Perhaps the system administrator is the profession about which the most anecdotes, stories and various tales are written, from the very real to the completely fantastic. Admins gained popularity among wits for a reason. A profession, or rather, more often a position, implies responsibility, constant monitoring of systems, networks or sites, which, in fact, affects the character of most administrators and their behavior.

The classic admin is a silent person, of which there are few. And he is also most likely not very friendly, but not malicious: he rarely bans anyone, and does not impose restrictions unless absolutely necessary. But, if it is possible to avoid possible problems or reduce his working time, he does so without hesitation, even to the detriment of user convenience.

Despite the abundance of caustic jokes and anecdotes, admin is an honorable profession. Everyone understands their importance and tries to get into the situation.

What about the admins themselves? They are just people of flesh and blood, and therefore this profession has its own occupational diseases.

SPAM intolerance

SPAM is the worst enemy of any website. Not only do cluttered messages with links disturb users. The presence of unmoderated SPAM may lead to sanctions from search engines. In general, SPAM needs to be fought, and this is the job of the administrator.

The popular resource is also popular among spammers. The higher the indicators (traffic, TIC and PR), the more SPAM. And, accordingly, more work for the administrator, who already has more than enough tasks.

The administrator scrubs and cleans, blocks individual users and entire subnets, but there is no decrease in SPAM. And this Sisyphean work ultimately makes you nervous, then irritates, and then develops into spam intolerance, a phobia based on a fierce hatred of SPAM.

At first, the admin, stricken by spam intolerance, does his job more than conscientiously. We can say that at the first stage of the disease the patient gets pleasure from destroying SPAM. The process is comparable to the mechanical destruction of cockroaches: surveillance, pursuit, and the natural ending - a blow with a slipper.

However, as spam intolerance develops, fighting SPAM ceases to be satisfying and becomes increasingly annoying. Animal hatred is born, a burning desire to defeat SPAM. False instincts develop, severe restrictions and new orders are introduced. The site is surrounded by barbed wire and minefields (firewalls, captchas, manual moderation).

The advanced stage of spam intolerance is characterized by repression: the patient regards even innocent messages and publications as SPAM. Any attempts to explain, clarify or object on the part of users lead to sanctions.

Treatment of spam intolerance does not produce any particular results: an administrator affected by the syndrome manically pursues spammers until the end of his career and destroys any traces of their activities.

Advertising addiction is a syndrome with a well-studied nature. The basis of the disease is passion and the desire to make good money. The site installs the code for contextual advertising, say, Yandex Direct. By counting clicks and receipts, the administrator comes to the conclusion that advertising does not bring in enough money, and the resource is not fully exploited, more can be done. This is the first call, the beginning of advertising mania.

A huge advertising banner is installed in the header (the top part of the site). A “skyscraper” with 4-6 advertisements is introduced into the side columns. The space between publications (posts, messages) is also not idle - banners are installed there. And in the “footer” (bottom of the page) the SAPE code is posted. ru. As a result, the site begins to resemble the “From Hand to Hand” newspaper, and the administrator spends most of his working time on servicing advertising platforms. And also - searching for places where you can “attach” a couple more advertising blocks.

Advertising mania is progressing exponentially. Soon one contextual advertising system will not be enough. Ads from Google Adsense and Begun appear on the pages of the resource. The site, which has long looked like an advertising free newspaper, is taking on a completely obscene appearance.

The apotheosis of the development of advertising mania is the emergence of private advertisers. We order bulky animated banners, streamers, and buttons that are installed between messages, in the header, in the footer, and in the side columns. Advertising is hidden in navigation, menus and feedback forms. A visitor to such a site needs to be very careful not to inadvertently go to a completely unnecessary resource.

There is no cure for advertising addiction. However, the disease can go away on its own: the resource, turned by the administrator into a collection of advertisements, will simply lose popularity, and with it, traffic and advertising revenue. If the administrator manages to restore the good name of the site and return visitors, he will become more careful and selective in installing advertising.

