Re: Calling All Unix Patriots

From: Doug Freyburger (dfreybur_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 10/28/03 

Date: 28 Oct 2003 09:28:07 -0800

HasanWahdan wrote:
>
> I'll begin by making this statement: If this is the wrong area to make this
> type of posting then please forgive my ignorance. If there is a better list
> for these types of postings then please point me in the right direction.

Discussion about the career field is on topic. It's neither job
nor resume posting.

> Here's a quick synopsis of where I've been. I started my Unix career 15 years
> ago for a company in Reston, Virginia. I began as a night-time operator
> performing backups on 20+ RISC/M68000 systems then 6 months later became a
> fledgling Unix admin. I remained in that position for 7 years progressing to a
> senior unix admin/supervisor. During that time, I decided to leave (rather a
> lengthy story, but basically resulted in a person lacking integrity and I
> decided I didn't want to work with him) my position and take a position in the
> Source Code Services group with the same company. The group was responsible
> for all builds using RCS/SCCS and I remained there until a massive layoff. I
> went on to do production support, some development work. Frankly, I regret the
> day I left the Unix Admin world. I absolutely loved my job and have been
> trying to get back to the field.

Add a stint doing feild service hardware support and you'd have a full house.
Development, operations, application support are all skills that an SA
needs at some level.

> -What are the core competencies that I should focus on?

There is a professional society in our field, so use them:

http://sageweb.sage.org/resources/publications/8_jobs/core.html

> -What are companies *really* looking for in candidates? They spew a great deal
> in their job requirements, but is that an ideal candidate?

They are looking for everythnig and they want to pay nothing. Of course.
But they have to settle for people who actually exist so everything is a
compromise.

> -What level of education is absolutely needed (i.e.; associates? bachelors?,
> masters?)

Absolutely needed? High school grad. But it's a lot easier to take someone
with a degree seriously than someone without a degree, so without a
Bachelors you will have trouble competing with those who do. There are
now associates in SA at some colleges, but it is an entry level degree.
A BS/CS tends to be generic but I use queuing theory, interupt servicing,
virtual memory option *constantly* in my day to day work now that I'm in
a senior slot. That stuff is part and parcel with a BS/CS degree. So
without you'll be limited to intermediate slots without a lot of extra
work. There are no masters in most of SA work (I'd love to be proven
wrong on this point!) so there is little extra benefit from a masters until
you move into management.

> -Does certification really matter?

Not usually with a few exceptions. Certification is a poor substitute
for either real experience (which you have already) or a degree. But
if you end up doing vendor support, certification in that one vendor will
be a part of the package. If you're targetting Sun Professional Services
as an employer doing Sun's certification tests is a great idea bit in
most other cases they're just cool looking initials that might never
help. But on occasion companies will have a bean counter filter on them.
That's more a reflection on how in trouble that company is than on the
candidate.

And now I'll offer a completely opposite viewpoint. There is a certification
offered by the professional society in the field. It needs work. Better
to support to justify that work than to ignore it and have that work not
happen. CPA, legal bar, PE and so on *all* started with certification
tests by their professional societies. They are all well respected now.
You wanna bet the early versions of their tests sucked? Don't think of
it as career enhancement today. Think of it as an investment in the future
of the field.

> Other observations from your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Several of your recent positions have been within the realm of what SAs
do at some companies. At other companies those activities get separate
groups. This says something about how your experience is applicable and
how to depict it.

> I can't stop anyone from making smart-ass, rude comments

Oh yeah? Says you!

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