As someone who has spent more than half of his life as a sysadmin, I'd suggest only going into it if you're a masochist. It's really a lousy lifestyle. The pay

As someone who has spent more than half of his life as a sysadmin, I'd suggest only going into it if you're a masochist. It's really a lousy lifestyle. The pay is decent, but even in the best of environments, you're viewed as a cost center, disrespected by developers, and at the end of the day you're only doing a good job if you're automating yourself out of one.