Megalomania

Administrator is the king and god of a website or network. There is no one above the admin, and even the owners of the resource or local area prefer not to interfere in its activities.

As you know, power spoils people, but the administrator has no shortage of power. In this regard, often and often more than broad administrative powers develop into full-fledged delusions of grandeur.

The first sign of an administrator's megalomania is isolation and taciturnity. An administrator affected by the syndrome stops communicating with users, and in case of urgent need, prefers to get off with short, monosyllabic answers, no matter how complex and important the question may be.

“The administration is not obliged to explain to users the motives for its actions” - this phrase is found on the vast majority of forums, blogs and other sites operating on the WEB 2.0 system. This means that the administrators of these resources are most likely delusions of grandeur.

As it progresses, delusions of grandeur increasingly separate the administrator from ordinary users. He hovers invisibly over the community, or vigilantly monitors the corporate network, or his shadow is present in the district network. “Bloody Admin”, “Axe”, “Slipper”, etc. - words from the arsenal of administrators affected by the syndrome.

Treatment for delusions of grandeur is possible. But only if there are several administrators, or if, in addition to the administrator, the owner is also involved in the resource. Only he can bring down the admin, cool his ardor and debunk the laurels of the Lord’s viceroy on a single resource.

Experienced administrators who have suffered from delusions of grandeur and have successfully recovered can become excellent professionals, resistant to many phobias and manias inherent in the profession.

Site search

The reason for writing this article was a request from our corporate recruiter that I tell him how to recognize a good system administrator without resorting to a professional interview.

Is that really possible? I was a little surprised by the recruiter’s request, but still tried to help him, and, as it turned out, not in vain. You should try to find those character traits and personal qualities that need to be revealed in an informal interview in yourself in order to understand whether you have the “indications for working” as a system administrator or whether it is better to try professional success in another field. What are these qualities?

• Perseverance and perseverance
• Quick troubleshooting
• No allergies to night vigils, morning awakenings
• Multi-machine
• Good memory
• Good stress resistance
• Logics
• Let's take a closer look at each of these personal qualities.

Perseverance and perseverance

Despite the fact that compiling a list of personal qualities required to work as a system administrator is a rather difficult and thankless task, the first point I would put is perseverance, fanatical persistence in solving assigned tasks, which borders on meticulousness and stubbornness.

It’s no secret that there are many temptations in the work of a system administrator: “surf the Internet”, “sit on Odnoklassniki”, or even just play an “adventure game” or a “shooter”.

Instead, you often have to gather your willpower to configure, for example, the Nagios monitoring system, which, although it has many “templates” to help with configuration, still has to do the lion’s share of the work manually. Or configure, and then test, test, test the “iRules” rules in BIGIP F5 load managers or read every line in the Cfengine system configuration code.

Of course, programmers have a similar requirement. But the programmer is often helped by testing engineers, and in the event of a difficult-to-fix error, you can always “roll back” to the previous version relatively safely.

But a network or database administrator who makes a mistake in addressing the address space can take the entire company “offline.”

It happens that you have to tinker with one problem or another all day, which imperceptibly turns into evening. It often happens that the weekend is completely ruined because Windows 7 freezes in the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) due to incompatible drivers for the video adapter.

Of course, not everyone will want or be able to sit day and night on various puzzles, often without solutions, not forgetting about the daily “routine” that will always fill the working day.

During the interview, you can ask the applicant to talk about some project, not necessarily related to IT, that would require serious perseverance and perseverance. For example, collecting ship models in bottles, participating in regional figure skating competitions, or climbing a mountain. This cannot be done on the principle of “why not?” – this requires high concentration, quite a lot of training and perseverance.

The other side of the “perseverance” of a system administrator is not just solving some complex technical problem, but also writing fairly detailed documentation for other employees.

• Will I be able to do the same on the new server?
• Will I be able to do the same in a month?
• Can my colleague do the same?

