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IT jobs brief - IT administrator
It is generally recommended that every organisation has one full time IT administrator for every 50 employees and you'll come across job vacancies in all kinds of companies.
They are responsible for a wide range of tasks which keep the company's IT network, servers and security systems in good health.
This includes investigating and diagnosing network problems, collecting IT usage stats, making recommendations for improving the company's IT systems and carrying out routine configuration and installation of IT solutions.
You'll help employees with some of their more basic computer needs, like setting up new users and managing back-up, security and passwords. You are also the company's internet police, monitoring internet and email use to make sure everyone is behaving.
Hours and environment
Most of the time you'll work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday but you may need to work out of office hours when needed. This might be to fix a technical problem or to do some maintenance work to the IT systems without disrupting daily business.
It's an office-based role, but you'll do regular circuits of the office seeing to various users' needs.
There are part-time jobs out there if you're looking for job flexibility. You may also be able to work from home if you can get online.
Skills and interests
You'll need to be proficient with IT to get started as an IT administrator. The other essential skill is problem solving because as soon as the network goes down you'll need to swing into action to get it fixed as quickly as possible as downtime is very costly for businesses.
When applying for a job, these are the skills to play up on your CV or in an interview:
- Confident communications skills
- Good knowledge of IT operating systems, especially Windows, Exchange and Citrix
- Hands on experience of installing IT hardware and software
- Good organisational skills
- Good time management
Entry
There's no single path for becoming a system administrator. Many IT administrators have a degree in a related field: computer science, information technology, computer engineering, information system management.
To be successful you'll probably have worked in a similar position previously, either as an IT administrator or in technical support.
And you'll certainly need relevant qualifications in the IT systems you are going to manage. Microsoft, Cisco and Oracle are the most widely used technologies in business so these are the probably the best qualifications to get and most professional courses will be centered around them.
Training
Training is really important in the fast-moving IT business and employers are usually very proactive about offering you training.
You'll need to keep up with all the latest developments in the IT packages your company uses. Because of the practical nature of IT administration and the information provided by the IT companies you'll often be able to teach yourself from manuals or can learn from other experts in your IT department.
Opportunities
Your skills will equip you for a move into many types of IT jobs. If you want to stay on the technical side, you could pursue a career as a technical architect, but if you enjoy the people management side of the job you could focus on becoming an IT manager.
Annual income
The average industry salary for someone with some experience and qualifications is £28,700.
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