Decoding the Sysadmin

Children often answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” with occupations such as: firefighter, ballerina, doctor, or princess. Why, we all wonder, does systems administrator rarely make the cut? Sysadmins are critical members of the organization they support, and a career as a sysadmin can be highly rewarding.

While sysadmins know how exciting, versatile, and important their jobs truly are, do the people closest to them understand? If a sysadmin receives a text message from his or her remote monitoring system during a soccer game or dance recital, what do their kids think? When breaking from analyzing system logs to enjoy a family dinner, do eyes glaze over when the tech pro explains that a log is more than a chopped-up tree trunk? Even with all their tireless explaining, sysadmins are apt to hear a version of this phrase: “My mom does something with computers…I think?”

In honor of Systems Administrator Appreciation Day this year, SolarWinds asked its THWACK community of technology professionals what their family and friends think they do 24/7, rain or shine, day or night. The responses point to what we’ve known all along: sysadmins are expert computer wizards that deserve to be celebrated! Check out the funny -- and slightly painful -- responses the THWACK community members shared.

(Image: Anucha Cheechang/Shutterstock)