Incomplete, outdated, or even missing documentation is a chronic disease of many information departments; it often arises due to constant time pressure, but still, hand on heart, let’s say that it is also due to the lack of diligence of the system administrators themselves.

I always try to appreciate any completed and maintained documentation. And for a “young man contemplating his life” and interested in the profession of a system administrator, it would not hurt to ask himself: “Do I have perseverance and can I concentrate my attention to achieve a goal?”

Quick troubleshooting

During an interview, many system administrators like to ask questions about troubleshooting and fixing a particular problem. And sometimes there are “test servers” on which you can simulate this or that “accident” and see in real time how a job applicant will diagnose, what and how quickly he will find, as well as what actions he will take. And this is not without reason!

An experienced system administrator is like an experienced doctor who can identify a particular disease based on the appearance of a patient and a couple of minor symptoms.

The comparison, of course, is quite relative - from an anatomical point of view, all people are practically the same, and all companies are different in the way they organize IT. But the system administrator must understand the department entrusted to him, as they say, inside and out.

For example, Fig. 1 shows a classic three-level system for servicing web requests to a database - this “picture” does not always exist in the corporate documentation of the IT department (which is certainly bad), but it should always exist “in the head” and before through the eyes of a system administrator. In a split second, he must compare the existing problematic symptoms with the topology of the system and understand where to look next.

In Fig. 2, the left “triangle” shows the necessary amount of information that is needed to answer the questions: “Do we have a problem? What's the problem? Where exactly is the problem? And the right “triangle” shows “territory coverage” to understand what is not working and why.

No allergies to night vigils, morning awakenings

A system administrator often has to deal with irregular work hours. That is, highly unregulated. If other specialties have an irregular schedule that means delays after 18.00 or “intrusion” on weekends and holidays, then the work of a system administrator resembles the duty of an ambulance paramedic.

Just as a person can have a heart attack at any time of the day, a serious malfunction and failure of the entire information system can occur at half past four in the morning on Sunday and at six in the evening on Friday.

Only if the work of emergency doctors is strictly regulated by a duty schedule and complete interchangeability, then senior system administrators or heads of IT departments often do not have this opportunity, so they have to react to one degree or another or at least be aware (which is often one thing and the same) of all extracurricular problems.

It is clear that not all people need four to five hours of sleep, and not everyone can quickly jump out of bed with a phone call at 4.30 am on a Sunday and within three minutes be fully awake, remotely connect to the corporate system and begin diagnosing the problem.

I was respected and slightly taken aback by those system administrators who were always “online”: no matter what time an accident occurred or a message arrived, they responded promptly. Sometimes he even asked: “Guys, do you ever sleep?”

It is clear that the questions: “When do you wake up? How many hours do you sleep? - are completely shameless and unceremonious in nature; they will not be asked in any self-respecting company. But an experienced recruiter will be able to “fish out” such information during an interview - it is important for him to know how much he can count on the system administrator during off-hours. Therefore, the view from the hangover will tell everything more eloquently than any resume.

And the applicant for the difficult administrative bread needs to think and carefully weigh everything: if a person really needs 9-10 hours of sleep, which doctors consider the absolute norm, then maybe there is no need to try to work where it is contraindicated for health reasons?

Multi-machine

Today, when it is impossible to imagine the work of IT professionals without division into specializations (databases, networks, graphic design, etc.), system administrators erudite in related IT disciplines are highly valued.

One day, our full-time DBA needed to leave urgently, but (as always) a serious problem arose at the SQL level. Fortunately, our Linux administrator, who had never touched a “battle” MS SQL server for the last year, managed to take the bull by the horns, quickly fixed the replication and restored the necessary indexes.

Although database administration was not a priority for the Linux administrator, he always tried to keep abreast of the latest news and trends on this front, and had a couple of different MS SQL servers at home for experimentation.

Therefore, in addition to DEEP (and this is the key word) knowledge of your subject area, high erudition, a thirst for knowledge and a desire to help in related areas - setting up a mobile phone, designing a web page, editing a presentation - are always welcome.

