SYNOPSIS
A Systems Analyst, also known
as junior systems engineer, a junior network engineer who can also program, or
a junior software engineer who can also manage networks, is an IT professional
who is a team member in 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 analyst helps integrate
various network operating systems, application programs and hardware devices to
meet the business needs present in an agreed upon specification.
Duties of a systems analyst
typically include performing some of the tasks related to the development cycle
associated with producing an integrated technical system, 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 analyst should frequently take time to train and get certified on some
of the latest networking and application development topics. As well a systems
analyst must deal with customers, coworkers, systems engineers and project
managers and thus should be a good team player. A systems analyst will likely
be able to fill in for both network and programming staff in a pinch but will
tend to specialize in just one of those two job roles. To excel at this role, a
candidate must have strong troubleshooting skills and be able to work on a
portion of a system and then be able to help integrate that portion to the
whole system. A candidate should be a good writer, both for inline code
documentation, network configuration documentation, and documentation related
to the system development cycle.
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 help translate
specifications into a design and then to efficiently and successfully implement
the design into a reliable working system is key to this job. As well, attention
to detail is important, especially when it comes time to integrate work with
other team members and to ferret out bugs.
A systems analyst, 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 analyst. A systems analyst can grow
into a systems engineer, network engineer, lead application developer or
software engineer.
Salary information is so
dependent on an IT professional’s particular skill set, experience and geographic
location. However, talented systems analysts can attain salaries of $45,000 to
60,000 USD.  |
