Network Administrator

In most work environments, there are two communities. The first is the human community, which consists of employees interacting with peers, vendors, and customers inside offices, beside cubicles, around water coolers, and across sales counters. The second is the virtual community, which consists of computers, telephones, and peripherals communicating with each other and the outside world via a complex network of wires and cables that connect to a central computer — or server — where company files and programs are stored.

Although the first community is the heart of the business, the second is its brain, which keeps the heart beating like a locomotive keeps a train moving. As a Network Administrator, you’re the Locomotive Engineer, fueling and steering employee productivity with technology.

In offices and other workplaces, you’re paid as a Network Administrator, to manage and maintain your company’s computer network once it’s been designed by a Network Engineer and installed by a Network Technician. Usually, that means owning a few key IT tasks. For instance, you install network hardware and software; connect new computers and peripherals to the network; configure employee email, spam, and security settings; set up user accounts, passwords, and permissions; create firewalls; monitor network performance for optimal speed and stability; perform server backups; and troubleshoot network problems, including computer viruses, data loss, and server crashes.

A master of desktops, laptops, servers, printers, IP addresses, routers, switches, phones, and software, you’re your company’s “Computer Cop ” as a Network Administrator — responding to calls of technical distress in order to serve and protect the network, the company, and the end-user.