On the other hand, one should always be wary of a lack of interest or, worse, hostility towards a particular technology, that is, an answer like: “I only want to work with open systems, I can’t stand Microsoft.” If there is no planned presence of Microsoft in the company, then perhaps this answer will pass. And if you need some help or work with Microsoft, what should you do in this case? The recruiter is secretly interested in what else you are an expert in?

It’s important not to overdo it here. A person who, in addition to his work duties as a system administrator, positions himself as a successful musician or a promising hockey player will be perceived with caution: what if he goes on tour or competes, what to do then? And young system administrators who deliberately want to “cut down” their subject area should think carefully.

Good memory

No matter how banal it may sound, a good and tenacious memory is almost mandatory for successful work in IT. The system administrator, unfortunately, has to keep a lot of numbers and IP addresses in his head and, if possible, not confuse them. Moreover, all this must not only be “kept in a safe,” but actively referenced.

Of course, in the age of Google you can find almost any information online, but experienced IT managers will notice that system administrators who immediately name the number of available addresses with masks /28, /11, /17 or say what syntax:

awk -F\" ("print $2")

awk -F/" "(print $2)"

correct and which is wrong are much more productive and immune to “blunders”.

In dynamic and rapidly growing companies, the system administrator has to participate in numerous meetings, transfer data from systems that are poorly compatible with each other, exchange complex projects with engineers and testers - all this generates a sea of ​​​​information, and in this sea one must always stay afloat.

Mixed-up IP addresses, “forgotten” instructions NOT to overload the web server, or missed steps when building a particular package hurt department productivity. Do not be surprised if during the interview the candidate receives some information (even fictitious) with an IT bias, and after some time he is in one form or another “asked to remember” IP addresses, system topology, geography of satellite offices – you never know what a recruiter can think of to figure out how tenacious the future employee’s memory is and how many details of the conversation he remembered and how many he forgot.

Therefore, those who know “Eugene Onegin” by heart, a list of their classmates from the first to the final grades, or the multiplication table up to 20, are in a more advantageous position.

Good stress resistance

Saturday. 3 o'clock in the morning. Your deep sleep is interrupted by an insistent phone call. You wake up and pick up the phone to hear your boss’s irritated voice: “The website is down?” “I’ll look now,” you answer, yawning, and manage to notice that there are 800 email messages in your mobile inbox. Even before you put the phone down, it insistently rings again, and “CEO” is displayed on the caller ID.

Your actions? The work of a system administrator at times resembles the work of an air traffic controller - there are several planes in the air at once, some are taking off, some are landing, some are running out of fuel. All this must be managed, and if, God forbid, there is an emergency, the only correct decision must be quickly made.

Testing for stress resistance will always be implied during an interview in a company that operates under high load. Therefore, questions about the sequence of actions during “system emergencies” are quite expected.

It is much worse if they are not asked and do not test the candidate’s ability to think calmly and clearly. In this case, the company can hire a person who is good in all respects, but is more suitable for working in a museum archive, rather than in a company servicing 1000 servers. It never hurts to find out your level of stress resistance, introversion and ability to work in less than ideal conditions.

Logics

For some reason, it is believed that in order to become a good system administrator, you must have a mathematical mindset and graduate from something like Moscow State University, Physics and Technology, Baumanka. Of course, classical technical education is not forbidden, but, as practice shows, you can be a successful system administrator with a purely humanitarian profile.

I know of many examples of former art graduates, amateur musicians, or stockbrokers who became excellent system administrators.

A clear mind, attention to detail, and the ability to quickly build and analyze cause-and-effect relationships are important. For example, the famous “trick questions” on Google:

• How much does it cost to clean windows in Seattle?
• How many piano tuners are there in the world?
• What is the probability of getting into an accident when traveling by car from San Francisco to Los Angeles?
• How many liters of petrol are consumed by cars in the UK every day? How much could all this gasoline cost?

Aim to reveal the following:

• How clearly does the person think logically?
• How well is a person familiar with probability theory and imprecise mathematics?
• How clearly can a person present the course of his conclusions and convince his interlocutor that he is right?

