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Cody Harlow
Cody Harlow
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  • Cary, NC
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How to start out in system adminstration?
12 Replies

I'm currently a high school student. I'm thinking about getting a Computer Science degree. Is that good for system administrators?Also how else can I learn? Are there books, websites, demos, etc that…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by Andrew Egan Oct 1, 2010.

 

Cody Harlow's Page

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Andrew Egan replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Hi Cody, I never went to college (or university, call it what you will) and I honestly don't beleive it has negatively impacted my career - I've had plenty of hands-on experience, and try to back it up with industry certifications. If…
Oct 1, 2010
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Phil Shannon replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Hi Cody- I agree with some of the other comments. In the corporate desktop world Windows seems to be a clear #1. If you someday want a job supporting corporate Windows environments, learning PowerShell and/or VB Script is better than Perl. You…
Aug 12, 2010
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Cole Lavallee replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Agreed. There's so much you can do now with PowerShell ( and even intergrate VBScript with PoSH). I'd most definitely start looking into PowerShell. It's a native Microsoft tool, huge user base and extremely powerful.
Jul 8, 2010
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Dan Taylor replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
PowerShell and VBScript are core tools of my job, they enable me to automate tasks that would otherwise need excessive repetition. I'm sure that you can use Perl Scripts to accomplish the same things but I find that often the native windows…
Jul 8, 2010
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Cody Harlow replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Thank you for all the replies. Sorry for getting back so late. I have a DreamSpark account so I have access to Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2008 R2 along with SQL Server and the like. @Cole Lavallee - Thanks for those virtual labs! Now my next…
Jul 8, 2010
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Marc Dekeyser replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Rehashing what is already said :) THat CS degree will help you get a foot in the door more easily then a high school degree. Whilst you're doing that you can get hands on experience building environments and trying to crash them & fix em!…
Jul 8, 2010
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John McGrath replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Second to Jason. Experience is your best friend; VMware has free versions of its server software, and creating a Vmware server is experience you can use later.
Jul 7, 2010
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Shane Corellian replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
A CS degree will help you understand the why and the how of System Administration. It cannot, however, replace constant learning and experience. I know quite a few "admins" who have a CS degree but when asked to create a new GPO give the…
Jul 1, 2010
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Jason Short replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
I agree with that. The best teacher is experience. Painful, painful experience. :)
Jul 1, 2010
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Dan Taylor replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
My original degree was Computer Science and I must say that having majored in Software Design and Implementation it has certainly helped my understanding of the world of System Administration. Knowing what is going on beneath the hood gives me…
Jun 30, 2010
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Cole Lavallee replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
I agree with Jason. A CS degree would be somewhat helpful, as knowing why applications do certain things/how they relate to the hardware/networking type of environment. VMware Player is free, and you can get trial versions of Microsoft products…
Jun 29, 2010
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Jason Short replied to Cody Harlow's discussion 'How to start out in system adminstration?'
Computer Science will be more about theory and programming than about system administration. I find that most of what I learned (I have a CS degree) does not directly apply to the sysadmin world, BUT having some idea of what's going on…
Jun 29, 2010
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How to start out in system adminstration?

I'm currently a high school student. I'm thinking about getting a Computer Science degree. Is that good for system administrators?Also how else can I learn? Are there books, websites, demos, etc that I can work with?Thanks!See More
Discussion posted by Cody Harlow Jun 28, 2010
12 Comments
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Cody Harlow left a comment for Wesley "Nonapeptide"
I'm actually a high school student. Thanks for the welcome.
Jun 28, 2010
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Wesley "Nonapeptide" left a comment for Cody Harlow
Hello Cody! Nice to have you here. What are you studying?
Jun 28, 2010
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Cody Harlow updated their profile Jun 28, 2010

Profile Information

Job title
Student
Tech Interests - e.g. Virtualisation? Cisco? Etc.
Linux, Cisco, Windows

Comment Wall (1 comment)

At 6:52pm on June 28, 2010, Wesley "Nonapeptide"Wesley "Nonapeptide" said…
Hello Cody! Nice to have you here. What are you studying?

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