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Not exactly a system administrator problem, I'll admit - however, ServerFault seems like the only active place where sysadmins are gathering, bar usenet. As part of the South Australian Certificate of Education, I have to do workplace experience/investigation. If anyone could answer even some of the questions it would be greatly appreciated.

Job duties and tasks?
Conditions of employment (rates of pay, holidays, leave etc)?
Career Pathways (where does the job lead?)?
Personal Requirements?
Education and training required?
Useful subject choices?
Skills required?
Effect of job on your lifestyle (eg night/shift work, travel time, health issues etc)?
Emplyment prospects in the near future?

I left out the question - Why this job is one in which you are interested - since that is really a question only I can answer. However if you want to give me your answer to that as well, I would be interested to know why you are interested in being a Sysadmin.

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Man I had to do something like this for my Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), I feel your pain. They're stupid requirements. I live in NSW now and they don't make you do that here (but they have a thousand other things they make students do). – Mark Henderson♦ Sep 16 '09 at 3:47
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closed as too localized by Iain♦ Feb 7 at 22:11

This question is unlikely to ever help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

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As this is a global site, and some of what you ask is location sensitive I would say only the Aussies here can answer all your questions, although some things (lifestyle, skills, etc.) tends to be about the same everywhere.

I suggest you contact your careers adviser or even some of the employment agencies that specialise in IT jobs and have a talk with them. Most of the better recruiters were previously in the trade. I haven't kept my contacts in SA, so can't help you there, but if all else fails there's always Google and the phone books. If possible spend some on the job time, perhaps even at your school/college/uni.

Everyone will have their own reasons for getting into this line of work but for me it's a simple case that for health reasons I had to give up what I would prefer to be doing and take what amounts to a desk job instead. Oh, about that lifestyle question - You can either become a sysadmin or have a life. Your choice. Seriously, this can be incredibly variable. I (now) work close to a fixed 40 hour week. Some will work 50 or 60+. I work weekdays, some work other shifts, even those horrid rotating shifts.

Education and training: Far too broad a question but some will spend years studying what is referred to as "computer science", only to discover later on that it's really an art, not a science. Others simply pick it up along the way, often while aiming at a completely different career path. And of course everything in between.

Where does the job lead? Impossible to say. No different to any other job really. Where do you want it to lead?

Health: You WILL get sick of it. It's only a matter of when. Again, just like any other job. Other than that it will depend a fair bit on how well you deal with stress and pressure.

Personal requirements: Check out this link

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