Network and Computer Systems Administrators

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

People in this career often do these activities:

• Implement security measures for computer or information systems.
• Develop computer or information security policies or procedures.
• Create electronic data backup to prevent loss of information.
• Resolve computer network problems.
• Troubleshoot issues with computer applications or systems.

• Resolve computer software problems.
• Maintain computer networks to enhance performance and user access.
• Collaborate with others to resolve information technology issues.
• Provide technical support for computer network issues.
• Monitor the performance of computer networks.
• Document network-related activities or tasks.
• Test computer hardware performance.
• Test software performance.
• Design integrated computer systems.
• Maintain the inventory of equipment.
• Document operational activities.
• Analyze project data to determine specifications or requirements.
• Identify information technology project resource requirements.
• Recommend changes to improve computer or information systems.
• Coordinate resource procurement activities.
• Collect data about customer needs.
• Analyze data to identify or resolve operational problems.
• Train others in computer interface or software use.
• Conduct research to gain information about products or processes.
• Update knowledge about emerging industry or technology trends.
• Install computer hardware.

• Computer Network Architects

• Computer Systems Analysts

• Database Administrators

• Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

• Computer Systems Engineers/Architects

• Computer User Support Specialists

• Information Security Analysts

• Web Administrators