Looking for advice: Where do I even start as a new azure system administrator?
Hi everyone,
I recently graduated with a degree in systems science, which is somewhat similar to compsci, but with less coding and more focus on theory, systems, business and how IT fits into organizations.
A few months ago I started as a system administrator trainee at a company. During the interview, I was told that there was a plan for my onboarding and that I would have a mentor who could guide me through the trainee period.
Now that a few months have passed, I’ve started feeling pretty lost.
I don’t have a technical background in the traditional sense and I’m also the first trainee they’ve hired for this type of role. Over time, I’ve realized that they probably weren’t quite sure themselves how to structure the onboarding, which I completely understand. It’s a new situation for them too.
The problem is that I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be doing or where I should start.
Most of my days have consisted of trying to teach myself things. I can of course ask my coworkers for help, and they are very nice and willing to help when they can, but they’re also very busy and have their own responsibilities. I’ve tried asking for smaller or easier tasks that I could take ownership of and learn from, but I haven’t really been given many yet.
I’m also the youngest person and the only woman in my IT department, while most of my coworkers have 30+ years of experience. Sometimes they explain things to me as if I should already know them and I think the huge difference in experience makes me underestimate myself quite a lot and I´ve got too scared to ask when I don’t understand anything because of this.
My team manager keeps telling me to take it easy and not put so much pressure on myself, but that’s easier said than done when I feel like I’m barely making any progress. I really wanna contribute to the team and become good at this but I think it has started affecting my confidence quite a bit.
If you were starting over as a junior/new system administrator, what would you focus on?
Are there any projects you would recommend doing to actually turn the theoretical knowledge into practical skills?
I feel like I have a basic understanding and I’ve also gone through some of the AZ-900 material and learning about Azure, but I’m struggling with the question of "okay, I understand what a VNet/subnet/VM/NSG/etc. is… but what do I actually DO with this knowledge?”.
I think I need to start building and troubleshooting things rather than just reading about them.
If you were in my position, what would you learn first, and what kind of small projects or exercises would you do?
Any advice would honestly be appreciated. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and could really use some perspective from people who started out in a similar position.
Thanks in advance.