SysAdmin work attire

[StarsMars]

I recently moved into a systems administrator position at a new company.

It's in person and I am the only onsite IT at this location. Before this job, I was doing helpdesk remote work from home.

 

So I'm wondering what people consider the proper dress etiquette is for a sysadmin.

It's not formal enough for a suit, but I feel out of place in khakis, vans and a T shirt.

 

Button up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes?

Khakis and polo?

[Dedayog]

2 minutes ago, StarsMars said:

I recently moved into a systems administrator position at a new company.

It's in person and I am the only onsite IT at this location. Before this job, I was doing helpdesk remote work from home.

 

So I'm wondering what people consider the proper dress etiquette is for a sysadmin.

It's not formal enough for a suit, but I feel out of place in khakis, vans and a T shirt.

 

Button up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes?

Khakis and polo?

I dress in slacks, button doesn (polos in summer) and dress shoes, and it's appropriate at the management level, yes.

 

Obviously, I would check with your HR department or other managers to get a culture check for that company.  Some are more lax.  

[Spotty]

Check with the company what their dress policy is. If it's not in an employee handbook or employment documentation then just ask.

 

If in doubt go with a collared button down shirt and pants for the first few days at least. Once you get a feel for the place and better idea what is expected you can always go more casual.

[DoctorNick]

9 minutes ago, StarsMars said:

I recently moved into a systems administrator position at a new company.

It's in person and I am the only onsite IT at this location. Before this job, I was doing helpdesk remote work from home.

 

So I'm wondering what people consider the proper dress etiquette is for a sysadmin.

It's not formal enough for a suit, but I feel out of place in khakis, vans and a T shirt.

 

Button up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes?

Khakis and polo?

Chinos? and polo is by far the popular choice here, so maybe that's the way to go.

[StarsMars]

9 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

I dress in slacks, button doesn (polos in summer) and dress shoes, and it's appropriate at the management level, yes.

 

Obviously, I would check with your HR department or other managers to get a culture check for that company.  Some are more lax.  

That's sort of what I was thinking. Thank you.

 

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

Check with the company what their dress policy is. If it's not in an employee handbook or employment documentation then just ask.

 

If in doubt go with a collared button down shirt and pants for the first few days at least. Once you get a feel for the place and better idea what is expected you can always go more casual.

I should correct myself. I've been here for a couple months. Relatively new. I'm looking to step myself up a bit.

Nobody has said anything, but I feel like they shouldn't have to either.

Thank you.

1 minute ago, DoctorNick said:

Chinos? and polo is by far the popular choice here, so maybe that's the way to go.

Do you wear them with dress shoes?

[sub68]

I would ask tbh.

Its mostly based on company the school district doesnt really care...

So alot of people end up wearing flannels and jeans. (most people also have beards its kinda funny)

[Skipple]

1 hour ago, StarsMars said:

I'm looking to step myself up a bit.

fuck it. three piece suit everyday. be the man you want to be. 

[ToboRobot]

Nice pants, nice shirt, nice shoes, and a jacket (blazer) is all you need.  It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy, but nice, which is clean, not wrinkled, absent of notable or offensive branding or logos, and fits you properly.  Classic styles over trendy stuff can be more versatile and last longer, plus there are more at second hand shops (good places to find jackets).  There are plenty of sneakers that can pass as dress shoes, or you can go with a dress boot like Blundstones or chukkas, if you don't want "dress shoes" but a well made pair will last forever, so it can be a good investment. 

I would seek a different community for fashion advice, lest you accidentally pay attention to people that wear socks and sandals. 

[Agall]

2 hours ago, StarsMars said:

I recently moved into a systems administrator position at a new company.

It's in person and I am the only onsite IT at this location. Before this job, I was doing helpdesk remote work from home.

 

So I'm wondering what people consider the proper dress etiquette is for a sysadmin.

It's not formal enough for a suit, but I feel out of place in khakis, vans and a T shirt.

 

Button up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes?

Khakis and polo?

I wear a t-shirt, 5.11 jeans and hiking boots (extra pockets help me carry tools all day). Although I manage the whole network myself (besides SQL and most of the specific applications hosted) so I regularly have to get my hands dirty.

