Andrey Ovchinnikov, System Administrator

Today Andrey Ovchinnikov, System Administrator at Exactpro, will talk about his devotion to IT, the important personal qualities that are required in system administration, as well as share his most coveted dream.

I started working at Exactpro in October 2017. I have a degree in physics and mathematics, so I have mostly worked in IT throughout my life, but I will also tell you about a few surprising places. Back when I was a student, I started my career as a programmer at the university, where I stayed for several years even after my graduation, but I believe that the most unusual place I’ve ever worked at was Kostroma’s Ipatiev Monastery. Once, as an experiment, I left IT for 1.5 years to become an engineer at a construction company, but I'm glad to have found my way back to what I enjoy most.

I am very comfortable working as a system administrator. My responsibilities are expanding steadily, requiring continuous learning, which, intellectually, keeps me on my toes.

At our company, a sysadmins' job primarily consists in supporting and developing the infrastructure, as well as supporting projects and users. Besides, every sysadmin should be a wise and responsive psychologist. My postgraduate experience in social psychology helps me a lot in this.  

What I enjoy most in my work is deploying a new project from scratch. This involves creating a new micro-infrastructure: in my mind, I design it as a perfect system, but, in reality, all we can do is, of course, strive for perfection. 

As to my hobbies, for years, I was into trophy-raid competitions: I liked the combination of driving, taking care of the car and traveling. Now my dream is to build a motorhome, perfectly suited for the needs of our family, and go on a long trip together. These are in fact my favourite hobbies these days – traveling with my family and cooking over an open fire on a barbecue or in a kazan.