Hey everyone! I recently got a SysAdmin role, which is super exciting since I wanted to move away from my old job in application support. However, there's a twist. The company I'm joining is a Value Added Reseller (VAR) of various data applications like Informatica, Denodo, and Cloudera, and I learned that they don't really maintain their own infrastructure. They only have a handful of servers and minimal applications running for testing. My team lead told me that my job will mainly involve installing and configuring applications on the customers' setups, from the OS installation through to going live, and that's where my role ends. This has left me feeling a bit lost about what to expect and what my day-to-day responsibilities will be. I really appreciate any guidance or advice you might have!
5 Answers
You might mainly be working with vendor-specific installation guides and solutions. Being familiar with different databases will help a lot, along with skills like configuring single sign-on (SSO) and monitoring solutions as well.
It sounds like you might be more in a sales engineering or post-sales support role than a traditional SysAdmin position. Your main focus could be on guiding customers through installations and troubleshooting their setups rather than managing a server farm yourself.
Honestly, this doesn’t sound like a traditional SysAdmin role to me. If everyone has access to the domain controller, it seems more like a helpdesk or onboarding process.
Right? A typical SysAdmin wouldn't let all users access the DC. I’d say be prepared for a lot of user support.
Did you ask about your job responsibilities? It's important to clarify what they expect from you.
Yeah, I did ask! They mentioned I'd be handling infrastructure for multiple environments to mimic setups, but it feels different now that I'm here.
Actually, it seems like you're part of adding value as a VAR rather than being a vendor yourself. You're essentially there to help clients get set up and maintain those applications, which can involve upgrades and troubleshooting down the line, making it a varied role.
Definitely! It’s a different angle in IT, but you might find it rewarding to help clients directly.