[TriLUG] OT: JOB Part-time assistant systems administrator

unixadmin job unixjob2011 at gmail.com
Mon Apr 25 12:13:37 EDT 2011


Please feel free to forward this to any qualified persons. Aptitude and
attitude matter as much as education and experience. We're looking for
someone to work 20-30 hours week.

Part time Assistant Systems Administrator
(20-30 hrs/wk)

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Someone to assist with installations, maintenance, and upgrades to
workstations and servers, primarily running Linux. Candidates should have a
good technical aptitude and want to develop skills that go beyond those of
your average IT monkey.

Prior experience working with Linux is of course required.

SOUNDS COOL. CAN YOU TELL ME MORE??
Sure. Some examples of possible duties include:
  - answering technical questions about common Linux software
  - writing scripts to automate simple tasks
  - compiling and/or packaging specialized software
  - upgrading end-user workstations (hardware and/or software upgrades)
  - interacting with students, faculty, and staff of various computer
literacy levels
  - educating yourself and your colleagues about relevant issues

OK. SO WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Ambitious, self-starting, creative, high-wattage people who are not afraid
of responsibility. Or occasional grunt work. Being able to deal with several
different categories of customer (students, faculty, staff) is a big plus.
As is the ability to deal with, and dish out, bad puns.

Ideal candidates probably already have experience:
  - administering Linux for themselves and family/friends
  - with common unix utilities (gnu software, latex, etc)
  - understanding common internet protocols and concepts (ssh, scp, rpc,
nmap, firewalls, etc)
  - writing simple scripts (bash, perl, python, or php)

SOUNDS DIFFICULT. WOULDN'T I JUST BE BETTER OFF FLIPPING BURGERS?
That depends. There are pros and cons. Hills and valleys. If aptitude tests
point you to a future in professional burgerflipping, go for it! Working
here would be a speedbump on the drive-through of your career.

TELL ME MORE ABOUT THOSE HILLS AND VALLEYS...
Don't take that literally. This is the piedmont of NC. While Chapel Hill is
named for a... well, hill, hills and valleys is meant as more of a metaphor.
The good news is that you'll be working in an academic environment. But
doing real work. For real people.

If hired, you will be offered:
  - somewhat flexible hours to allow for outside committments (majority of
time worked is during business hours, but time off for classes, family, etc.
is fine)
  - a convenient on-campus work location
  - the ability to build your resume while making money
  - pay commensurate with experience

FAIR ENOUGH. HOW ABOUT THE BAD NEWS?
The big disadvantage is that you'll be working in a small organization; lots
of room to make the job your own, take the initiative, and learn a lot. But
there's nowhere to hide. If you can't cut it, everyone will know.

Intimidated yet?

As mentioned directly above, pay is commensurate with experience, but I'm
sorry to say it's generally not competitive with industry jobs in RTP.
However the atmosphere is quite different from those huge, monolithic,
dinosaur employers in more ways than we can shake a laptop at. So if your
ultimate goal is to grind away at IBM, SAS, or the EPA until you earn a
corner office, a mid-life crisis, clinical depression, or some dreary
confluence of the above, it might be wise to re-think your choices. This job
just might be the wrong launch pad.

SURELY YOU EXAGERATE?
Yes. We do. Often.

WHAT'S YOUR DRESS CODE?
Since naked employees tend to be distracting, our dress code asks employees,
politely but firmly, to dress. Those who remain persistently, defiantly nude
may be subject to a reprimand. (We haven't had to resort to that yet, but we
remain ever vigilant.)

MORE PROS PLEASE.
Well, our offices are on the beautiful campus of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. There are plenty of intellectuals around. The
campus hosts seminars and colloquia on everything from anthropology to
zoology, and flexible work hours if you want to attend any of them. If
you're so inclined, you can even register for classes (on your dime). The
faculty here are shaping the minds of tomorrow's scientists. The students
and faculty do "real science" every day. And there are plenty of lunch
options on Franklin Street, within easy walking distance.

THOSE ARE TRIVIAL MATTERS. TELL ME MORE ABOUT "THE JOB".
Sorry. We get easily distracted by food. We have good news there, too.
First, we work for a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students with
nothing in common except this: they're generally nice people who are also
easily distracted by food (and will use any occasion as an excuse to get
together to eat).

Second, nobody here gives a rat's posterior about your age, gender, race,
religion, national origin, green hair, sorority, sexual orientation, table
manners, tattoos, tanktops, tonedeafness, politics, or pierced body parts.
You'll be measured only on your ability to make great things happen for
customers.

Third, you'll learn as much as you have the ability and initiative to learn.
We wear a lot of hats, and while it might be a few weeks before you know our
systems well enough to be productive, we'd expect good ideas, critical
thinking, and intelligent questions from day one.

NOW are you intimidated?

NOT A BIT. HIT ME WITH THE DOWNSIDES.
Well, in addition to what I already mentioned before, housing, food, and
transportation in Chapel Hill are all expensive. This job is classified as a
temporary position, so you won't recieve any benefits or health
insurance. Every once in a while, the Big Cheese plays Jimmy Buffett, Johnny
Cash, or old '80s tunes. You're likely to acquire a nickname, like "Spunky,"
or "Skippy," (mostly kidding about the nickname, Skippy).

If you commute to campus, the bus can sometimes be crowded and, in summer,
icky. Being on the bottom of the totem pole means you might get some crummy
jobs, like refilling printers or walking across campus to reboot a server
when it's hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

I'M NOT SCARED OFF YET, BUSTER. BUT IF I JUST GRADUATED, WILL IT JUMPSTART
MY CAREER?
Maybe. Maybe not. But in these difficult economic times, working at
something tends to look a lot better than big blanks on your resume. And
working in a technical job will help ensure your skills don't atrophy. Our
past employees are now working in jobs from tiny startups to the U.S.
government... from Apple Computer to Google to a zoo (seriously the first
two aren't zoos).

OK. I'M SOLD. WHERE DO I APPLY?
If this sounds appealing to you, please email your text resume and cover
letter to unixjob2011 at gmail.com. No Microsoft-formatted documents, please.
Due to the training required to get up to speed with our infrastructure and
computing environment, preference may be given to applicants who can commit
to at least 8-12 months part-time.

HOW DO I MAKE SURE I'M HIRED?
There's no magic bullet. No tried and true formula. But it helps to sell
yourself. Don't be afraid to tell us, in your letter, about the weekend you
have to leave early to be in Brittani's wedding, why you refuse to wear Polo
shirts, or about your allergy to dairy. But make sure, while you're showing
us how unique and creative you are, that you also tell us about the computer
skills you have!

Lastly, this is a Darwinian competition. There are no guidelines, deadlines,
or prize (or even notification) for second place. For those that don't seem
to get it: we notify those we choose to interview and nobody
else. Cold and cruel? Perhaps. So don't bother following up "to see if it
arrived." It did. This is a last-one-standing fight with no hard and fast
rules. Fortune favors the brave. Is that you?

tl



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