Like a good chess player who “sees” the board and not only builds a harmonious and elegant game (we read “information system architecture”), but also understands the dangers of the enemy’s hostile combinations, without waiting for a “zugzwang” situation (German: Zugzwang - “compulsion to move" - ​​a position in checkers and chess in which any move by a player leads to a deterioration in his position).

The “enemy” can be anything: a suddenly increased load on the system, integration with another system, a virus attack, a Denial of Access attack, migration to a new version.

In addition to purely technical cause-and-effect relationships (such as what will happen if you change the load manager balancing algorithm?), you need to have a very good understanding of the logic of processes and human relationships. The greatest success is achieved by those managers who can organize not only “machines” and “servers,” but also processes within the company, as well as the work of employees.

This or that problem may be perceived differently by the system administrator, the head of the sales department, the customer and the financial director. The IT director not only works to keep all IT workers focused on current department projects and firm goals, but also arranges those projects by priority and in a common sense chronological order.

By soberly assessing his analytical abilities (“deductive method”) in relation to IT, the system administrator will be able to understand his professional ceiling.

In this article, I tried to reveal the difference between the “profession” and “calling” of a system administrator, what personal qualities are necessary for his work, and also why IT managers attach such importance to these qualities. Is it possible to say about someone: he was born to work as a system administrator? Perhaps yes. But there is nothing supernatural in this most interesting profession. The main thing is the will to win!

System administrator– a person responsible for the operation and maintenance of the organization’s equipment and providing technical support to users. In common parlance, the name of the profession is often shortened to “sysadmin”.

Computers have penetrated our lives so much that no organization can do without them in its activities. Each will definitely have at least one or more computers, and as the company grows, new needs appear in the form of its own local network or a small server for storing important documents or working with the 1C database. There is no need to talk about large or high-tech organizations; such companies simply require a large staff of system administrators at various levels with a mandatory division of duties and areas of responsibility. In addition, in addition to the computers themselves, the system administrator helps set up the operation of numerous office equipment in the form of printers, scanners, telephones, faxes and other things necessary for every modern office and production.

Possible places of work

Since almost all organizations and companies use technical devices to support their activities, the profession of a system administrator is always in demand and is in demand in the labor market.

Depending on experience and specialization, these can be either small firms or huge international companies with many branches and a large staff of system administrators.

In order to work as a system administrator in many organizations, it is not necessary to obtain a higher education; self-education by reading documentation and relevant literature, taking online courses or face-to-face classes, and gained experience is sufficient. Naturally, large companies and those where the life and safety of people, income or the functioning of other computer-based services depend on the normal operation of computer equipment try to recruit highly qualified professionals with international certificates from well-known IT companies. Smaller companies can easily hire a technical student or simply a person interested in and knowledgeable about computers and technology.

One of the main tasks of a system administrator is to maintain a huge fleet of computer and related equipment, maintaining its performance, correcting malfunctions to minimize downtime, installing and configuring the necessary software, connecting and setting up new equipment.

Determining the need for new equipment, both specialized and simply updating the old fleet, is also usually done by the system administrator, justifying and coordinating the lists with the people responsible for budget distribution.

The responsibilities of system administrators usually include technical support for users - employees of the organization. This can be either advice on using programs or equipment, or full-fledged technical assistance after users contact us when errors occur on their computers, the printer does not print, the Internet does not work, or they simply cannot figure out how to work with programs or equipment.

Another common responsibility of system administrators is to protect against internal and external cyber threats, ensure network security, protect against computer viruses or hacker attacks, build trade secret protection systems, and the like. It is worth noting that in places with declared increased requirements for information security, such as banks, they invite system administrators with a narrow profile specifically for protecting information and countering hacker attacks.

Educational IT portal GeekBrains offers to master the profession “System administrator” in just 4 months. After completing the training, a personal certificate is issued, and the average salary in Moscow and the Moscow region is 48,000 rubles.

