Is it even worth trying to get back into Sysadmin work after a 4 year break?
Posted by Utilize3372@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 44 comments
At a glance, all job listings have completely disappeared.
ErikTheEngineer@reddit
What were you doing during the break? If it wasn't tech related and can't be put on a resume, then you'll have to downshift, probably back to the beginning. There are hundreds of thousands of people with way more impressive pedigrees than I have looking for work now and no one is hiring. (OK, not totally true, but there are hundreds of applicants for every role that does pop up within 10 minutes, so even getting looked at is scratch off lotto ticket odds.)
2022 was pre-AI, which is basically killing a lot of the entry level jobs also. I think companies will walk back their firings a tiny bit once they realize how expensive AI can get compared with employee replacement, but it won't ever be back to the same levels in any industry.
Lots of people say sysadmin is dead...but I don't think that for two reasons. First, larger established companies have large IT estates and workloads that can't be containerized or sent to the cloud economically yet. Second, the fundamentals never stopped being important, they
frankztn@reddit
I have IT managers applying for IT specialist positions. đź’€
weHaveThoughts@reddit
Probably all they ever been qualified for.
thebigshoe247@reddit
Based on my experience, most IT Managers aren't qualified to be techs...
Jeff-IT@reddit
I’m also have an entry level tech position open that a guy who worked at dell for 20 years applied for. It’s rough
H0verb0vver@reddit
Now that's irony.
willee_@reddit
Things are changing so fast right now.
Standard sys admin work is weird. I have 1 on my team and that is the title he wanted so he got it. But things are so hybrid now. We’re even more jack of all trades.
My work does this thing where the software breaks, developers go “it’s the server” then we have to into their code to tell them where it breaks.
So while he is a sys admin, he’s spending up to 1/2 a day in code bases. We also do the traditional sys admin work for the business. But that has just become trivial.
Everything that has an API (Microsoft graph, RMMs, even SSH keys) can all be hooked to AI to be managed and worked on in fractions of the time it took before. Infrastructure as code is the same. AI is completely changing sys admin roles right now.
I’d recommend avoiding any old school place. Just going to hold you back and impair your growth.
Saying this as a team lead that runs 2 data centers for enterprise applications that everyone reading this has interfaced with at many stores you go to.
Vorpel-Bunny@reddit
I have been at the same company for more than 20 years. Started just doing wiring, then tech support. Then sysadmin. No info security manager. In charge on zero people. I manage and advise on security and still do a fair share of admin work, network stuff as well as firewall stuff.
PositiveBubbles@reddit
I've had to help people with their code to. Its odd how there are devs out there who just blame everything else. I like bsing a generalist though with a development mindset because the odd bespoke challenge I'm allowed to look into (capacity wise that is)
willee_@reddit
I’ve tried to maintain some separation from dev for us as well. Mainly being read only tokens to the codebases and then never changing any file in prod. That is a developers job haha.
Devs can find a way to offload any of the truly technical work because most of the business doesn’t understand what they do.
The more you work with developers the more you take them off the pedestal they seem to be on. Very few developers are true engineers, most can just piece code together with no understanding of anything under it. Databases, memory, services, etc. they just write code haha.
Flammablegelatin@reddit
I'm going to have a gap of 5-7 years to be a stay at home dad. So long as I kept working on certs and everything while I'm gone, would that be acceptable to you as a hiring manager?
willee_@reddit
Instead of chasing certs for a traditional sys admin role, why not spend that time chasing your IT interest? Learn and get good at what you like to do. Try everything you want to. You’ll find what you enjoy and likely be good at it.
It is much easier to be successful with something that comes with enjoyment and more return than just money.
Where a 5-7 year gap is going to hurt you is anywhere big corporate will probably just disqualify you. It will also put you back in experience so that impacts salary.
Just keep learning while you’re out. If you want certs, get them. Whatever it takes to not stagnate.
sole-it@reddit
Probably have some side projects and attend some meetups if you can.
techierealtor@reddit
And if you can do some lightweight contract or consulting work if you can. Doesn’t have to be constant or crazy. Keep the juices flowing, shows you weren’t stagnant with everything else. Definitely up your hireability.
Jeff-IT@reddit
Just got done interviewing people for a it manager that’s sysadmin focused. I got tons of over qualified people like IT Directors and Executives because they can’t find a job.
Market is crazy bad from this experience.
slashinhobo1@reddit
Executives to me would be under qualified. Most c executives and it managers i seen get the jist but couldnt do the work.
Legionof1@reddit
I love getting disregarded trying to move back into a solo contributor role after being a director… I just hate people, let me fix your computers!
Jeff-IT@reddit
In my defense I interviewed all of them that I thought were good. I rather have them tell me why they want a non profit position over what they have
AllergicToPecans@reddit
Couldn't agree more with this. They may have an "idea" how things work but could not actually do the job
dm117@reddit
Maybe an exec but an IT manager? Maybe it’s just my experience but most managers are involved or had to be to get there
itishowitisanditbad@reddit
Sure, but then its a ticking clock for their knowledge to become dated which is what almost always happens.
