> From: [email protected] [mailto:discuss- > [email protected]] On Behalf Of Martin James Gehrke > > I do try to grow professionally as a sysadmin on the younger side, but is this > something I should be worried about?
Should you be concerned about it? Yes. Should you be worried about it? No. As with almost everything, there is a degree of truth. I find that whatever technology makes up the bulk of my bread and butter is perpetually less than about 5 years old. Does that mean all the stuff I did 6 years ago is worthless? No. It constitutes background knowledge, perspective, etc. It makes me "experienced." It contributes to my ability to succeed as a manager or director. But how much *truth* is there? I do indeed find that most employers are seeking lower paid more-junior-than-me workers. It means you need to be savvy with your savings, and develop a professional cushion of 3-6-12 months. Network like crazy, know the owners / managers / executives, make your own opportunities. They never set out with the stated goal of finding you. Any decent accountant will tell you the first thing you should build is a good cushion. Before paying off debt. Before investing in anything else. Because when/if you lose your income for some reason, those days when you have no income and no funds hurt you much worse than anything else you could ever put on your radar, in terms of debt or investment. I have known people, junior and senior alike, in various fields, with/without formal education ... including a PhD... who could not find employment for over a year. If you're smart & dedicated, you can always find a way. But it's likely enough, you'll decide there's some other field that's more attractive for some reason. Maybe you'll create a startup. Maybe you'll become a bartender, who knows. Nobody knows what they want to be when they grow up. No matter how old they are. I find, if I work 3-4 days a week, and I study and network as self-investement, 1-2 days a week, that's an approximately good life balance. Try to find an employer that will pay you fulltime and support you doing this sort of thing. If not... Just do your best and you'll survive. Keep your mind and your doors open. Stay hungry. _______________________________________________ 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/