We also recommend trying the free course “Programming Fundamentals”, which will help you identify your inclinations for a particular IT specialty.

Hurry up to start training. The discount on training for the “System Administrator” profession is valid for you for only 3 days!

Specialization of system administrators

Conventionally, all system administrators can be divided into the following categories:

Handyman or jack of all trades– the name comes from the phrase “Press any key” (“Press any key”). As a rule, this is a novice system administrator working in small organizations (up to approximately 50 jobs). Responsible for maintaining the functionality of a small network and a fleet of computers and office equipment. Alone and without assistance, performs all duties that are in any way related to computers or networks and provides technical support to users. In her work she uses knowledge of operating systems from Microsoft, office programs such as Microsoft Office, accounting programs from 1C and skills in laying local networks.

Database Administrator– specialist in design and maintenance of various databases. Requires excellent knowledge of database management systems (DBMS), such as MySQL, MS SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, operating systems for their operation (Linux, FreeBSD, Windows Server, Solaris), design and implementation features, as well as the SQL language.

Web server administrator– specialist in installation, configuration and maintenance of web servers. Both in terms of software and hardware. Knowledge of Linux and FreeBSD, the ability to configure the most popular Apache web server and related services (Postfix, Exim, sendmail) are essential. A thorough understanding of the TCP/IP protocol stack and the OSI model is required. Knowledge of the Windows Server operating system and IIS web server will be a plus.

Network Administrator– specialist in the development and maintenance of organizational networks. Knowledge of network protocols (IPX, TCP/IP) and their implementation, routing, billing and VPN systems, network equipment (Cisco) and experience in physically building networks (Ethernet, 802.11, FDDI) are required.

Network Security Administrator– specialist in the field of information security. Well versed in issues of encryption and user authorization, access control systems, backup. Develops system policies and security regulations and monitors their strict compliance. Usually works in large companies or as an outsourced freelancer.

System Architect– also sometimes called a systems engineer. Specialist in planning and building the company's information infrastructure at the application level. He has excellent knowledge of the software on the market from large international companies: operating systems (Windows, Unix, Mac OS, FreeBSD), directory services (Active Directory, LDAP, Lotus Domino), common database management systems, web servers, document management systems, etc. much more. Deals with the connection of all of the above into one system within the framework of business process requests.

In fact, there are many more types of system administrators, and to those listed above you can add the following: 1C administrator, home network administrator, telephone and cellular administrator, mainframe administrator and others.

Requirements for a system administrator

There are no strict requirements for system administrators; everything very much depends on the expected scope of work and the size of the employing company. Of course, every system administrator needs to understand the principles of operation of computers, office equipment, networks, know or be ready to quickly learn the software used in the organization’s work and be able to solve technical and other problems that arise when using office equipment. Knowledge of technical English is almost mandatory when working as a system administrator, because... The vast majority of literature and instructions for complex technology are best read in the original. Also, such knowledge will significantly expand the ability to search for information to solve a particular problem, using foreign forums and sites where people from all over the world gather.

To advance up the career ladder, in addition to gaining experience, there are many specialized courses and certificates for system administrators from renowned international companies, the successful completion of which directly reflects the professionalism of a specialist and allows you to apply for a salary increase or a new career step.

Such certificates for system administrators include:

Cisco Company:

• Entry level – CCENT
• Specialist – CCNA
• Professional – CCNP
• Certified Expert – CCIE

Microsoft Company:

• Beginning specialist – MTA, MCT
• Professional – MCP, MCTS, MCSA, MCITP

Red Hat:

• Certified System Administrator - RHCSA
• Chartered Engineer – RHCE
• Certified Safety Specialist - RHCSS

And many other companies related to software development or computer hardware production: Juniper, CompTIA, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Mikrotik, Dr.Web, ESET, D-Link.

A specialized technical higher education in the field of information technology, applied computer science or computer systems would also be useful, but most employer companies will look at the experience, the availability of international certificates and the number of successfully completed projects at previous places of work.

