VMadmin - am I smoking crack?

sambuca69

So I've done variaous levels of "support" over the years. From tradefloor/deskside to production. While the pay is good, I'm tired and I really want to move into a new direction, namely an administrative type role.

While I've never held a title as an "admin" before, I do have some exposure. At previous employer I have built Servers (assembled, racked, and OS install), set up RIS, software repackaging using Wise, basic SQL admin, etc. And in my current role, you need to be "well rounded".. that is, know a bit about everything.

There are 2 things that interest me at this point.. that is Linux and VMware. Is it unrealistic to think I (or anyone for that matter) could study for the VCP, pay for the course, and then "become" a VMadmin, without any previous "administrator" job history? Am I "smoking crack" to think this is even possible?

I guess what I'm asking is, what kind of background would you expect? Would you look for a seasoned tech with years of system/network adminstration?

vCole

sambuca69 wrote: »

So I've done variaous levels of "support" over the years. From tradefloor/deskside to production. While the pay is good, I'm tired and I really want to move into a new direction, namely an administrative type role.

While I've never held a title as an "admin" before, I do have some exposure. At previous employer I have built Servers (assembled, racked, and OS install), set up RIS, software repackaging using Wise, basic SQL admin, etc. And in my current role, you need to be "well rounded".. that is, know a bit about everything.

There are 2 things that interest me at this point.. that is Linux and VMware. Is it unrealistic to think I (or anyone for that matter) could study for the VCP, pay for the course, and then "become" a VMadmin, without any previous "administrator" job history? Am I "smoking crack" to think this is even possible?

I guess what I'm asking is, what kind of background would you expect? Would you look for a seasoned tech with years of system/network adminstration?

I'm thinking about doing the same. (Paying for the VCP course out of pocket.)

I think this would work in your favor since you can tell the hiring company that you put in your own money, and time to learn something.

So no, I don't think you're smoking the crack pipe.

ciscog33k

I think it's important to be realistic and set goals based on that. I doubt anyone would hire you with just a VCP. System admins typically do the VMware stuff as well as windows/exchange. Your competition will likely have MCSE/mcitp, exchange, or rhts/ce, and ccna, as well as some having VCP. They will probably have 5+ years experience in admin roles.

MCSE is essentially a prereq for the vast majority of sysadmin jobs. People running linux tend to be running it on more mission-critical servers in my experience and i doubt they'd hire someone with a new cert and no real linux admin experience in a production environment. It's too big a risk.

If I were you, I'd do an mcitp and exchange cert and try and find a low level systems admin position, or something of the sort. VCP is nice to have, but unless you have the other stuff to go with it (including some experience), I doubt anyone will put you in charge of dozens of VMs. Most people probably view it as a "nice to have" that goes on top of whatever other certs/experience you have.

I think people probably get promoted to these roles internally or start at smaller companies, more often than not. Guys with lots of experience and good certs want to be paid accordingly. Smaller companies can't afford them. You can set yourself apart from your competition at the small company level by getting those certs done. The hiring process tends to be less rigorous as well. Your pay will suck but they will think they're getting a deal and you will get your systems admin title hopefully some projects that you initiate under your belt. Don't take a job at a small company unless there are worthwhile projects though, otherwise it's just a waste of time imo. Use the interview to ask lots of questions about current problems, future directions etc. If you have good ideas based on their issues, sell them at the interview. That's how I got my current job.

FWIW, I got my experience at a smaller company. It's a good way to get real experience in a position of responsibility, make design choices on your own, etc. Virtualization is a pretty easy sell to most companies. If you can push that and get it done, then you can put it on your resume for the next job. Alternatively, do your certs and push for "real" systems admin work at your current company. Building servers and doing installations is no big deal imo, especially when someone else is doing all the analysis that goes in to sizing them, etc. There is so much more to the job...

I've moved from a small company to a mid-sized one now. They hired me because I was well-rounded. There's a real lack of well-rounded people out there. I'm getting to design a new vSphere/SAN infrastructure for them, as well as a big wireless roll-out across multiple locations nationwide, redesigning the network, etc. Be patient, put in your time, do your certs, and the good jobs will come.

Btw, it's better to know a lot of a couple things than a little of everything. Tons of guys know "a little of everything." Unless you can back that up with something that's really marketable, I don't think anyone will care, unless you're just applying for another helpdesk role...

Anyway, good luck! I never wish helpdesk work upon anyone. And if you hate it, that should be motivation to study for those certs.

VancouverTechie

Greetings,

I think Ciscog33k has given some good advice. My company has been 90% virtualized for 8 years. I have had my VCP certification now for 5 years starting with 2x. I feel that the VCP exam is a good start, but you need to have a firm grip of either Microsoft or Linux OS's in an enterprise environment. With the integration of the NEXUS 1000v, having a good Cisco foundation would not hurt either.

From experience going virtual is the best thing for an IT datacenter. I have worked for IBM, TANDY, and AT&T and dealing with physical servers is a pain. With AT&T we did a huge, huge, Citrix farm of 3000 Dell 6450's in 2002 in our 200,000 square foot datacenter and after awhile you feel like a monkey turning a wrench. We hire contractors shortly after to do all the racking!

Back to my point, today we run about 100 servers on 4 ESX hosts. Everything from Exchange 2010, Oracle 10g, and SQL with no issues. It is fantastic environment to manage. I just finished up our DR environment and we now do site to site replication with a 2-10 second gap of live production data.

So no, you are not crazy to go the VCP route. But you need a firm foundation.

John

apd123

I am taking the VSphere 4 class in a week and not too long ago I would have thought fibre channel was a spelling error. I have no interest in being a admin but if you do go for it really this is all that matters. Good luck I am sure you will do fine and these skills will be in demand moving forward. At the Cisco partner level for example there has been a dramatic shift away from pushing Unified Communications to pushing the Unified Computing System.

thenjduke

Good advice here. I have been doing vmware administration since vmware 2.5 and we are getting to role out vmware view for desktops. I would suggest getting the MCITP/SA/EA certs and then work towards that VCP. This is what my plan is. I am working on CCNA Security right now but going to do the VCP as soon as I finish up as job is requiring it. We work very close to EMC and VMWare for our storage needs so it is require for us.