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IT CAREER TRACKS:

Systems Engineer

A Systems Engineer, also known as lead systems analyst, a network engineer who can also program, or a software engineer who can also manage networks, is an IT professional who oversees the creation of hybrid software, web and hardware products from initial specifications to final rollout and maintenance. These products are often sophisticated systems that run on the web, proprietary hardware or a combination of systems. The systems engineer is responsible to integrate various network operating systems, application programs and hardware devices to meet the business needs present in an agreed upon specification.


DUTIES

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Duties of a systems engineer typically include managing the development cycle associated with producing a resilient software, hardware and web application, including: specification, design, coding, testing and maintenance. With the complexity of modern systems, and with the rapid advance of new tools and platforms, a systems engineer must have a passion for lifelong learning. As well a systems engineer must deal with customers, staff and upper management and thus have very good interpersonal skills. A systems engineer will generally do less hands-on programming than a systems analyst or even an application developer, as well as less hands-on network management than a network engineer. In many ways, this role is a combination of a programming, network support and management position. To excel at this role, a candidate must have strong organizational skills, troubleshooting skills and the ability to deal with customers, staff (both programming and networking) and upper management with tact, decisiveness and timeliness. A good candidate for this role will have the backbone to convince his or her coworkers and clients that the more time spent on specification and design will in fact save time in coding and testing. Moreover, a candidate should be comfortable with writing and using other design tools associated with the frequent document creation that occurs in all phases of a system development cycle.


PREREQUISITES

A person may consider entering this field after attaining a Computer Science or Computer Engineering university degree or a one or two year computer or engineering diploma from a local technical institute. With the emphasis in engineering principles from a Computer Engineering degree or diploma, this in some ways is preferable to a Computer Science degree or diploma. In any event, the ability to understand a customer’s needs (specifications), and break that down into a coherent design is key to this job. As well, attention to detail is important when the project enters the implementation and testing phase. Lastly, perseverance is necessary to complete a system and move it into maintenance mode.


ADVANCEMENT

A systems engineer, as he or she gains experience, generally receives more advanced and interesting systems to work on. Getting the right mix of training and hands on experience will accelerate the career growth of a systems engineer. As time passes, the systems engineer can continue to specialize more in application development or network management, move more into an IT management role, or become a full time project manager.


Certification Examples Include:

CCDA; CCIE; CISSP; CIW Associate; CIW Professional; CIW Security Analyst; CIW Web Developer; Linux+; LPIC1-Linux Junior Level; LPIC2-Linux Intermediate Level; Master CIW Administrator; Master CIW Enterprise Developer; MCAD .NET; MCDBA; MCNE; MCSD .NET; MCSE 2003; NetWare 5 CNE; NetWare 6 CNE; Project+; RHCE; RHCT; SCP J2SE; Security+; Server+; Solaris 8 SCNA; Solaris 9 SCNA; TICSA