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Job Name

System Administrator

Brief description

System Administrators are part of the business data communications segment which is the fastest growing segment of the IT&T industry (Australian Computer Society, 2007). A System Administrator provides and maintains computer services, including hardware and software to a group of users (System Administrators Guild of Australia (SAGE-AU, 2007). System Administrators maintain and operate a computer system or network through installing, supporting and maintaining servers or other computer systems as well as planning for and responding to service outages and other problems (Wikipedia, 2007). In short they are the information technology employees responsible for the efficient use of networks by organizations. They Ensure that the design of an organization's computer site allows all of the components, including computers, the network, and software, to fit together and work properly. (U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007)

A system administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain, and operate a computer system or network. System administrators may be members of an iIT department.(The Network Engineer - Learn practical system administration. )

The duties of a system administrator are wide-ranging, and vary widely from one organization to another. Sysadmins are usually charged with installing, supporting, and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and planning for and responding to service outages and other problems. Other duties may include scripting or light programming, project managment for systems-related projects, supervising or training computer operators, and being the consultant for computer problems beyond the knowledge of technical support staff. A System Administrator must demonstrate a blend of technical skills and responsibility.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_administrator)

Duties & responsibilities of this role

1. Develop and maintain CrimTrac/Minol IT systems to assist in the rapid sharing of operational policy information. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

2. Develop technical specifications for complex system requirements. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007)

3. Provide technical maintenance support for both software and hardware. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007)

4. Provide technical advice to non-technical staff and management. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

5. Add and configure new workstations and in doing so set up new user accounts. (Webopedia, System Administrator, 2007)

6. Perform procedures to prevent the spread of viruses. (Webopedia, System Administrator, 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

7. Install system-wide software. (Webopedia, System Administrator, 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

8. Team lead the server support team. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

9. Ensure all administration of systems is conducted by the team is done on a daily basis. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007)

10. Produce and update technical documentation (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

11. Analysis the server and network activity as well as maintain performance monitoring systems and other software programs. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007)

12. Delivering a help desk service, and providing 1st and 2nd level support for support calls. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

13. Provide cost effective support of Minol's desktop environment. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

14. Designing and implementing security policies within Windows Domains. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

15. Perform level technical application support for primarily Unix based (Solaris) security applications (eg Webseal, Iplanet, etc), and/or dedicated Encryption devices (VPN Timestep, ERACOM). (Mycareer.com.au 22 July,2007)

DUTIES:

A system administrator's responsibilities might include:

Routine audits of systems and software.
Performing backups.
Applying operating system updates and configuration changes.
Installing and configuring new hardware and software.
Adding, removing, or updating user account information, resetting passwords, etc.
Answering technical queries.
Responsibility for security.
Responsibility for documenting the configuration of the system.
Troubleshooting any reported problems.
System performance tuning.
Keeping the network up and running.
Ensure optimal operational stability.

In larger organizations, some tasks listed above may be divided among different system administrators or members of different organizational groups. For example, a dedicated individual may apply all system upgrades, a Quality Assurance team may perform testing and validation, and one or more technical writers may be responsible for all technical documentation written for a company.

In smaller organizations, the system administrator can also perform any number of duties elsewhere associated with other fields:

Technical support
Database administrator (DBA)
Network administrator/analyst/specialist
Application analyst
Security administrator
Programmer

System administrators, in larger organizations, also tend not to be system architects, system engineers, or system designers, however, like many roles in this field, demarcations between systems administration and these other roles are often not well defined in smaller organizations. However, even in larger organizations, senior systems administrators often have skills in these other areas as a result of their working experience.

In smaller organizations, IT/computing specialties are less often discerned in detail, and the term "system administrator" is used in a rather generic way — they are the people who know how the computer systems work and can respond when something fails.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_administrator)

(Wikiversity System Administration topic )

Job requirements

1. Proven ability in high level administration of one or more of the following system environments:

.MS Server .Unix/AIX .VMware (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

2. Proven analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to develop and maintain system documentation. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007)

3. Good written and oral communication skills including the ability to liaise with technical and non-technical staff at all levels. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007: Seek.com.au, 19 July 2007)

