3 ms·

> we're not known for common sense when it comes to working hours Sorry, what does this mean? As in sysadmins are notorious for non-stop working? (I've never b

> we're not known for common sense when it comes to working hours Sorry, what does this mean? As in sysadmins are notorious for non-stop working? (I've never been a sysadmin and I don't know any sysadmin tropes.)

sonicanatidae 3y ago
Yes. We work normal shifts, but also, the very best time to work on servers is after hours/holidays, etc. so we tend to work a lot of both. We also tend towards ownership of the gear, so it becomes a little personal. It's also a bit of professional pride. I worked as the Director of IT for 3 hospitals over my career in acute care. I maintained 99%+ uptime on these systems, since this is acute care. I'm proud of that, but man that was a lot of work.
- ecshafer 3y ago
  Sysadmins and “1 man it shops” are tough because most people in business dont give a shit until its broken. Its a classic “it works fine why do we pay you?” Or “its broken what do we pay you for anyways” situation 95% of the time, its lose lose. If you are sales you work hard and bring more money, engineer work hard and deliver product faster. Ops just works hard to keep things alive, its very under appreciated by business. I say this in no way to be dismissive of ops, if anything i am negstive of many management types, especially in non tech companies, that under value their ops teams. More sysadmins should do a strict 40 hour work week, ask for overtime and paid on call.
  - sonicanatidae 3y ago
    Late in my career I started focusing on balancing life and work. I still work additional hours, but I've worked out some comp time. If I work 8 hours on the weekend, I take Monday off. Ok.. Some of Monday..lol I saw an MST3K a long time ago with a line that I've remembered ever since. Caveman Times, old man in a cave, laying on a rock, noise outside, and the old man rushes out of the cave. The MST3K guys overdubbed, "It's always something with this Tribe". That quote is SysAdminLife, imo.

sonicanatidae 3y ago

Yes. We work normal shifts, but also, the very best time to work on servers is after hours/holidays, etc. so we tend to work a lot of both. We also tend towards ownership of the gear, so it becomes a little personal. It's also a bit of professional pride. I worked as the Director of IT for 3 hospitals over my career in acute care. I maintained 99%+ uptime on these systems, since this is acute care. I'm proud of that, but man that was a lot of work.

ecshafer 3y ago
Sysadmins and “1 man it shops” are tough because most people in business dont give a shit until its broken. Its a classic “it works fine why do we pay you?” Or “its broken what do we pay you for anyways” situation 95% of the time, its lose lose. If you are sales you work hard and bring more money, engineer work hard and deliver product faster. Ops just works hard to keep things alive, its very under appreciated by business. I say this in no way to be dismissive of ops, if anything i am negstive of many management types, especially in non tech companies, that under value their ops teams. More sysadmins should do a strict 40 hour work week, ask for overtime and paid on call.
- sonicanatidae 3y ago
  Late in my career I started focusing on balancing life and work. I still work additional hours, but I've worked out some comp time. If I work 8 hours on the weekend, I take Monday off. Ok.. Some of Monday..lol I saw an MST3K a long time ago with a line that I've remembered ever since. Caveman Times, old man in a cave, laying on a rock, noise outside, and the old man rushes out of the cave. The MST3K guys overdubbed, "It's always something with this Tribe". That quote is SysAdminLife, imo.