Personal qualities

A system administrator needs to be able to analyze a situation, identify cause-and-effect relationships, concentrate and quickly switch attention. You also need to be a sociable, patient and tactful person, because... part of the job is interacting with people who, especially older people, are not very computer savvy and have a harder time absorbing technical information.

System administrator salary

The approximate salary level is indicated. Depending on the region and employer, it can vary significantly.

Interesting facts about the profession of system administrator

System Administrator Day is celebrated on the last Friday of July.

Most system administrators are self-taught or have taken online courses.

Since 2006, the All-Russian meeting of system administrators has been held near Kaluga on the last weekend of July. The official logo of the rally is a crossed out teapot, stylized as a road sign.

A successful series about system administrators, Geeks, was filmed in the UK.

The most common breakdown of work computers is liquid (water, tea, juice, soda, etc.) getting on the keyboard. Power surges in the network are only in second place.

— equipment support engineer,

- telephone and cellular communications administrator,

- system integration specialist,

Webmaster.

Field of professional activity

System administrators work in the field of servicing computers, electronic information networks and office equipment in almost any organization:

— at production, processing and trading enterprises;

— in government and commercial organizations;

— in computer centers;

- in military organizations;

- in educational organizations.

Profession classification

Type of profession by subject of work: “Man – Technology”, the activities of a system administrator are focused on maintenance (installation, assembly and adjustment, operation) of office technical devices, management of technical devices, repair and maintenance of computer networks. To successfully perform such work, a high level of development of visual-figurative and spatial thinking, good motor skills, physical endurance, and an aptitude for manual and technical work are required. Such qualities as good vision and fine motor skills, efficiency, diligence,

precision and accuracy.
Additional profession type:“Man is a Sign”, since the activity is associated with working with sign information: with programs, with texts, with numbers, formulas, tables, drawings, diagrams. This requires logical abilities, the ability to concentrate, interest in working with information, developed attention and perseverance, the ability to operate with numbers, and spatial thinking.
Profession class: belongs to the heuristic class, is associated with analysis, research and testing, control and planning, design and design. To perform such work requires high erudition, originality of thinking, a desire for development and constant learning.

Description of the profession

The activities of a system administrator include tasks of varying degrees of complexity: from repair, selection and purchase of computer equipment and components to writing and technical support of websites, to servicing companies with powerful servers and numerous user stations. The main responsibilities of a system administrator are to ensure the organization's network security and maintain optimal performance of computers, networks, and computer programs for users. A system administrator creates and maintains computer systems and networks, monitors the proper operation of operating systems and software, manages databases, installs new software (makes “upgrades”), coordinates and administers systems, including in remote access mode, etc. .

Requirements for the individual characteristics of a specialist

To be successful as a system administrator, you must have the following: professionally important qualities:

- abstract logical thinking;

- Analytical mind;

— a penchant for working with technology;

— a pronounced tendency to work with information;

- well-developed ability to concentrate;

- well-developed logical abilities;

- mathematical abilities;

— emotional stability;

— organizational skills;

- responsibility;

- large amount of short-term memory.

A system administrator must have communication skills, patience, the ability to prevent conflicts, and know the basics of psychology.

Medical contraindications

— diseases of the central nervous system of various etiologies with motor and sensory disorders, coordination disorders, cognitive and intellectual impairments;

— diseases of the central nervous system with motor and sensory disorders, coordination and static disorders, cognitive and mnestic-intellectual disorders;

- narcolepsy and cataplexy;

- mental illness with severe, frequent painful manifestations;

— diseases accompanied by disorders of consciousness: epilepsy and epileptic syndromes of various etiologies, etc.;

- mental illnesses with severe, persistent or frequently exacerbating painful manifestations;

- alcoholism, substance abuse, drug addiction;

— active forms of tuberculosis of any localization;

— chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and other liver diseases;

— high myopia or complicated myopia;

— complicated cataract;

— degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the retina, glaucoma of any stage with an unstabilized course;

