What degree would be most useful in a system administration career?

Question

I'm getting to the point where I need to start looking into colleges and degrees. I don't think that Computer Science is a good degree for system administrators simply because it seems to be more about programming and less about managing servers and networks. I really don't want to spend 4 years just going for a piece of paper. I'd rather learn something useful. That leads me to my question. What degree would you recommend or should I just stick with Computer Science? I've seen degrees such as Network Systems Administration and Computer Informations System. I just don't want to be passed up simply because the people hiring never heard of that degree.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Having only an Associate Degree and a hundred and twenty hours of addt'l "for fun" classes I certainly don't think I'm a good person to offer you advice on a particular degree program. Based on my experience working with sysadmins who were "wanting" for some skills (and seeing what skills I've developed that have helped me) I do have some advice for elective focus in whatever degree program you end up in.

Please have a good foundation of basic computer science and computational thinking, whatever you do. Understanding algorithms, the hierarchy of storage, basic operating system concepts (context switching, address space protection, etc), and having some programming skill goes a long way. You'll find these skills very useful when dealing, particularly, with performance-related problems and evaluating the architecture of applications you might be deploying to help in scaling.

You should know practical software engineering practices like using version control, modularity, and testing. Even if you don't end up being a developer you will, at some level, have to interface with developers and the code that they've written. Knowing what goes on in the minds of developers (or, more often, what should have been going on but wasn't) is a tremendously helpful skill.

I'm of the opinion that deep training on specific technologies is a waste. The fundamentals don't change, and they're the place to focus. If I can think of anything specific, though, you should probably take the time to learn C. At the very least, the lessons you learn from C about memory management, pointers, and programming fairly close to the metal will help you later when you're dealing with misbehaving software or hardware. You should also be comfortable with understanding data structures because, quite often, looking at the data that's flying across the wire or being written to disk is the best way to understand a problem. I think C, personally, does a good job of getting you fairly close to the bits and bytes that make up binary file formats and network protocols.

I'm of the opinion that having some basic business knowledge, economics, and management would go a long way, too. Personally, I don't want to be "siloed" and I want to understand the business case justification for technology so that I can get in on the "design" phase, as opposed to always being the "grunt" that is given the project to implement w/ little or no say in how it was designed. As a business owner these skills have also been helpful in managing my own business.

Even as an employee, though, looking at my personal finances and employee / employer relationship in the light of being a business relationship (an employee is a "vendor" and the employer is the "customer"... and you should never forget that there are other "vendors" out there who may be better / faster / cheaper / etc) has proven, for me, to be a good way to run my life.

College didn't give me experience in all of the areas that I described, and I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect that it won't for you, either. If systems administration is something you really want to do (and do well) then you'll take the time, outside school, to obtain internships, study independently, find mentors in the community, "network", etc, to build the skills and experience you'll need to be a great sysadmin. Getting out there and working in the field (be it break / fix PC work, helpdesk technician, junior sysadmin, intern, etc) is something you definitely ought to be looking for (and a great way to supplement your income while you're in school).

Answer 2

An IT degree through your favorite university's business college should provide a well-rounded background in the different business areas (accounting, management, etc). It can be excessively tedious taking the required 1 or 2 marketing classes, for example - but having the terminology to speak to leaders in each department is absolutely indispensable.

IMO, this is what the degree is about. You're not going to pick up long-lasting technical skills at a university (if you do, I'm impressed with them). You're going to pick up fundamental topics and soft skills that help you coexist in an organization.

Unless your focus is system administration in something other than a business setting?

Answer 3

I have a CS degree with an MBA - and I did just what "Chris S" alludes to - I knocked out the Master's degree early because I don't want to bang on keyboards my entire life, although I enjoy it very much for the time being.

The undergraduate degree of choice will vary greatly depending on your financial posture, geographic area (what schools are within reach), and the cirriculum defined in various programs. Some schools teach 2-3 classes in advanced Operating Systems and would give you the flexibility to bounce around within the various IT subspecialties.

The short answer is: do your homework on the programs within your reach, and ask a ton of questions. Find the school computer lab and chat up the idle lab assistant and find out what classes people in the room are taking. Maybe they'll let you crash a lecture or a discussion forum.

As far as "being passed up because they haven't heard of the degree" - not likely. Good managers know that schools will give different names to tech degrees and specialty programs. If you can do a great job of explaining all the things that you learned and how they fulfill the requirements of the position you're looking for (don't forget to talk about how you'll "add value"), they won't care what the degree is called - you'll have done a convincing job that they should give you a chance to help them solve problems.

Answer 4

Everyone loves MBAs. Let your experience show that you know computers.

Answer 5

Computer Engineering, SCADA

btw I have CS degree with a specialization "computer networks, electronics and electrotechnics". You may look for similar in your region.

But if I gonna choose the speciality now, I would prefer go to CI rather than CS. When I has been studying they have had a better course of the circuitry and electrotechnics. On the other hand CS gives you more programming skills, also useful for a scripting, own software for the administration, self-fixing a bugs in the open source programs etc

Answer 6

c10k Consulting's comment is the best and most meaningful answer so far. Before signing up for those 4 years of study just look back at the changes that have occurred in the past 4 years. You can go and do all kinds of courses, only to find out that much of what you've learned was being made obsolete while you were learning it. Learn by all means but consider doing it in ways that actually matter, which more than anything else should be hands-on.

If you're serious about System Administration (a key point which some have overlooked in their answers) look at studying through industry certification courses. Mostly they are relevant and meaningful, at least to prospective employers.

As early as possible try to get your foot in the door by taking on whatever roles you can get doing real work with real computers, real networks and real people (even if they are geeks). Sadly, bits of paper are viewed as important by many employers but so far I've yet to come across one who won't drop the requirement for tertiary qualifications in favour of real world experience.

Kara's comments about learning to speak to "leaders in each department" has some validity but I believe you'll learn that through life a whole lot faster than you'll learn it in a classroom. Besides, few if any of those leaders will actually understand technical terminology anyway. They may think they do but their understanding will generally be way off. For that reason you need to learn how to think tech but speak in simple English. Again, you don't learn that in a classroom.