A Title To Replace "Systems Administrator"?

sjanich writes "A discussion has begun at SAGE on an updated title to replace "Systems Administrator". I figure more sysadmins are reading Slashdot than are reading SAGEwire. Rob Kolstad of SAGE wrote: 'What in the world do we call the collective group of those people who make computers work properly? I'm not talking about users, and I'm not talking about software developers. I am thinking of: system administrators, LAN administrators, network administrators (both kinds!), security administrators, e-mail administrators, desktop support groups, database administrators, and all the other kinds of support that keep the IT function of an institution running -- what is this huge group called?' My favorite options are "Computer Infrastructure Practitioner" or "Computer Infrastructure Specialist". The original discussion can be found here at SAGEwire."

Comments

You call them...

[esanbock]

The unemployment line.

Where I work..

[AsnFkr]

I'm known as "bitch".

Descriptive

[Anonymous Coward]

Keep it simple and descriptive:

technological janitors.

I never get called unless something's fucked up, and nobody gives a damn
what I do until it's broken. My job's just about as glamorous too.

Acronymtastic!

[Quadrature]

Network Engineering Responsive Dedicated Specialists

Obvious

[CodeWheeney]

You shall call them Sir/Ma'am.

Common usage

[Telastyn]

is IT guy. Nobody outside of IT, engineering and HR can even tell the difference between the job distinctions. Just like I cannot tell the difference between the different HR positions. They're all just HR people to me.

BOFH

[SILIZIUMM]

What about BOFH ?

My Suggestion is...

[linuxwrangler]

System Administrator.

I'm sick of all this puffery like domestic engineer (housewife), sanitation technician (garbageman), administrative assistant (secretary).

According to dictionary.com a system is "A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole." Sounds pretty accurate and all-encompasing to me.

If you can't be proud of the work you do without changing its name you have a lot bigger problems than your job title.

Wait a sec...

[Anonvmous Coward]

...you guys actually get called by your title? I usually get called "the internet's down".

My experience

[Obiwan Kenobi]

I've been sys admin'ing now, professionally, for over 5 years. I love my job.

I've had many titles over that period of time, and they include:

Computer Operator
LAN Administrator
Systems Administrator
Systems Analyst
Computer Technician
Network Analyst
Web Developer
and finally,
Network Administrator

The latter is my current title, though they're about to slap and additional one (Web Developer) on there as well. I have no problems with that, though regardless of my Network Admin/Web Dev status, I will still be called out to fix a printer, or switch out RAM, or go through old RS/6000 logs looking for some stray error message.

I've worked all of my sys admin jobs at financial institutions. I've worked for both banks and credit unions (credit unions have the edge, in my experience), in groups large and small. The largest group was about 8 guys, the smallest just me and my boss. They both have their problems. But that's not what this discussion is about.

This discussions is about how to label a guy who can't really have a label. Technician is so vague that it doesn't carry merit. Specialist too suffers from the same thing. Stick "Computer" in front of them, and you still have the vagarities that reek of any title that a job may provide you with.

Most places, unless they're Conglomerates (and all that that implies), want you to go above and beyond. This means that sometimes titles are left by the wayside as you throw a box in your car and hightail it to a destination, ready to provide that quick fix.

This discussion is moot and pointless in my opinion. Network Administrators and System Administrators will, in small shops, most likely be doing each others job at least part of the time.

No title is infallible, no title can encompass everything that you do or provide. Do not look for one to do so, because it does not, and can not, exist.

Re:Um...

[Sethb]

I'm always referred to as "Computer Guy" at the university where I work. A new professor shows up, and his department head says:

"This is Seth, he's our computer guy."

I don't think anywone knows what my actual title is, other than me, even though it's on my door, and my business card. :)

Re:What's wrong with the status quo?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's too much work to say it. I propose the much simpler, and more accurate, "virgin."

In a word...

[nettdata]

In a word... root

MCSE's need not apply.

I prefer "Patrician" myself

[Black Jack Hyde]

A thousand years ago, we'd all be priests. Think about it.

1. There's a small number of priests who care for a much larger number of supplicants.
2. We speak arcane tongues (Perl/C/assembly/etc) not accessible to the general public.
3. The deeper areas of our server rooms/places of worship intimidate the masses.
4. Even the purported leaders defer to us when questions related to 'greater knowledge' come up in discussion.
5. Admit it, you'd love to indulge in an Inquisition at your workplace.
6. People come to us for deliverance when no one else can aid them.
7. Few beings are more frightening than an evil priest/BOFH.
8. Priests mostly do not socialize with the public at large.
9. Bread and wine == pizza and beer.
10. No priest or admin will turn down a monetary offering.

