NETWORK ADMINISTRATION
As the human race continues to embrace the age of technology and computers keep on revolutionizing the world as we know it, information technology has, to some extent, touched every industry and completely transformed the structure and very nature of how we go about our daily lives.
MEET MELANIE – Trainee Network Administrator Information Technology…..
If terms like Firewalls, Bit, Bytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes, Binary, Hard Drives, CPU, Megahertz, Pentium, Floppy, Input, Output, Booting, ROM, RAM, Hardware, Software, Mother Boards and Operating Systems do it for you, then this language will be totally understandable. However, such language was certainly foreign to Melanie. “I knew nothing about computers, I didn’t even know how to plug a monitor in, never mind how and why they did the things that they did,” she says.
A self-acknowledged, non-academic, average person with middle of the road school grades, Melanie certainly had no ambition to pursue study in any real form after graduating from Year 12. Still unsure of what she wanted to do, she picked up extra hours at her old, part time, after school job with a leading fashion retailer, making the transition from casual, after school, retail assistant to permanent, staff member. A ‘people person’ to the inner core, retail came easily to Melanie, but even with winning shop awards for her work and being encouraged to pursue management training within the company, the 17 year old knew she wanted something more.
When the local TAFE advertised two traineeships, one in Administration and the other in Information Technology (IT), Melanie decided to put in an application to see how she would go. Though unsuccessful in securing the Administration traineeship, she was offered the second in IT, an opportunity that she initially greeted with some caution. According to Melanie the computer industry has the somewhat undeserved image of being a place full of ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’ whose definition of good communication is being able to sit alone in some darkened room, talking to others, through special on line chat rooms. “Certainly, being quite an outgoing person, I was worried that I would get into a job with a whole bunch of obsessive technocrats that I just wouldn’t be able to relate to at all,” she admits.
In the end Melanie’s youthful sense of adventure and curiosity won the day. Actually attracted by the thought that she didn’t know anything about the computer industry at all and keen to try something a bit different and scary, Melanie decided that she would give the position a try. “Surprisingly, the IT industry is nothing like you would imagine it to be,” she says candidly. “My fears of been bored out of my mind, stuck in some tiny workshop with a set of pliers and a soldering iron couldn’t have been further from the truth.” Melanie has since found that lateral thinking and a creative mind are far more desired within the IT industry than a technical aptitude or ability. “I think most women are put off coming into the industry because they believe it’s a job for boys who like soldering two wires together or plugging in a new hard drive or memory stick,” she says. “Once the basics are mastered, IT is far more about developing solutions for real life communication problems and finding new and better ways for doing things.”
The 19 year old thinks that it’s important for those within the IT industry, such as herself, to know how to listen and talk to people so that they can get a sense of their customer’s needs and desires as far as information technology is concerned. “That’s why the industry is evolving so quickly. It has to find totally new solutions to fresh issues every single day of the week,” she explains. This, Melanie believes, makes the IT industry ideally suited to women, simply because they have a growing reputation as being more innovative and lateral thinking than the guys.
Looking through the glass divider between her workstation and the classroom next store, Melanie is a strong advocate for the benefits of undertaking a traineeship. “The guys next door essentially have the same goals in mind as me,” she says. “At the end of the day, we are all working towards our Certificate 4 in Network Management or similar, computer related qualification. The difference is that I am paid to learn and develop my skills. Also my training is far more practical and hands on, simply because I am working for an employer who utilises a very comprehensive IT network that has to be used extensively by a large number of people on a daily basis. I therefore have to help deal with and problem solve real issues that naturally arise from day to day,” Melanie adds.
Now in the second year of her Certificate 4 Melanie sees herself as part of a very different world than she was in only a year previously. Currently in the process of building a complex firewall designed to provide state of the art security and protection against viruses and hackers, the teenager is now part of a global community that has its own language, laws and life in the fascinating world of cyberspace. Where only eighteen months previously the high school graduate hardly knew how to turn a computer on, she now enjoys being part of one of the fastest changing and developing industries in the world. With its cutting edge technology and a worldwide demand for technicians that can stay on top of developments, Melanie is assured of a lucrative career as a Network Administrator.
It doesn’t take a lot of research to realise that women are being seen as the next leaders of the Information Technology industry and if Melanie has her way, she’ll be at the forefront of this new wave. Though completing university study was the furthest thought in her mind as a 17 year old, a degree in computing or Information Technology almost seems like a natural extension to her traineeship. “I certainly won’t be stopping at my Certificate 4. The next step will be to acquire my Network Plus, A Plus or Microsoft Certification or something similar,” she says.
Citing a good attitude and the ability to weather out the obligatory steep learning curve over the first few months, Melanie believes IT is a great industry for any woman to have a creative and rewarding career. “I certainly believe that, contrary to the stories, you don’t have to be a guy and you certainly don’t have to be a computer geek to make a success of this industry,” she says sincerely.
PERSONAL MOTTO:
“If I start it – I finish it. Once I am on the road, there is no turning back.”
CAREER ADVICE TO OTHERS:
“Consider giving Information Technology a go. It may seem a little hard just at the beginning, but then anything new can seem hard when you first start out.”
INTERESTED?
Follow the link for further info on this career area and various education & training options in your state OR contact your Careers Advisor.
NB: If you wish to attend TAFE/CIT contact these institutions directly for the latest course info and advice about this career area.
More Info:
TAFE NSW: 131 601 / CIT: (02) 6207 3188 CIT: http://www.cit.act.edu.au/home / TAFE: https://www.tafensw.edu.au/ Website: http://www.jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/
Web Link: http://www.jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/occupation/view/262113A
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