On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 12:37, Michael Ryder <[email protected]> wrote: > For example... one definition might look like this: "A System Administrator > is one who manages computers and/or networks on a continuing basis to > support the needs of the users of those systems. In addition, the SA may > also be responsible for these other roles for their systems: design, > implementation, change control, new technology evaluation, decommissioning, > etc."
"...on a continuing basis..." caught my eye. In some ways, this might parallel the same ideas as farming. "A farmer is one who maintains and operates a farm." ...might be an accurate description. But is that how they would describe their role or their profession? Maybe: (Generalizing "farmer" to include "rancher", "farmhand", etc.) "A farmer maintains and operates a system that provides consumable products which are naturally born or germinated, grown to a specified maturity, harvested at regular intervals and processed in a continuous cycle." In fact, this is the first sentence of the Wikipedia definition of a farmer: -----------snip----------------- "A farmer is a person, engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops such as produce and grain." -----------/snip-------------- What, are more specific possibilities of tasks and roles a farmer can perform? It would depened on the day. One day, a farmer might be maintaining and repairing diesel engines. The next day he may be evaluation proposals for a product containment/conveyance solution. And on still other days, he may be training animals, constructing timber frame buildings, or excavating a small water reservoir. Some farmers may do all of these things, themselves. Some farmers may procure other service providers to do some or all of this work. (For instance, ranchers often hire other "service providers" to bale, haul and stack hay in the ranchers' hay barns.) As long as they are directly involved in operational decisions, wouldn't we say that both are still farmers? A final thought: a farm is never "complete". A farmer doesn't create and somehow package a farm and then "deliver" it to a customer. The farm's infrastructure, and the process by which the products are produced, are continuously evolving. Similarly, "computer systems" that a system administrator "maintains and operates" are also continuously evolving as the demand and expected utility of the "products" also evolve. System administrators also can wear many hats, though no two system administrators will necessarily swap between the same set of hats. It seems this analogy can easily be further extended, but I don't want to risk going too far. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
