Network/System admin - need a bit of help

eltoro89

Hi guys, I am working on a degree in IT and still need to decide which of these routes I want to go so I can start orienting myself toward it, but I had a quick question. Basically, I have a disability which affects my balance and ability to stand for long periods, so I need to know if either of these eventual goals might require climbing or anything of the like, or what sort of physical activity is involved in the two career paths, if any?

hurricane1091

If you're in systems OR networking, you should expect to rack servers or routers/etc. Networking involves running cables on ladder racks usually, so that involves a ladder. You're not running cables or racking equipment constantly (usually) though and if you couldn't do it I don't know that someone would deny you a job. The money is in the logic and configuration anyway, cabling and the occasional rack stack is just something ya gotta do here and there.

scaredoftests

It all depends. I have never had to pull cables or anything. I think it is because mostly I have been in contract jobs with the government (separation of duties). Look for system administrator jobs(not network engineers). Look at the job description to see if cabling has to be done.

Glyphic83

I wouldn't worry about this too much. There are plenty of positions available in both networking and systems administration where you'll never touch cabling or rack anything.

hurricane1091

Glyphic83 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about this too much. There are plenty of positions available in both networking and systems administration where you'll never touch cabling or rack anything.

Right, it all depends on the job. Union/government/cloud admin - forget about it. Never going to rack and stack or cable. A lot of times there is someone (desktop teams) that will rack/stack stuff for you. If you're standing up new infrastructure though, it's fair to assume you might be the one who is going to do the physical work involved too. It's so infrequent, I wouldn't even worry about it.

ITSec14

I worked as a sysadmin and hardly ever had to touch any equipment besides my laptop. Most I ever did was walk into a data center and swap out a drive or two from a rack. Piece of cake man.

shochan

If you get into InfoSec, you will basically become a sitting data analyst while sifting through data reports. You could go that route.