4. Ability to lead and/or work as a member of a small multi-disciplinary team (CrimTrac, Position Documentation, 2007)

5. Time management skills and an ability to work to deadlines. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

6. Experience in supporting middleware and/or security infrastructure. (CrimTrac, Position Documentation,2007)

7. Previous Team Lead experience and five or more years experience in a similar role. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

8. Demonstrated experience in Windows 2000/2003 network operating systems including Active Directory. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

9. Understanding and demonstrated ability in LAN/WAN applications including: Lotus Notes, MS SQL, MS ISA, Virtulisation and Citrix Metaframe. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007: Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

10. Experience in SOE builds and Active directory group policies. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007)

11. Experience with Tier1 hardware e.g IBM, HP and Compaq. (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007)

12. Knowledge of ITIL (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007)

13. Well developed developmental, diagnostic and analytical skills. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

14. Sound knowledge of Sharepoint and Veritas Backup or similar applications. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

15. Exposure to VMWare and Cisco Call Manager. (Seek.com.au. 19 July, 2007)

Salary

$61553-$95560

$70000 plus superannuation (Careerone.com.au, 3 August 2007)

$59,000 to $73,000 (HEW 7- HEW8) + generous super. (Seek.com.au, 20/8/07)

$30/hr (mycareer.com.au, 22/08/07)

$70,000 to $100,000 + pkg (mycareer.com.au, 22/08/07)

Industry/Organisation

CrimTrac, part of the Australian Public Service within the Attorney-General's portfolio (a public organisation).

Minol Australia is an Australian billing service provider for Utilites and Local Government. (Private)

Monash University, Melbourne.

Jav IT Group Pty Ltd, West Pennant Hills, NSW 2125 (Contract)

Allegro Recruitment Consulting, North Ryde, NSW 2113

Job listings

APS level 6-Executive Level 1, System Administrators

http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/recruitment_aps_6___el1_system_administrators.html

Position Documentation

http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/files/file/recruitment/aps_6_-_el_1_system_administrators.pdf

Careerone, Hudson, System Administrator, retreived 7 Aug 2007,

http://jobs.careerone.com.au/texis/jobsearch/details.html?id=46ada07848d11c0&q=system%20administrator&qMiles=15&qField=All&qCity=brisbane&qState=QLD&qCountry=Australia&qSort=smart&qMatch=all&pp=20&qWorkTypes=Permanent&view=1&page=1

Seek.com.au. (19 July, 2007). Minol Australia, Systems Administrator. Retrieved 6 August, 2007 from http://it.seek.com.au/users/apply/index.ascx?Sequence=69&PageNumber=1&JobID=9969489&

Systems Administrator/Programmer -
Infrastructure Services Unit/Information Technology Services Division
http://it.seek.com.au/users/apply/index.ascx?Sequence=106&PageNumber=1&JobID=10252519
Retrieved 20 August 2007
Further Position Information;http://sssd.adm.monash.edu.au/employ/job.asp?Refnumber=G078102&work=All&staff=Academic&faculty=&keyword=G078102
Retrieved 20 August 2007

Mycareer.com.au (22/08/07). System Administrator, retreived 22 Aug 2207, http://mycareer.com.au/jobs/north-ryde-2113-nsw/it-telecommunications/network-systems-administration/5360388+gun+unix+system+administrator.aspx?style=enhanced

Mycareer.com.au (22/08/07). System Administrator, retreived 22 Aug 2007, http://mycareer.com.au/jobs/west-pennant-hills-2125-nsw/it-telecommunications/network-systems-administration/5359599+unix+system+administrator.aspx?style=enhanced

Differences observed

The CrimTac job description looks as though the position is for an employee to be part of a support system whereas the Careerone job is for a team leader and has the responsibility of leading a support group. The Careerone job advertisement also wants potential candidates to have five or more years experience, this suggests that they want someone that is very experienced in the position thus would have the ability to help and also direct others. The Minol Australia job advertisement also required the applicants to have five years experience in a system administrator position.

Another difference observed is the level of information given in the different advertisements. Jobs advertised through the public service gazette, or public service websites are designed to give you a high level of information both on the job role and place of employment. Applicants are able submit there applications based solely on this information. Private sector Jobs and in particular those advertised through a recruitment agency tend to give thorough job role descriptions but require further contact/action to apply or gain information in relation to the place of employment.