Ranking of the Best Online Courses in Administration for 2022

IT-related professions are gaining popularity, and a system administrator is no exception in this regard. This is due to the digitalization of work processes. According to the statistics of the portal hh.ru for 2020, the profession of a system administrator entered the top five in terms of demand.

The average salary, based on job descriptions, is about 90 thousand rubles for ordinary positions. So there is definitely a sense to study or change qualifications.

What is the job of an administrator

In fact, this is a specialist responsible for the smooth operation of the IT infrastructure. The main tasks include installing and configuring software (including for office equipment), accounts, managing and eliminating possible failures in the operation of network servers. As well as monitoring system performance, ensuring data security, prompt resolution of emergencies.

At the first stage, knowledge of programming languages ​​is not required - this is a plus. Minus - a high level of responsibility and, most likely, irregular working hours. And, yes, the system administrator will also have to set up printers, update software and figure out which button the accountant pressed, paralyzing the work of the entire office.

Online learning - pros and cons

On the one hand, online learning allows you to listen to lectures, do practical tasks without leaving your home, in a comfortable environment. On the other hand, such training requires strict self-discipline and determination. If you can’t plan a day, start with free classes. When you get involved, you can consider paid courses.

Pros and cons of self-paced free education

If you know how to search for information on your own, then you can learn the basics from books or free lessons on YouTube. There are many channels where complex terms are explained in an accessible and understandable language for beginners.Some authors willingly answer questions, there is an opportunity to share their impressions and discuss the lecture with other users in the comments.

The advantage is that you can save 70-130 thousand rubles, do not get into loans and installments. Also the opportunity to learn at your own pace. We decided to dedicate a day off to study - please, If you don’t have time, you are blocked at your main job, you can skip school without a twinge of conscience and catch up later.

Of the minuses of free education - information quickly becomes outdated. And if a person does not know a priori (and cannot know if he starts learning from scratch) what data is relevant and what is not, then there is a risk of wasting time studying outdated software. Plus, there is no mentor who could point out mistakes or explain incomprehensible material.
Another significant drawback of self-study is the lack of a certificate, diploma, which could confirm the level of knowledge. It turns out that when applying for a job, there will even be nothing to mention in the resume. It is good if the potential employer evaluates candidates based on the results of a practical task, and if not. There are practically no chances to pass even the initial selection, except to try your hand at a young company.

Some Helpful Tips

First, open job vacancies for employers on large sites, study the requirements, analyze administration in which operating systems are most in demand.

Second - study the minimum requirements for employees (competencies).

Based on these data, it is already possible to start searching for information and compiling a personal program. Look for videos, study the forums on the same Habré, where you can also find many useful articles, both for beginners and for more advanced users.

Advantages and disadvantages of paid courses

The first plus is relevant, structured information. Organizers of online courses usually attract experienced professionals in their field who can explain complex terms in an accessible and understandable way.

The second is feedback. The student completes the task, the teacher checks, points out errors. A scheme familiar from school that increases the effectiveness of training. There are also mentoring programs, when a graduate of the educational platform acts as a curator.

The third is a certificate or diploma indicating the specialty, the term of study. Plus, during such courses, participants usually create their own projects, from which a portfolio is formed. It will become the main trump card at the job interview.

The fourth is a convenient schedule. Lectures usually take 3-5 hours per week, plus time for homework or practical work. Yes, and in terms of money, online education is cheaper than full-time at the same university.

By the way, about employment. Many courses in advertisements mention that they will help their students to get a position in large companies, some even give a guarantee of 100%. It is not worth believing in such promises for sure. This is a minus of paid schools.

How to choose

See reviews on forums, specialized sites. Pay attention to:

• payment options - some paid platforms are delicately silent that the supposedly offered installment plan is a bank loan at decent interest;
• the quality of the presentation of the material is important if you are going to learn from scratch (if the teacher spews incomprehensible terms, jumps from topic to topic, nothing good will come of it);
• feedback - checking homework, how quickly the curator answers (and whether he answers at all);
• the general opinion is the acquired skills, whether the diploma (certificate) helped in finding a job, whether the courses of a particular platform are in demand among employers.

Assess the risks if you want to study at little-known sites - first study the information, check the license, then pay, but not vice versa. Do not chase discounts - usually the very best offer valid for 24 hours is nothing more than an attempt to put pressure on the user to buy the course. Sometimes such discounts “hang” on the site for weeks.

Do not be afraid to ask questions about how many students have already signed up - the more users, the less time tutors have to check assignments and answer questions.

If you have little idea what exactly the work of a system administrator is, look for platforms that provide free trial lessons. And, of course, do not rush to quit, even with an unloved, stable income-generating job.

About high salaries, dizzying career growth and help in finding a job is a different story. Typically, advertisements indicate the average salary for vacancies, which is significantly higher than the minimum threshold.

For example, the amount of 91,000 rubles appears on paid educational platforms, and if you look at vacancies in Moscow and the region, we will get only 45,000 for admins without work experience, the amount will be even less in the regions.
There is probably no need to mention the loud promises “100% job guarantee” - just a marketing ploy.It is quite possible that upon completion of the training, the curator will give a couple of good tips on how to write and what to include in a resume, tell you where it is better to look for vacancies, what information in a cover letter will attract the attention of HR.
You can count on employment if the platform offers internships to the most talented students. If not, then you should not expect that a newcomer who has completed a 12-month course of study will be vied with each other to invite large companies for an interview.