IMO its very rare that they maintain both skillsets. It'd be weird if they did. Its saying that either the IT or Management skillset is trivial to tack on to the other and thats not true.
Barely anyone can do both at the top level. Works best that way anyway, different jobs.
AllergicToPecans@reddit
Exactly! I don't expect them to know because it's not their role. Technology is an ever changing landscape. Once you stop learning, you become irrelevant. I also haven't had an IT manager where I've worked (smaller companies). My current director wants to advance his career in management. It's already evident he's not as well versed in the industry after just two years.
itishowitisanditbad@reddit
Right! BUT!
This is where bad manager happen, they fail to understand whats happening and then in turn fail to trust the people that DO know.
I know I am not a great manager but some managers needs to know they're no longer good IT, or sometimes never were.
AllergicToPecans@reddit
You're absolutely correct but you can't teach self awareness. Something about a horse and water ;) At one point, I managed 75 people, and I was not a great manager. I refuse promotions now if I'm responsible for another person's paycheck. I like being the busy bee these days.
itishowitisanditbad@reddit
ewwwwwww
Give me 10 at most.
Even better, call me a lead and give me the power with none of the workload!
AllergicToPecans@reddit
Haha Mom and Pop call centers that prioritized cheap labor over useful tech. I was young, dumb, and cared more about the outcome of the job then how people felt. I won't make that mistake again. People/family first, job second
dedXlights@reddit
All depends on age and location. Like the guys my age that aren’t solo contributors still know there engineering stuff but those older guys who came through the business side. Yea they have a harder time or zero knowledge of actual IT engineering work.
BonezOz@reddit
Depending on where in the world you are, it could matter. You'd be best to look for level 2 or 3 hell desk rolls, just to get you back on the tools and bring your knowledge back up to todays levels. *Yesterdays PowerShell scripts may not work in to day's PowerShell terminal.
Magic_Neil@reddit
My opinion: get a job, then get a better job that you want. You need to pay bills today, so waiting for “the one” (especially in today’s market) is going to end poorly.. so once you get something you can start focusing on sysadmin work like you want.
HoosierLarry@reddit
No. Your four year break is being treated like s complete reset, as if you have no experience.
difoltuser@reddit
There are companies that are still not using containers, so yes. Nothing really changed in 4 years. come back and enjoy weird politics, non communication and tech decisions, no body understands
Raz0r25@reddit
No, I beg you, for your sanity sake……. “Don’t do it”
usa_reddit@reddit
SyaAdmin is dead DevOps, SRE (Site Reliability) Engineering, Platform Engineerin, CE/AIA (Cloud Engineer/Architect), SecOPs (Security Ops), and of course the dreaded compliance job is the new job title.
While you were away, everyone packed up and moved to the cloud. I would look at getting one of the Red Hat cloud certs then re-entering the market unless you can find a small shop or school, but they usually don't pay well. Pick a cloud and a stack and go learn it, docker, ansible, puppet chef, AWS, Azure. I am personally a big fan of docker and ansible.
DuckDuckBadger@reddit
I don’t think this is entirely true. Large orgs have moved to this model but the traditional sysadmin role is still alive and well in a lot of smb to mid-size orgs and non-profits.
uptimefordays@reddit
Most organizations will end up hybrid cloud but the people managing that infrastructure will more resemble devops/platform engineering/SRE than traditional sysadmins.
Diligent_Mountain363@reddit
100%. SysAdmin isn't a thing anymore, and I've gotten downvoted every time I've said that, but it's the truth.
Zorian_Vale@reddit
Can I ask your advice? I want to get into IT, I have the fundamentals but no experience on my resume. I’m studying for cloud practitioner, I enjoy using the AWS console and I have an Ubuntu EC2 I like to use. What certs should I getÂ
uptimefordays@reddit
The market has changed, traditional sysadmin/neteng roles have been replaced by more generalist engineers who can automate infrastructure on a variety of platforms.
showbizusa25@reddit
The fundamentals never stopped being valuable. The job titles just keep changing every few years.
Utilize3372@reddit (OP)
To the people here that hire: do skillsets matter anymore, or is it still about "who you know" ?
UISystemError@reddit
AI. You may be surprised to see how much it’s impacting things after a 4 year break. It’s fucking terrible.
Either-Cheesecake-81@reddit
A four year break by itself if not difficult to overcome. Technology is constantly changing and updating but the fundamentals never do so as long as you have those down you’ll always be able to jump right back in.
The job market is rough right now though so the jobs are sparse but they still come up because people are still retiring and moving on and up so jobs do come available. If you’re diligently looking and ready to start you’ll find a match.
ConstructionSafe2814@reddit
Not sure where you're from but the job market in the US is very rough right now from what I've read here in this subreddit.
achristian103@reddit
Terrible job market right now for people without an employment gap that large.
Don't stop trying, but it won't be easy.