PinoyTux Weblog » Career

Confessions of a System Administrator

Rai — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:27:34 +0000

My IT career consists of five years of experience. Two of which are spent as a Technical Support and the rest as a Linux System Administrator. I have a fair share of various experiences both from inanimate objects such as printers, monitors, cpu’s, even tables and chairs but the most hilarious ones are from breathing and thinking creatures known as ‘human’.

So to those who has no idea what being a System Administrator is like, I would to share a few of my secrets to you.

10. Sometimes I need silence while I work so please turn down your speaker volume because I do not need to know every ding and beep your computer makes.

9. I get tired from sitting. Even if I am just sitting on my pretty ass for the whole freaking day, it does not mean I have an easy life.

8. Computers do not always work the way I want them to. You have to understand that I do not have special powers that allows me to talk to computers. Hardware components fail and there is nothing I can do but to replace it.

7. When I ask you what you did that messed up your computer, please don’t say nothing. It is obvious that you did something that threw everything in chaos and the least thing you can do to make me less frustrated is to be honest.

6. Working the night shift is not my idea of a night life.

5. Working during my day off is not my idea of a rest day.

4. When you wake me up in the middle of the night (or day) and I say that it is OK, I am lying. It is never OK to wake someone up whatever work related reason may be.

3. I am not a super hero. I cannot handle five simultaneous requests at the same time so please bear with me if I am not able to answer your IM messages within 3 seconds after you hit the enter key.

2. I work 12 hours a day so I will appreciate it if you will let me take my break in peace. That includes restroom breaks.

1. Yes, I can see your emails, I know which sites you are browsing and I can block your access anytime I want. But I don’t do that. I have better things to do than snoop around. But if you piss me off, I have a lot of information in my hands.

Creating Success in IT

Rai — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:17:44 +0000

A lot of people are asking me what is it like to work in IT field. I always tell them that if you are not the type of person who constantly yearns for new knowledge and interested in new technology, then maybe being in IT is not for you.

IT professionals are expected to be on their toes on latest technologies, attend trainings and seminars, learn new technical practices and put all these into action. Information technology is fast-paced so being left behind is not an option if you want to maintain a good career in IT. An IT professional who is updated and shares new acquired knowledge to benefit many people gets a well-deserved recognition and of course, well compensated.

Global Knowledge, in conjunction with TechRepublic, recently conducted a study involving IT professionals and the current job market. The results showed that Executive Management ranked the highest on Average Salary while Computer Support Specialist ranked the lowest. The report also showed that those who hold certifications receive higher salary than those without certifications proving that continued learning yields more career satisfaction. The results also showed that age and experience counts so do not be surprised to see young project managers who strive to be the best at their fields.

Polls like this help us understand the latest trends in IT and can be used as a guide if you want to go a step higher on the career ladder. As I have said at the beginning of this post, consistent learning is the key to a successful IT career. There are a lot of certifications worth achieving like MCSE training, CISCO and RHCE. It may be intimidating at first but it is all worth it.

IT is not about gadgets and computers. It is about evolution of one simple knowledge to a more complex information and I am sure I do not want to miss this.

Choosing The Best University For You

Rai — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:26:32 +0000

Many high school graduates have no idea whatsoever what they want to do after finishing high school. After all those tests and homeworks, there are some who simply chose not to go to college or flunk out of one because they don’t fit in, ending up feeling frustrated and depressed.

That is why high school graduates need to really think about what they want to accomplish or what they want to become. This sounds like a tough decision to make but if you ask around, you might get really helpful information. Getting into the right university also plays a big role because students rely on their teachers to guide the way. But then again, there are those who do not know what they want, let alone choose which to go into. So, what now?

Here is a short clip that is informative. This cute Stickman video is a visual representation of what I am trying say:

Choosing the right university is a very tough choice to make because there are a lot of good schools out there but you have to see and feel which one is right. No one can tell which is good and which is not because it is a matter of preference. Students who get into schools that do not fit them ends up either dropping out of college, or transferring to another school.

Kettering University is one of the best universities around ranking in US News and World Report’s Number 1 University in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in their America’s Best Colleges Guide for 2008. You can also check out US News Best Colleges for further information.

Other Engineering studies are also offered like mechanical engineering, computer engineering and chemistry. They also provide a stress-free environment for the students and activies to enhance learning experience. The campus is also located where students can find destinations to relax and enjoy off-campus activities.

If you are interested and want to know more about Kettering University, visit their site at http://admissions.kettering.edu.

Why Should We Take Trainings?