 

I would say it depends on what the average employee wears. If you have to do physical labor of any type, you can make a justification to have more practical clothing.

[Monkey Dust]

1 hour ago, StarsMars said:

That's sort of what I was thinking. Thank you.

 

I should correct myself. I've been here for a couple months. Relatively new. I'm looking to step myself up a bit.

Nobody has said anything, but I feel like they shouldn't have to either.

Thank you.

Do you wear them with dress shoes?

If you've been there a couple of months, I'd take my lead from what others are wearing. Dress codes for offices are in a transitionary phase. They vary by location, sector and by individual company. There are firm rules any more, as there were 10 years ago

 

I wouldn't go too formal in an informal office, even if you're looking for promotion. You need to 'fit' with an organization to progress in it. 

 

Chinos & dress shoes. I wouldn't wear black shoes with chinos, nor plainer styles like Oxfords or Derbies. I'd go brogues, monks or slip-ons, or smart boots. Colour wise, I'd go dark brown with beige chinos. For grey chinos, I'd suggest dark blue, or dark burgundy if you're feeling adventurous. With the right grey, tobacco brogues or monks would work really well.       

[AbsoluteWoo]

It's better to overdress than to underdress.

[LogicalDrm]

Jeans, band shirts and hoodies is most common I've seen of IT people that aren't in contact with customers. As in they don't need to make good impression, just do their work properly.

[CrowTheRobot]

9 minutes ago, LogicalDrm said:

Jeans, band shirts and hoodies is most common I've seen of IT people that aren't in contact with customers. As in they don't need to make good impression, just do their work properly.

So far I've only worked in school district IT, and one district insisted on at least buttoned shirts or polos and nice pants, while the one I'm currently at fits more of your description, and that's with extensive customer contact in both situations 

[StarsMars]

4 hours ago, sub68 said:

I would ask tbh.

Its mostly based on company the school district doesnt really care...

So alot of people end up wearing flannels and jeans. (most people also have beards its kinda funny)

Well trimmed beards look professional imo.

3 hours ago, Skipple said:

fuck it. three piece suit everyday. be the man you want to be. 

Yes.

3 hours ago, ToboRobot said:

I would seek a different community for fashion advice, lest you accidentally pay attention to people that wear socks and sandals. 

Lol

[SinistralFern23]

From someone who works in an upper level IT field. Wear what's appropriate for your job. 3 piece suit would be dumb because your are not in a legal or business development position, plus if you ever have to do some hands on work you will get dirty. Dress shoes are not recommended either, but wear something clean. You can get away with jeans and a company polo. Any hoodies or jackets need to have no logos on them if you feel the need to wear them. My company is big on flannel, polos, and jeans for most of IT. A decent crew neck sweater will also be great for the winters.

[starsmine]

2 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

Jeans, band shirts and hoodies is most common I've seen of IT people that aren't in contact with customers. As in they don't need to make good impression, just do their work properly.

yea when you often end up on your back under someone's desk and are often traveling between buildings on a campus in all kinds of weather, wearing business suits for IT work is often less then ideal. 

Depends on your work place environment. Just don't wear something that would offend peoples sensibilities. Or do as a power move. 

[Erioch]

Man bun, full sleeve tats and a giant beard.  Oh, and your laptop (mac, of course) covered with stickers.

[TheGreatestGazoo]

My main gig is procurement but I am the onsite I.T. guy too. I will vary my dress depending on what I am doing. Sometimes I have to go do some I.T. work in the warehouse and the PC's and peripherals out there get extremely dirty. For those days, I wear jeans and a dark shirt because for sure they will get dirty. If I am doing I.T. work in the office side I will wear khakis and a polo shirt. My shoes are lately have been Sperry boat type shoes but I have to wear steel toed shoes and high-vis vest in the warehouse which I keep under my desk. Days that I am doing only my normal procurement work, I dress up a bit more. Our offices have gone pretty casual since COVID and most people wear nice jeans and a polo or button up shirt. Prior to that, it was mostly dress pants and dress shirt except Fridays were always casual.

