On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:27:35 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> The first task, then, is to adjust my CV. I wrote it to try to
> demonstrate what an awesome programmer I am; most of it is completely
> irrelevant if I'm not trying to be a programmer any more. So in summary,
> I've just spent an hour working on my CV, and it's now about half the
> length it was before. o_O

It's a good start - and good to hear you're starting this in earnest.

> The trouble is, when I'm trying to be a programmer, I can say "hey,
> dude! I know Pascal, Prolog, Java, JavaScript, Smalltalk, Tcl, Haskell,
> Eiffel, pick me! Pick me! I've learned all about data compression,
> cryptography and cryptanalysis, digital signal processing, database
> theory, logic design, error-correcting codes, binary data
> representation, I know stuff about stuff! Pick me!!"
> 
> ...all of which has absolutely nothing to do with just keeping a few
> servers running. So having just deleted all that stuff off my CV, it
> looks a tad bare now. :-/

Being able to program is a very useful skill when doing system 
administration, especially in larger companies.  I would still include 
your programming skills, even if they're not as prominent.  I think I 
showed you one of my old CVs, where I listed about 15 languages I've 
written some code in.  I've never been a professional software developer, 
only sysadmin work before I moved into training.

Programming (and more importantly, the type of problem solving that 
programming requires) is very useful when looking to build automation 
solutions.  That's something a fair number of sysadmins do, if only to 
keep their sanity from doing repetitive tasks that a computer can do 
better.

> I suppose now I need to come up with a bunch of keywords to fill my CV
> with. Stuff like "Active Directory" and "BackupExec" and "Oracle" and
> "Ethernet". But then my CV ends up just being a soup of keywords.
> Besides, if I just sit there and spew fourth a long list of technical
> terms, that just proves that I'm good at looking up technobabble. The
> most likely response is going to be "yeah? prove it."

Which you can do, because you've been doing it.  Chances are you'll be 
asked to do some sort of test (or at least answer some questions) to show 
that your skills are more than just words on paper. :-)

Jim

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