Also just because you have access to many systems it does not make you a server administrator. I have access to tens of thousands and I am not a system administrator.

Over the years of working with Linux the one thing I have learned that saved me many times and made me productive was to learn the defaults and use the tools that you will most likely find on all systems. If you don't you will find your self bumbling around and feeling lost if you ever log into a system that is missing your favorite modification / customization.