What I do here at Washington University

My son needed a job description of why someone like me actually gets paid a salary to hang around the same university for so many years, so here is what I do, what tools I use and how I help keep this place going.

Personally speaking, I love working here at Washington University, even though I know I could have (and I have in the past) earned a much higher salary working out in the "real world". Here I can provide resources to help some of the world's leading experts in the earth and planetary sciences in their efforts to learn more about the planet we live on and the celestial bodies throughout the universe. Plus I am providing resources to train future experts in the field at one of the top research universities in the world. The environment here is incredibly stimulating and always changing. I cannot think of a better place to work for someone like myself who enjoys a host of different tasks and challenges every single day.

My Responsibilities

  1. Number One and foremost is administering and maintaining our main departmental Mail and Web server. This involves adding, deleting and modifying users and their permissions and volumes they can access, as well as backing up the system, checking on disk space and processor utilization, and making sure all the services there are running properly. Mail services especially seem to need constant tweaking these days with the enormous volume of mail we receive. I must write programs to monitor and maintain the systems and configure everything to work properly in a secure but usable manner.
  2. Next is maintaining all the other Linux and Solaris systems providing services to the department. Some labs have folks that supports their systems, but I administer the others either with other folks or as backup for other folks.
  3. I also maintain all the Ethernet and Wireless networking within the department, activating network ports, maintaining the switches and routers, assigning static IP addresses, adding devices to the DHCP server access list, and adding, deleting and modifying DNS names for static addresses.
  4. I configure, order and setup all the computer systems for people in the department who want me to do it for them! It is always fun to buy new computers for folks, so we can talk about how excited they were when they received their first Mac SE, SPARCstation 5 or Pentium-II. It is great to be in an area where new purchases keep getting cheaper and you are always receiving better and cooler stuff! Sometimes I feel like Santa Claus and it is not even my own money! People love getting new computer gear much more than a new filing cabinet or a new stapler.
  5. I also setup and maintain all the networked departmental printers on our subnet. I also order and replace all the consumables which has grown into quite a monstrous task! I always try to find the best prices on supplies and talk to quite a few vendors trying to sell us everything. It is hard to get salespeople to understand the word "NO".
  6. I support the classroom projectors, computers and multimedia systems for the classrooms not supported by the Arts & Sciences Teaching Center. I also even help in the Teaching Center supported classes when Mike or Alan are just too busy to get here quick enough! I actually helped layout and specify the systems in the departmental classrooms, especially 308 (the GIS computer classroom) where I also maintain all the systems in there.
  7. I maintain all the licensed software as well as all the free software (which I always try to support more!), which the department purchases and distributes to users. The world would be so much easier if everyone just used OpenOffice.org, the GIMP, Thunderbird and Firefox on Linux. I am the department's biggest Linux and open source software advocate and must say the word "Linux" at least ten times a day to people. Plus it is a lot of fun to constantly bash Microsoft since they are such an easy target.
  8. I also provide all the day to day user support on an individual basis for whoever needs it for every platform of computer, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS and even lowly Windows XP. I even try to figure out Vista, and perform deep personal memory scans for almost forgotten knowledge of Windows 98 or NT for folks still running those ancient systems. Yes, someone here is even running VMS!
  9. Working in a university, I also have the opportunity to share my knowledge with other so I participate in both learning and teaching opportunities which is part of my job. We are encouraged to listen in on classes and presentations, and even asked to give presentations. Therefore, since I support the systems used in giving classes, I often listen to classes and presentations to learn what is going on within our department. I help lead orientation sessions, and give presentations about computing, as well as helping to teach new students and employees about how to use the systems and follow the procedures necessary at the university. I do sit in the occasional committee and group meeting, but it is nothing compared to my previous corporate position when I wasted countless hours sitting in extremely boring management meetings. Some folks here must do that, but not me!

Tools of the Trade

Hugh