Are Sysadmins Really that Bad?

tgbrittai asks: "According to Paul Boutin they are merely an obstacle to be manipulated or outmaneuvered. According to Steve Wozniak they are pimps. I've known my share of good and bad sysadmins, programmers and every other professional role out there, and I have to wonder: are sysadmins really THAT bad?" Most times sys-admins are overworked and underpaid and have to deal with users who take advantage of their local IT person, tasking them to fix systems that they callously break. Others are truly worth the name "Bastard Operators from Hell". How would you rate your sys-admin and what things did you have to do to make things run smoothly (or not)?

Comments

Respect

[Scottl_h]

A lot of issues plaguing systems admins can be boiled down to respect. I've got 17 years experience as a professional system admin, which is way more practical experience than some business graduate or an MBA fresh out of school. I don't expect them to bow before me, but don't tell me how to do my job. Tell me what outcome you want, but leave the execution up to me. When I became a system admin, I knew I was signing up for long hours, and what is basically a 24/7 job. I am always on call. That being said, remember that I have a wife and kids and a life of my own. I don't mind working during the weekend when necessary, but don't take my personal time for granted. Make it important. Don't call me in the middle of the night because someone is having problems with a dev system. Save those calls for production problems. Remember the quote from the movie "Road House"? "...just be nice." That's all. All I am asking for is a little professional respect.