[Beowulf] cluster admin employment

[Mark Kosmowski]

> Message: 7
> Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:50:30 -0400
> From: Mike Davis <jmdavis1 at vcu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Beowulf] How Can Microsoft's HPC Server Succeed?
> To: Kyle Spaans <3lucid at gmail.com>
> Cc: Beowulf List <beowulf at beowulf.org>
> Message-ID: <47F54316.5090508 at vcu.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
> Kyle Spaans wrote:
> >>  What if your data is sensitive or has HIPPA requirements? Do you want a
> >> part-timer having admin control of that data (regardless if it is Linux,
> >> Windows, or MacOSX)?
> >>
> >
> > Isn't that what NDAs are for?
> > _______________________________________________
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>
>
> NDA= lawsuit
>
> HIPPA combined with Sarb-Ox= massive fines or jail time.
>
>
> One does not want a high school student managing a cluster (or db
> machine or even laptop) that falls under HIPPA guidelines.
>
>
> My last 2 hires were internal. I began with more than 100 applicants in
> each case, narrowed to a shortlist of 5-7 for interviews. Discovered
> that at least 4 of that 7 who claimed linux or unix admin experience
> didn't even know how to create a new user. Their supposed batch
> experience (specified as SGE, PBS, Torque, LSF) was running jobs in the
> background from the command line. They had little experience with RAID
> and had not even bothered to do any research before showing up for the
> interview.  In other words, they were unqualified.
>
> Mike Davis
>
For Mike and the rest of you:

If one of these unqualified applicants had accurately mapped out their
deficiencies and let you know that they would need a little training,
would said applicant have been considered at all or would their resume
have been filed in the "circular file" (slang for the trash bin)?

Does someone who has maintained a personal cluster for their graduate
research have any reasonable chance of landing some sort of admin
position?  Given that state of the economy, I've been kind of hoping
that I could look into admin positions as a backup plan if a position
in my field is not readily available once I finish my doctoral studies
- it would be helpful to know whether this is a realistic possibility.

Thanks,

Mark Kosmowski