There’s this long running joke that some of us who are nearing close to burnout fantasize about leaving it all behind and becoming a goat herder or a goat farmer. When I look back over my career I can’t really say that I administered anything let alone being a Systems Administrator.

Over time that name and role has changed to Network Administrator, Systems Engineer, Devops Engineer, Cloud Engineer, VMware Admin, Consultant and Architect but one of those really described what we really do. I never really Engineered a system in many cases I simply reassembled and rearranged resources that someone else or some vendor Engineered like they were legos or an erector set by following their instructions or best practices.

A farmer is someone who cultivates land, grows crops, or raises animals for food and other resources. They are involved in various agricultural activities, including planting, harvesting, and managing livestock. Farmers play a crucial role in food production and are essential to society behind the scenes often unknown by the people who consume the fruits of their labor.

Wouldn’t Server Farmer, Desktop Farmer, Network Farmer or Cloud Systems Farmer best describe what we do? Or is there a better name you think would describe our profession?