Jack

Forget it

[shodson]

It doesn't matter. If sysadmins change their title to be X people will still refer to them as sysadmins. Just like "software engineers", "developers", "systems architect", etc. are still called "programmers" by most people.

Re:Um...

[Purificator]

System Templar

this says:
1) this guy does something with The System.
we don't know what, but that's what he
does. it's very accurate that way.
2) this guy is probably crazy. avoid him.
3) this guy will blame problems on spiritual
forces.
4) nothing new, but sounds cooler.

i have it on my business card.

How about ?

[msoftsucks]

How about CRAP (Computer repair and administration practitioner)? ;)

I recommend the following Scale

[EvilTwinSkippy]

First off, most professional titles confer a level of expertise, as well as the area. I propose the following for the computer field:

Specialites:

• Server - Management of a specific system, OS, and hardware
• Database - Management of a data set
• Network - Management or routers, switches, and network infrastructure
• Workstation - Helpdesk functions
• Systems - Management of all data-center operations (Server, Database, and Network)

Levels of Ability

• Apprentice - Your average precocious kid, or computer dude in the lab.
• Journeyman - Has worked with several different networks with at least 1 year of professional experience.
• Master - Has assembled a complete system within his/her specialty and kept it running for one full year.
• Engineer - Has designed a novel new system, published the design, and has supported the development for one year.
• Guru - Has been active in the Computer community for at least 5 years. Has a strong enough opinion about an issue to piss off as many poeple as he/she turns on. Is generally regarded simultaneously as Insane and Genius. Has a day job, but most of his/her fun stuff is done after hours.

My Titles

[JWSmythe]

Do I need a title change? I've changed the names I use online more frequently than my title. :)

I use "Senior Systems Administrator". If anyone questions what that includes, the answer is "yes". As far as I'm concerned, the full description is "The person directly responsible for any event within any part of the company."

I'm the company psycharist, listening to people's personal problems.

I'm the company mechanic, fixing broken cars in the parking lot.

I'm the company plumber, fixing broken sinks usually.

I'm the general handyman, fixing little things here and there.

I'm the electrical repair guy, changing fuses in microwaves, and repairing broken speaker wires.

I'm a customer support rep on occasion, when stupid calls get handed off to me.

I'm the always-available tax consultant.

I'm the free and usually right legal advice department (go find a lawyer, dammit)

I'm the company librarian, who can always point you to the right book or reference.

I'm the senior transportation coordinator, when someone needs a ride somewhere, or equipment needs transported between locations. Usually that also makes me the company driver too.

I'm the company accountant, explaining bills from various vendors to the boss, or even the vendor. (ask UUNet why they billed us $30k for a line they never installed).

I'm the air conditioning repair guy, resetting thermostats, replacing broken thermostats, repairing electrical problems in the A/C unit, and diagnosing further problems. I also end up designing ways to cool overheated rooms, and counsel people who are always too hot or too cold, and very frequently both.

And now on to more reasonable tasks.

I'm the printer and copier tech, fixing paper jams and cleaning rollers.

I'm Microsoft Technical Support (tm), helping every poor user who's MSIE, Outlook, or Windows (tm) product that doesn't work right. Oddly enough, Unix and Mac users don't come to me whining like the Windows users do.

I'm the bastard that has to explain that Microsoft programs do crash, and you will have to accept this. It doesn't matter to me that you worked on an Excel Spreadsheet for 6 hours before your machine blue-screened. No, I can't save your data when your machine is locked up. Yes, you should have saved it.

I'm the LAN specialist, diagnosing every time someone kicks a cable out of the wall.

I'm the Nortel tech, configuring, reconfiguring, and yet reconfiguring again the phone systems.

I'm the tech that cleans up the mess after you try to subcontract out the work for the phone system, and he leaves all the lines down and says "I don't know, maybe you need an upgrade. That'll be $6,000".

I'm the PC tech, repairing every little hardware problem they may have. No, covering all the holes on your PC to make it quieter is *NOT* a good idea (had that last week)

I'm the monitor repair guy, resizing you screen because you played with the buttons too much.

I'm the mouse repair man, cleaning the guk out of your mouse.

I'm the bastard that has to explain that when your drive crashes, the files are gone. And I love listening to users complain that they had their life's work on there, and I absolutely *HAVE* to get it back. Bribes don't help drive crashes, they tell me you think I'm lying to you.

I'm the Cisco engineer, who selects your routing hardware, and then configures it.

I'm the hardware engineer who selects the parts, and builds the servers to handle the requested capacity.

I'm the guy that uses a hammer, torch, and dremel to make your old case accomodate your new hardware, just because you refuse to do the simple thing and buy the right case.

I'm the network engineer who makes a network that'll handle your load, and laughs when you want a GigE lan for your 2 workstations on a 384K DSL.