How do I tell my boss he needs to hire an IT Admin?

Question

My new responsibility as IT Admin - how can I deal with a situation outside my abilities?

Long story short, my department doesn't have an IT admin and it needs one badly. My boss has been attempting to get by having student developers attempt to administrate the network on the side. I have gotten some help from professional administrators for a short term solution, but feel this still isn't enough. I will only be working here for 1 more month, but I still feel like I need to communicate that I, along with the other student developers, don't feel prepared to take on the responsibilities of an IT Administrator. I'm not really sure what is appropriate at this point and need some guidance in telling my boss that I think the department needs its own IT Administrator.

How can I professionally tell my boss this news? Would it be something appropriate for the team meetings we have, or should I do it in private? Would my supervisor need to be present? Should I just tell him that I don't have the experience necessary to deal with the situation, or should I also mention the fact that I think IT Administration is something that students are not capable of handling alone?

How do I tell my boss I cannot be responsible for IT Administration?

UPDATE: My boss and I have had two one on one meetings. There were a spur of the moment thing and not consistent or regularly scheduled.

Answer 1

I will only be working here for 1 more month

I would recommend that you try to speak with your manager about this. Though he/she may not agree with you, I'm sure your manager would appreciate the level of proactive care you have, even if you're leaving soon.

If you have a supervisor in between you and the boss you want to speak to, it's good to keep them in the loop about whatever you talk about.

Answer 2

You have my sympathy. I know lots of people who love system administration, but it's an awful (and very stressful) job if you're pushed into it without the appropriate skill set. My first job out of college I was pushed into a temporary IT admin position as a computer scientist, and I was NOT happy about it. (Fortunately, it was only for a month, and it was acknowledged that I wasn't really qualified for the role, but they needed me to do my best anyhow.)

Rather than telling your boss that your department needs a full-time IT Administrator, which I'm guessing they can't afford if they haven't hired one yet, perhaps focus on suggesting that your department hire students with system administration expertise, if they expect their student employees to be able to fill that role.

It sounds like they have been hiring software developers and expecting them to also be IT Admins. Perhaps this stems from naivety that all "computer people" can handle administration as well as development.

Explain to your boss that you've felt under-qualified to take on the responsibilities that have fallen your way since the full-time administrator quit, and that having unqualified students taking on that very important role is a horrible idea for the department. Even if they want to stick with student employees, suggest that they may wish to consider hiring at least one student whose primary interest and skill set is in system administration rather than software development. That way, they will have someone with the correct skill set (and interest) to deal with issues as they inevitably arise.

Good luck!