 

If you company has company branded or logo shirts, you can't go wrong self-promoting. Some companies give them out for free and others have "the company store" where you buy the company branded clothes.

 

I started working in the office in 1992 and it was suit and tie every day except Fridays were casual. The ties got dropped in the late 90's and we went "business casual" or "dress for your day" until COVID. Business casual became less and less formal over the next 20 years. I only wore a tie when our CEO would come to town but our newest one went more casual and I haven't worn a tie to the office in at least 5 years. In a strange way, I miss it but probably because the ladies said I look so handsome when I was dress up. lol

[Polderviking]

This is very much company specific. But if they don't say they porbably don't care.
I've never worn office attire in my entire working life, that i spent in offices.

 

What makes you feel good.

 

I walked around with long (women getting jealous long) hair in a pony tail, a variety of (sometimes rather large) beard styles and fairly provocative collection of heavy metal band shirts for a really long time. Nobody batted an eye at that.

 

As I got a somewhat older I kind of dropped that a bit and went more for comfort, changed the long hair for a buzzcut (shortest my trimmer will do) because I was kinda done with the long hair but still don't like hairdressers.
Still have (well kept) beard with a braid in the middle. Usually wear some non descript sweater/hoodie/t-shirt depending on the season, jeans, and some garden variety of hiking shoes/boots because i'm always ready for a brisk walk.

 

  

On 2/6/2024 at 1:53 AM, Erioch said:

Man bun, full sleeve tats and a giant beard.  Oh, and your laptop (mac, of course) covered with stickers.

 

This is clearly a developer.

[wasab]

Check Hollywood movie for what is the most stereotypical 

[PressleyPress]

I would just check with the company what they expect your attire to be. That being said, I used to be a Sys Admin many moons ago and had to wear a button-down shirt and tie. I eventually got that policy changed by complaining to my boss enough that me crawling under desks, and running cable through dropped ceilings really warranted jeans and a polo.

[SinistralFern23]

On 2/7/2024 at 7:43 AM, Polderviking said:

This is clearly a developer.

Nope, a lot of IT at my company is like this. Just have good hygiene and keep it neat.

[wanderingfool2]

On 2/5/2024 at 10:34 AM, LogicalDrm said:

Jeans, band shirts and hoodies is most common I've seen of IT people that aren't in contact with customers. As in they don't need to make good impression, just do their work properly.

Honestly that is similar to what my co-workers wore; even when going out into the field.  Well maybe dark jeans and a polo when they had to leave the office.  Personally I wore a dress shirt, dress pants and dress shoes to work and while it looked professional in general when I was in the field people always gave a look when I crawled under then desk and came out super dusty (as no onsite IT except myself near me so I was responsible for the 100 computers as well as all the software).

 

On 2/5/2024 at 6:12 AM, StarsMars said:

I recently moved into a systems administrator position at a new company.

It's in person and I am the only onsite IT at this location. Before this job, I was doing helpdesk remote work from home.

 

So I'm wondering what people consider the proper dress etiquette is for a sysadmin.

It's not formal enough for a suit, but I feel out of place in khakis, vans and a T shirt.

I'd ask the person who hired you what the dress attire is.  If you don't really get a response, first day I would show up in dress clothing (no jacket though, maybe a blazer if it's cold though).  From there, gauge what others are wearing.  It is never good to under-dress but you can get away with being slightly over-dressed

[OhYou_]

On 2/5/2024 at 6:12 AM, StarsMars said:

I recently moved into a systems administrator position at a new company.

It's in person and I am the only onsite IT at this location. Before this job, I was doing helpdesk remote work from home.

 

So I'm wondering what people consider the proper dress etiquette is for a sysadmin.

It's not formal enough for a suit, but I feel out of place in khakis, vans and a T shirt.

 

Button up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes?

Khakis and polo?

Idk i live in a country where it is illegal to discriminate employees depending on what they wear.
I hope you do too.
 

[Caroline]

Hawaiian shirt, short cargo pants and flip-flops. And I think the long beard is mandatory.