Rai — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:49:49 +0000

For the past few days, I have been thinking of enrolling myself to one of the available trainings for Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) courses in Manila. Of course knowing myself, it would take me at least six months decide whether I should go with the training or not. I am also thinking if I am truly prepared for this kind of training, physically, mentally and financially.There are also a few types of trainings that can enhance our life not only with our careers but also on a personal side. There are technical trainings, management trainings, personality trainings (good for aspiring models or spokespeople) and more.

Certifications from prestigious enterprise companies like Red Hat Enterprise or CISCO is definitely a plus to anyone’s profile, providing bigger chances of getting that dream career. But, if totally unprepared, trainings and examinations can break your self-esteem, not to mention your bank. CISCO trainings at Mapua Insitute of Technology can take at least a year and may cost around Php30,000 to complete the four modules. I have taken technical training myself these past few years. The first one I had was Linux System Administration at Meralco Foundation which has definitely paved the way for me to become a Linux System Administrator. The training was OK and the lessons we had back then was very basic and the cost is really cheap. I learned a lot of things during my Linux training and I still use the notebook with my ‘newbie’ notes in it.

The next one I had was PHP-MySQL training with same institution. It is also OK, as we started with very basic modules and went on to more challenging case studies. This was a hard for me because this was the time I had to skip school because my father is already very sick. Nonetheless, I finished the final case study just in time.

Now going back to RHCE training, there is no doubt that being an RHCE attracts employers like moths to light. But this one puts really hard pressure on me. Php22,000 for an examination is a huge money and failing is not an option unless I earn Php2M a year. I also need to undergo another type of technical training for my personal use: driving lessons . So time management is a big factor here.

In the end, it all boils down to one: training is a very good investment and though it may be costly at first, the rewards are definitely great.

*Sigh*

Career Opportunity: Linux Administrator Level 2

Rai — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:12:42 +0000

Our company, US Auto Parts Philippines (formerly MBS Tek Corporation), is in need of two (2) Level 2 Linux Administrators with the following qualifications:

* Passion for *Linux* and Open Source technologies!
* 3+ years of intensive Linux Systems administration (any redhat variant) in production and development servers
* Knowledge or experience with Php, Perl and Shell scripting for automation tasks.
* Knowledge or experience in e-commerce services (DNS, Web, SSL, Mysql, TCP/IP, etc)
* System security implementation, performance tuning and rollout of projects or updates.
* Strategic, cross-functional, thinker
Linux Administrators are responsible for delivering 24×7 uptime of all e-commerce and development servers. They also provide technical assistance and implementation of technology solutions to ensure system reliability and optimum performance of the servers and work with developers for application and system performance analysis and tuning.

Starting salary for Linux Administrator is Php35,000 (with semi-annual, performance-based salary increase).

If you know you got what it takes and have the desire to work in a fun, fast-paced, dynamic environment, send me your resume and you will be contacted for interview and actual exam.

You can also check out our company preview:

Hiring: System Administrators

Rai — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:33:47 +0000

Our company, MBS Tek Corporation, is in need of two more Junior or Mid Level System Administrators. The qualifications are as follows:

At least 1 year experience in administering Red Hat and Fedora Linux servers including backups, migration and disaster recovery.
Knowledge or experience in configuring Apache, MySQL, Iptables, Postfix, Qmail.
Knowledge or experience in Perl or PHP scripting.
Experience in maintaining and monitoring services that require 100% uptime is a plus.
Must be flexible and willing to work on shifting schedules including graveyard shifts and holidays.
Willing to be assigned in Pasig office.

Being a System Administrator, these are the tasks that will be assigned to you:

Â Setup, configuring, optimization, monitoring, maintenance, back-up and disaster recovery of local and collocated web servers (development and live), with coordination with system administrators in New Jersey and California office.
Keeping the server up-to-date with latest package releases (kernel, Apache, MySQL).
Intrusion detection and performance tuning.

If you know you got what it takes, send me a copy of your resume to kamotegirl@pinoytux.com and you will be scheduled for an interview and hands-on exam.

More details about the job opening is available at the MBS Tek company website.

Hiring: Linux System Administrators (2)

Rai — Tue, 22 May 2007 04:25:01 +0000

MBS Tek Corp is in need of 2 Linux System Administrators with the following qualifications:

- At least 2 years experience in administering Red Hat Linux servers
- Experience in configuring Apache, MySQL, Iptables, Postfix, Qmail
- Experience in Perl/PHP scripting
- Willing to work on shifting schedules.

If you know you are qualified, send me a copy of your resume to kamotegirl@pinoytux.com and you will be scheduled for an interview and hands-on exam.

PinoyTux Weblog » Career

Confessions of a System Administrator

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