What is job like?

It all depends on why they work in this field and their temperament.

Those with a [b]Short Fuse[/b] and who are in it for [b]Easy Money[/b] are the ones that burn out as they do what's easiest now and do not take a long term view and burn out because they can not be bothered to do it properly the first time and make their lives easier in the Long Term.

Those that [b]Love[/b] the work and are mistakenly called [b]Perfectionists[/b] know that there is only one way to do the job and that is properly to begin with and this makes your life easier in the long run. Saving 5 minutes initially always ends up costing you days in the long run.

[i]What seem to be the biggest repeating problems you seem to face and manage?[/i]

People taking shortcuts and they end up costing me much more time & effort.

[i]What makes your job frustraiting?[/i]

People taking shortcuts and they end up costing me much more time & effort.

[i]Do you have an accurate network map of all nodes and all layer 2 and 3 equipment?[/i]

I do on every LAN that I setup but many don't. This then requires time and lots of it and effort to fault find when things go wrong.

[i]Any advice, or experience you can share would be deeply apprecieated.[/i]

Plan for the worst at all times and then when it doesn't happen you get some free time.

[i]For example I was wondering how many meetings on average you must attend per week?[/i]

This depends on where you are working Government Offices you can attend meetings 24/7 and still have more to go to but in small Business the only time you get called in is when it don't work right. There is no hard & fast rule here it's an Individual thing related to the place you are working.

[i]It is my greatest career desire to become an outstanding I.T. profesional. I am researching every aspect of networking, the good and the bad.[/i]

It's generally better to look at the company where you may be working. This is much more important that the actual work involved as if you have to fight like hell for everything you'll be unhappy where as if all you have to do is ask for something and you get Immediate Approval within reason you'll be happier. There is also the Culture of the Business that you need to take into account. Office Politics I find frustrating and counterproductive but some people like this. At least that is what I'm told. :D

Col

there are too many variables, especially with what your position will actually be!

each company will be a bit different in most regards, so go get a job and find out for yourself.

she refused :( :(

she said 'I get sick on roller coasters'

she was working on a simulator project for that bird.

I would give my right arm for the chance to do that.....darn, now the 'Danger Zone' song from the movie Top Gun is stuck in my head.

Some could get burned out based on the people they work with, rather than getting burned out on the job it's self.

The first thing you have to do is make sure you are a good fit with the people and the work environment. IF that goes well, the actual work can be very interesting or very boring, depending on YOU and the way you look at things.

Also, expect as the new guy to be given the "crap jobs" for a while. The ones that no one else "likes".

Good luck.

Traits of successful admins: Attention to detail, ability to resolve issues, play well with others, complete work on time, come up with solutions working with existing infrastructure (not always having to buy something to resolve issues), prioritizing work by business impact, not personal preference. Document, document, document changes, networks, conversations, vendor discussions, issues, problems, etc...

Regarding repeating problems; proper documentation of issues will allow trend analysis, helping resolve the problem so it doesn't become a recurring issue.

Meetings: depends on the organization. The larger, more regulated, the more meetings you will probably attend or even participate in.

Frustrating aspects, if you are easily frustrated, IT may not be the place for you. That said, dealing with telcos is probably the most frustrating aspect for an admin who has alot of remote sites to manage.

Mapping: Yes, accurate? Depends how vigilant you are in documenting changes to the environment.

The single thing you can do to increase your value to an organization is to be a willing participant in their problem solving process, be it an IT issue, or a business process problem.