.

More importantly, your responsibilities are not defined by, or necessarily restricted to what your job title says. If you have a job description, that means a lot more than the title in this regard. In the interests of the best possible relationship with your employer, and the best possible advancement opportunities, it's probably in your best interests to do whatever your boss tells you to do as others have already said. Arguing about a task or refusing to do it because it isn't strictly within your "scope" won't do you any favours.

Having said all of that, I hope the job turns out being what you wanted, focussing mostly on what you prefer doing. Good luck!

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It's not particularly unusual for job tittles and descriptions to be a little malleable. I agree with the general comments of the previous posters and encourage you to start off on a positive footing, presenting an amiable and 'can do' attitude. There's often a degree of learning curve involved when starting any new job (unless one is downgrading). Think of it as providing new experiences, and you might get the opportunity for further training along the way as well.

I've been IT a long(!) time and I agree with all of the above.
A "SysAdmin" job primarily entails Admin at the SW level (on *nix this means cli), BUT it is indeed wide-ranging jack of all trades in the real world. The ratios of different types of work varies with each job.
The Job Description should(!) have listed the core skills and the other skills/tasks required.
A good qn in the interview when its your turn is to ask what the day-to-day job actually is ...

Definitely go with a positive attitude and expect to learn new skills.. In fact this applies to IT generally; this industry is notorious for having the fastest turnover of tech & skills compared to any other.
You never know, you might end up going down a different path once you've had a chance to try something new...

Wrong. Do you honestly think the people who work on hardware just shove something in a box, and walk away, leaving someone else to configure and test it? There may be an exam, but that does NOT mean that's all they do. And I absolutely CANNOT BELIEVE you're complaining that you're going to have to LEARN NEW THINGS. You're essentially getting paid to learn skills that will enhance your resume and make you more valuable later. And somehow, that's bad. You signed the contract, so if you want your old job back, speak up now. There's probably an exit clause where you can leave. You're not doing your new employer any favors by staying around with this attitude.
Again, YOU ARE WRONG. The terms you're using are arbitrary....they can mean anything, and are as fluid as water. Your employer can ask you to do ANYTHING they want...you work at a COMPANY, on a TEAM. Either you help doing whatever jobs need doing, or you need to pack your stuff and leave, and go find another job where you can have the correct amount of laziness set in stone in your job description, and can sit there and say "not my job" to people. And if you said this:
...to me, I'd have agreed wholeheartedly. Then I would have handed you a box to put your stuff in, and shown you the door, so I *COULD* go hire someone else.

Want some advice? Quit your whining about how 'unfair' it is your boss is, by asking you to actually do WORK, and focus on EARNING your paycheck, and providing real value to your employer. Who do you think is going to get a promotion or raise? The guy who sits around going "This isn't in my cover scope...that's not my job...", or the guy who says "I'll get it done", then DOES IT?

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