— diseases of the endocrine system of a progressive course with signs of damage to other organs and systems and impairment of their function of 3-4 degrees;

— malignant neoplasms of any localization;

— diseases of the blood and hematopoietic organs with progressive and recurrent;

— hypertension stage III, degree 3;

— chronic heart and pericardial diseases with circulatory failure FC III or more; cardiac ischemia;

— rheumatism: active phase, frequent relapses with damage to the heart and other organs and systems;

- complicated course of gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer;

- chronic kidney and urinary tract diseases with symptoms of chronic renal failure of 2 - 3 degrees;

Training requirements

The system administrator must know:

— technical and operational characteristics, design features, purpose and operating modes of equipment, rules for its technical operation;

— network hardware and software;

— principles of simple equipment repair;

- basics of programming;

— current standards, number systems, ciphers and codes;

— programming methods;

— systems for organizing comprehensive information security;

— ways to prevent unauthorized access to information;

— procedure for preparing technical documentation.

System Administratorshould be able to:

— install, test, test and use software;

— configure specific operating system configurations;

— develop database schemas;

— work with modern programming systems;

— work in the environment of various operating systems and administer them;

— carry out simple equipment repairs;

— work with local and global networks.

Application area

Specialists of this profile are needed in every enterprise. System administrators can work in specialized IT companies and web studios.

Working conditions

A system administrator works independently or in a team of several people. The working day takes place indoors. System administrators can work remotely, fulfill private orders at home, and provide technical support to small firms and companies.

Almost any job is associated with negative health consequences. Loaders, constantly carrying heavy loads, develop a hernia, miners and builders damage their lungs, teachers lose their voices. And such quiet mental work as the work of a programmer carries with it a lot of hidden threats in the form of diseases.
Constantly looking at the monitor leads to eye strain, resulting in deterioration of vision. This problem is most acute when using a CRT monitor, since radiation and continuous flickering of the image are especially negative for the eyes. LCD monitors, although less harmful, are also not safe for long hours of continuous operation. After all, recent discoveries by scientists indicate that the main danger to vision posed by monitor displays is not radiation at all, but a reduction in the number of eye movements (blinks) due to the eye’s adaptation to the image. To maintain natural visual acuity, the programmer must reduce the hours spent behind the monitor screen, at least during non-working hours. Short breaks and eye exercises are also useful.
Various types of radiation from CRT monitors pose a threat not only to vision. Soft x-rays, especially strong at the back of the monitor, and low-frequency electromagnetic radiation can dramatically increase the chance of cancer cells developing. Do not forget that not only the monitor has a harmful electromagnetic background - all computer devices, with constant contact with them, are also capable of causing similar damage to the proper functioning of the body. Cancer is a difficult to cure disease.
Surgery is by far the most effective way to treat cancer, but it does not guarantee further spread.

Programmer diseases - what are they?
The work of a programmer is sedentary and sedentary. The consequences of physical inactivity can be excess weight, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis.
Inactivity leads to diseases of the musculoskeletal system, such as osteochondrosis, radiculitis, arthritis. Working at a computer leads to hemorrhoids. In order to prevent these diseases, it is necessary to organize active recreation, sports, and walking. Certain warm-ups during breaks at work are also necessary.
Constant work with the keyboard leads to chronic fatigue in the fingers, which can then develop into serious diseases of the joints of the hands. Lightly warming up your fingers and relaxing them will significantly reduce damage to your joints.
The work of a programmer is a source of nervous and mental illness. Loss of important information, computer failure - all these are stressful situations that undermine the nervous system, like combat. It should be noted that system programming, which requires constant mathematical calculations, sometimes leads to mental illness, the treatment of which is carried out compulsorily.
Already in senior years of technical universities, some students go crazy. A good helper in this situation is healthy sleep and a friendly family that can support you in difficult times.
As you can see, the quiet work of a programmer is very dangerous, but a correct assessment of threats and a healthy lifestyle reduce them to a minimum and often eliminate programmers’ illnesses