The job blends security and maintenance: monitoring systems for intrusions or denial-of-service attacks, maintaining backup and disaster recovery plans, and tracking down the source of website or server problems when something breaks. Administrators also run testing and quality checks on sites and applications, then correct issues that testing turns up, while setting and communicating clear access and security levels across a team. It's steady desk work with regular deadline pressure and a strong emphasis on following structured procedures.
Pros
High upside earning potential, up to $188k
Much faster than average projected growth (8.2%), with a large occupation (31,300 jobs) nationally
Comparatively humane hours, capped around 45 per week
Cons
Constant vigilance required to catch intrusions or denial of service attacks
Work is highly structured, following set procedures with less creative latitude
Responsible for disaster recovery, meaning high stakes when backups or plans fail
A typical day
The 8am check opens the dashboards: uptime, response times, and overnight security alerts, one of which shows a bot hammering the login page and earns an IP block and a rate-limit tightening. Mid-morning is maintenance-window work -- patching the CMS and server packages on staging first, because updating production blind is how outages happen. The afternoon brings a marketing request for a new landing page, a broken checkout traced to an expired API credential, and certificate renewals automated one domain further. The day closes verifying that last night's backups actually restore, which is the test most people skip until the day it ruins them.
Tasks at the job
Monitor systems for intrusions or denial of service attacks, and report security breaches to appropriate personnel.
Identify or document backup or recovery plans.
Back up or modify applications and related data to provide for disaster recovery.
Correct testing-identified problems, or recommend actions for their resolution.
Identify, standardize, and communicate levels of access and security.
Determine sources of Web page or server problems, and take action to correct such problems.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in a climate-controlled setting, and most of the day is spent sitting at a desk.
There's a regular, moderate amount of time pressure, and you're expected to exercise significant independent judgment day to day. The work is highly structured, following set procedures.
Education necessary or common
Bachelor's degree
Common college majors
Information SystemsComputer ScienceInformation Technology