Conversation

Notices

1. khm (khm@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:53 UTC khm

   I'm hiring a Linux systems administrator:

   https://careers.pnnl.gov/jobs/3186?lang=en-us

   Feel free to ask me questions about this role.

   • Emacsen (emacsen@emacsen.net)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:50 UTC Emacsen

     in reply to

     @khm

     Here's an anecdote I think you will appreciate.

     We had a lot of scientific code we inherited, and one of our programmers was a Ph.D computer scientist.

     He created a ticket saying our compiler (gcc) was broken because he could not compile his code.

     I asked him for the error he was receiving and I couldn't figure out what the heck it meant. I had the GCC manual on my desk in printed form and it wasn't something I'd seen before.

     I asked him for the line used to compile the program...

   • Emacsen (emacsen@emacsen.net)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:50 UTC Emacsen

     in reply to

     @khm

     What he sent back was several lines long and involved many arguments I was unfamiliar with. More than that, some were conceptually in opposition.

     Nonetheless gcc was attempting to compile the software, then failing with this obscure error message.

     When I asked the programmer what these arguments were doing, he replied to me:

     "I read somewhere that arguments were good, so I included all of them."

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • Emacsen (emacsen@emacsen.net)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:51 UTC Emacsen

     in reply to

     @khm

     Awesome. Sorry for the rant. NASA was the worst about this... I have so many horror stories about the "scientific programmers".

     I apologize and am glad you're doing the right thing.

   • khm (khm@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:51 UTC khm

     in reply to

     • Emacsen

     @emacsen No apologies needed. The problem you describe is *rampant* in research spaces, and I'm not going to pretend that problem doesn't exist at PNNL too.

     But I am the Group Lead for Computing, Analytics, and Modeling at EMSL. I am the hiring manager for our computing roles here, and I am an actual systems administrator who has never even been to grad school.

     Does the lab still have progress to make? Hell yes. But the fact that I'm a non-PhD in a leadership role should demonstrate hope!

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • Emacsen (emacsen@emacsen.net)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:52 UTC Emacsen

     in reply to

     @khm

     As someone who worked at some of the best research institutions in the world, including NASA, the Human Genome Project, and NCBI (makers of PubMed and BLAST) I have to tell you that I find this section on minimum qualifications downright insulting.

     A Ph.D with 1 year experience as a sys-admin is the same to you as a BA with 5 years?

     I've worked with Ph.D scientists, with Nobel Prize level scientists, and the qualifications don't match up here.

     ...

   • Emacsen (emacsen@emacsen.net)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:52 UTC Emacsen

     in reply to

     @khm

     Moreover, it was just this kind of academic elitism that often made working in these places so challenging- a Ph.D who only had a rudimentary understanding of programming was given greater respect that a MA with a decade of experience, but because the management had experience a scientists and not sys-admins, they imposed their experience onto the job and environment- often to the detriment of people who knew better.

     I suggest if you are looking for a sys-admin, look for a sys-admin.

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • khm (khm@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:45:52 UTC khm

     in reply to

     • Emacsen

     @emacsen Believe me, as a self-taught sysadmin with a bachelor's degree in Random Trash, you are singing my song. I & others have been working hard to change lab policies in this regard -- as an example, we no longer require any degree for most software engineering positions.

     These things are the lab's attempt to enforce some semblence of pay equity. In PNNL terms this is a 'level 3' position and these are lab-enforced requirements to apply for this role/salary.

     I hire based on capability.

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • khm (khm@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Thursday, 24-Feb-2022 07:52:14 UTC khm

     in reply to

     • Emacsen

     @emacsen And let me clarify that "capability" means the systems engineering and problem-solving initiative inherent to the role of a systems administrator -- no amount of certifications or diplomas or resume fodder will convince me.

     Our hiring process involves conversations with domain scientists and other IT people about how our systems work, what skills they and we bring to the table, and the methods to foster a collaborative, supportive work environment. No whiteboard gotchas, etc.

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.