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I'm not a native English speaker. I wonder does the phrase "SysAdmin Enthusiast" mean? any role + Enthusiast. like Developer Enthusiast, Manager Enthusiast etc. I just had a discussion with one of my friends which he is not a native speaker too and he insists on using this phrase. SysAdmin is just a role. mean System Administration. a role in an organization.

Edit1: Sysadmin is a role that means System Admin and he/she do system administration.

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    I'd suggest you ask on SuperUser SE.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 18:46
  • Enthusiastic Systems Administrator would work better. I can belive in (because I have known some) IT enthusiasts, C++ enthusiasts, Javascript enthusiasts and enthusiasts in many other fields but System Administration enthusiasts seem unlikely as you have to be working in a complex IT environment to be a Systems Administrator so it's difficult, if not impossible, to do it as a hobby.
    – BoldBen
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 19:44
  • Perhaps a longer quote with "sysadmin enthusiast" in it would help determine its meaning.
    – GEdgar
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 19:47

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enthusiast noun

a : one who is ardently attached to a cause, object, or pursuit
// a sports car enthusiast

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthusiast

A SysAdmin enthusiast would be a person who is attached to, that is, who cares very much about, system administration.

Note that system administration is not a role, it's an activity. It is unusual to describe someone as a [some role] enthusiast. Usually, we describe people as an [activity] enthusiast, or a [type of object] enthusiast, as in skiing [activity] enthusiast or sports car [type of object] enthusiast.

It would be a little strange to describe someone as a skier enthusiast or a cigar smoker enthusiast. These phrases make sense, but they would describe a person who like skiers, or cigar smokers, and not a person likes to ski or likes cigars.

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    I work with a cigar smoking enthusiast - which is a similar but much more natural construction to one of your examples. An enthusiast sysadmin would be a keen amateur, but doesn't seem quite right - unlike with gardener or woodworker
    – Chris H
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 19:12
  • Yes, system administration enthusiast makes sense but SysAdmin is a role of System Administration in IT as I Know.
    – email999
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 19:29
  • In British usage, maybe elsewhere also, an 'enthusiast' is often used of someone who has a strong interest in some professional field, but without actually being employed in it. The classic example is the railway enthusiast (I am one myself).
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 19:59
  • It could also mean a system administrator who is also an enthusiast.
    – Barmar
    Commented Mar 14, 2019 at 20:45

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