July 31st was SysAdmin Day
! Did you … celebrate?
What?
What do you mean you haven’t heard of SysAdmin Day?
Well, I’ll have you know that for the last sixteen years, the last Friday of July (the time at which I am penning this entry) have been dedicated to those heroic men and women who brave storm and squall to ensure that your IT systems are running smoothly. Without thinking twice and with nary a concern for their own safety, they leap into the burning buildings of system crashes and viral infections to rescue the wailing children of productivity.
OK, I apologies. That metaphor got a little out of hand, but SysAdmin Day is a real thing. So, you should take some time out to contemplate how your company would fare if your SysAdmin team disappeared, then get them some cake or something.
If you’re struggling with that question, then read on as we give you our reasons that you should be thanking your own SysAdmin department.
Their Days are Crazy
A SysAdmin’s day starts long before yours does. By the time you roll into the office, they have probably already been there for an hour or more. True that they might also leave before you do, but you can bet that they will be still working into the evening as they can probably expect to be contacted at home to sort something out that just cannot wait until the morning. They may also have to perform upgrades out of hours to avoid the business suffering any downtime.
SysAdmins will typically be already checking their emails before getting out of bed and will be on the VPN before their first cup of coffee. They will then be checking that all of the overnight updates and systems ran OK and fixing any issues before driving into work. The drive itself will more than likely be spent listening to voicemails, before arriving at the office.
Start the Day with a Printer Jam
At this point they may be able to pour their first cup of coffee. However, it is far more likely that they will have to solve two or three problems before they have even reached their desk. After clearing another printer jam, they’ll be off to their first meeting of the day.
Oh, and you know the way they tap away on their laptops during the meetings?
That’s not rudeness, they’re simply multitasking and fixing problems the whole time.
At lunchtime they’ll use the opportunity to eat at their desk and catch up with their own work. With the rest of the staff out having sandwiches and coffee in the sun, this is a time when SysAdmins know that they stand a fair chance of not being disturbed with another tedious problem.
The afternoon will play out in much the same way, with a deluge of meetings and calls/emails concerning problems that just cannot wait. They’ll probably also receive a couple of calls on their way home and throughout the evening as well. Once the family (and all of their colleagues) are tucked up in bed, out comes the laptop again to run the scheduled upgrades and patches that need to be in place for the next day.
Then it’s bed time. Assuming of course that they don’t work for a multi-national company and have to attend a Skype conference halfway around the world. Oh, and they will be doing all of this at the weekends as well, whilst you’re enjoying BBQs and beaches.
They get Taken for Granted
The fact that you get your work emails 24/7 is because a SysAdmin takes care of the system. They also put the infrastructure in place that allows you to get them delivered to your smartphone. They are also taking care of your office telephone system and any electronic lock systems that you use to gain entry to your building or parking lot.
The fact that you can log on to your own secure part of the computer system is because a SysAdmin manages the security. That you’re sitting at work right now, reading this article is down to them making sure that you have internet access. They also made sure that your business has a room booking system so that you can have your meeting and conferences.
Abreast of all the Latest Tech
Add to this the fact that SysAdmins need to keep up-to-date and knowledgeable on all of the latest developments and releases in the world of IT. This essentially equates to having to relearn their job every few years. Obviously, most jobs require regular retraining, but the SysAdmin’s bell curve for new skill acquisition is a little more skewed than most.
So, there are just some of the reasons to be appreciative of your SysAdmins. Take some time out then, to show them that you appreciate their hard work and understand how much more difficult your job would be without them. Plus, a simple gesture of appreciation will certainly go in your favor the next time you want something fixed and there’s a queue.
Also, please let us know in the comments below the reasons why your own SysAdmin is so awesome and what you are doing for SysAdmin Day.
Kerry Butters
Kerry is a published author and writer on all things tech, corporate tech, data centres, SEO, webdesign & more for some of the world’s leading sites.