The Internet Oracle has pondered your question deeply.
Your question was:
Oracle most wise and wonderful,
I am at a career crossroads; should I become an astronaut, a
fireman, or a sysadmin?
And in response, thus spake the Oracle:
This is the kind of question that these "handy comparison charts" were
just made to answer:
PURPOSE OF YOUR CAREER
Astronaut: Advancing scientific knowledge for the good of humanity.
Fireman: Saving lives and property.
Sysadmin: Assuring uninterrupted access to alt.binaries.erotica.sheep.
ADVICE YOU'LL GIVE KIDS WHO WANT TO FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS
Astronaut: "Study science and math and eat your vegetables."
Fireman: "Study science and math and eat your vegetables."
Sysadmin: "DON'T DO IT! RUN AWAY!"
QUESTION YOU'LL BE MOST TIRED OF ANSWERING
Astronaut: "Where do you go to the bathroom?"
Fireman: "Do you really slide down a pole when the alarm goes off?"
Sysadmin: "Can't you do anything about all this spam I've been
getting?"
WILL YOU EVER BE ON TV?
Astronaut: Yes!
Fireman: Occasionally.
Sysadmin: Only MSNBC's "The Site," which doesn't technically count as
TV.
WILL YOUR JOB EVER GET ANY EASIER?
Astronaut: As computers get more and more advanced and able to control
more of the functions of the space vehicle, yes.
Fireman: As more and more people install smoke detectors in their
homes, yes.
Sysadmin: As more and more clueless newbies discover the Internet,
absolutely not.
INSPIRING MOVIE ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION
Astronaut: "The Right Stuff"
Fireman: "Backdraft"
Sysadmin: Uh...gee, I'm really drawing a blank here..."Wargames"?
YOUR WORK HOURS
Astronaut: Fairly long days during the mission, but lots and lots of
time between missions to relax.
Fireman: 24-hour shifts, but 48 hours between shifts to relax.
Sysadmin: Not really "work hours" or even "work days"...more like
"work millenia."
FRINGE BENEFITS OF YOUR JOB
Astronaut: Lots of good stories to tell to impress members of the
opposite sex.
Fireman: Lots of good stories to tell to impress members of the
opposite sex.
Sysadmin: You get ALL of the jokes in "Dilbert."
NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION
Astronaut: A few, from people who think the government should be
spending its money in different ways.
Fireman: A few, from people who think you take too long to arrive
following a 911 call.
Sysadmin: You'll have to learn what comes after "trillion" to be able
to count them all.
YOUR VEHICLE
Astronaut: Multimillion-dollar space vehicle atop multimillion-dollar
rocket.
Fireman: Big red truck with flashing lights and siren.
Sysadmin: 1978 AMC Gremlin.
In conclusion, if the sysadmin option has seemed the most appealing in
even one of these categories, you should become a sysadmin.
Can't you do anything about all this spam I've been getting?
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