Network Administrator
What the work is
Installs and maintains hardware and software, implements, monitors and optimises network environments and infrastructure, documents diagnosis and resolution of network-related incidents, manages network security, and attends to other operational tasks. May also perform tasks such as help desk technical support and user training.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Monitors, maintains and optimises network environments and infrastructure
- Coordinates, installs and maintains computer software and hardware
- Implements, maintains, improves and audits security measures to ensure network security
- Troubleshoots and provides technical support for network-related incidents
- Reviews and updates policies, procedures and documentation relating to network design, infrastructure and security
- Coordinates backup management of all local resources to prevent loss of information
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the network team of a fictional school group that runs many campuses over shared connections. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A flaky connection that annoyed a whole campus finally behaves, and nobody has to think about it
- You map a mystery slowdown and prove which part of the network is to blame
- A planned change goes through overnight and nobody notices
Hard days
- An outage during exams, with every manager asking when it will be fixed
- Being blamed for a problem that is actually in somebody else's system
- Cabling in a hot ceiling space on a weekend, with a deadline on Monday
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 272132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.