Ranking of the Best Online Courses in Administration for 2022

Paid

Below are the courses of major educational platforms, with a large number of reviews.

Administration courses from the training center Specialist at Moscow State University named after N.E. Bauman

Online lectures in real time, 485 full academic hours. Teachers are certified professionals with over 20 years of experience.
The learning platform has the highest partner status of Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for Learning Solutions. After training, students can apply for vacancies not only in the largest companies in the Russian Federation, but also abroad. Of the advantages - a narrowly focused specialty, training from scratch, an international certificate upon completion of training.

Price - from 150,000 rubles (with a discount, full price from 170,000 rubles)
More details at https://www.specialist.ru/

• prestigious educational institution;
• a full line of training programs for Windows/Exchange/SQL Server, Oracle;
• free consultations from the head of the employment service - how to cope with anxiety, build a behavior strategy;
• a real chance to get a job in large companies.

• no, the price is adequate to the amount of knowledge gained, and an international certificate is not just a diploma of advanced training.

Skillbox, course Start in DevOps

Duration of 12 months, includes practical tasks, webinars, portfolio creation. Suitable for those who want to start learning a profession from scratch. The program has 101 lessons and 26 thematic modules with work based on Linux OS. Starting from installation on your PC, creating accounts, to getting to know the basic concepts of cryptography, setting up VPN services.
Speaker – Victoria Makarova, 10 years of work experience, including administration of highly loaded Yandex services.

Price - from 5700 rubles per month (the first 3 months are free)
Learn more at https://skillbox.ru/course/devops/

• good presentation of the material;
• detailed analysis of errors with the curator;
• telegram channel for communication of students;
• there are discounts up to 50%;
• diploma upon completion of studies.

• the full price can be found after filling out a short application - phone number, mail;
• expensive;
• reviews are mixed - many claims are related to payment (it is not clear how the final price is formed).

System administrator from Netology

The program was developed jointly with Yandex.Cloud. The platform promises training on real cases, work experience in an IT company during the course, a retraining diploma and an internship for the best students in the IT department of Netology. Bonus - English course from English Dom. Well, and, of course, help in finding a job - writing a resume, cover letter, portfolio design and access to partner job databases.
Emphasis on practical work, as teachers - developers, university professors, course author - Dmitry Kudyukin, director of ITkey.

Price - 130,000 rubles (installment for 18 months is possible)
Read more at https://netology.ru/

• strong teachers;
• a lot of practice;
• structured information;
• the possibility of an internship;
• a three-day trial period, after which you can refuse to take the course - the money will be returned in full;
• reviews are not cleaned, you can find out the real opinion of users.

• again the price.

Geek Brains

The "System Administrator" course will teach you how to work with IT infrastructure, maintain websites, configure nginx web servers. Suitable for beginners with no database experience.
The program includes 135 hours of lectures, 260 hours of practice. Each student is supervised by a graduate of the school, there is a chat, feedback from teachers. All practical work is included in the portfolio, upon completion of the course a certificate of professional development is issued. It is expected that the student:

• gain solid knowledge of TCP/IP, frontend and backend architectures;
• learn how to use Tsung, Siege tools (load testing);
• will study monitoring systems Cacti, Munin, Nagios, Zabbix.

And much more. As a gift - help in compiling a resume from Super Job experts; English language courses for IT-specialists. There is an installment plan for 36 months (though from a partner bank, which is more like a loan) and a 20% discount for new users.

Price - 90,000 rubles
Read more at https://gb.ru/

• honesty - there is no mention of employment;
• good, at first glance, the program - from simple to complex;
• installment;
• classes are held on weekends.

• price;
• Full information can be found again only after registration.

Free

IT administration

Suitable for experienced Windows OS users with basic knowledge of local area network management. The course consists of 23 lessons with a total duration of more than 10 hours, introduces the listener:

• with the features of setting up IP addresses, protecting databases;
• ways to configure remote access, cloud servers;
• basic principles of working with digital certificates

The course is available at any time, registration on the site is not required.

You can go to https://proskilling.ru/

• gives basic knowledge;
• you can study at a convenient time;
• available material.

• not suitable for beginners.

Linux administrator practical course

The course is in the format of laboratory work - the author of the material sets the task (the first block), then shows (the second block) how to solve it. You should not expect a full-fledged training, but the information can be useful as a supplement if you study on your own. Lesson duration - 1 hour 40 minutes

You can go to https://www.udemy.com/course/linux-yd/, without registration

• interesting format;
• practice;
• takes a little time.

• fit as an impromptu practical work, no more.

Orion Innovation

A platform aimed at finding talented students with subsequent employment. Training is free, but after passing the interview. You just need to fill out the form and wait for the company's response. In addition to administrators, there are advanced training programs for programmers and developers, the conditions are similar. The format, of course, is non-standard, but if you're lucky, you won't have to look for vacancies and send resumes.

More details at https://edu.orioninc.ru/

• good reviews of current employees;
• you don't have to pay anything;
• job guarantee.

• minimum information.

So, if there is a desire to learn something new, there are many opportunities. To begin with, it is worth taking free courses, understanding the essence of the profession, deciding whether it is suitable or not. Before paying money (if you have chosen paid platforms), study the reviews, assess the risks, and check the information.
And, yes, you don’t need to believe the advertisement that after completing the training of 300-400 academic hours, you don’t need to find a job with a salary of 100,000. Especially to take a loan to pay or quit.