Re: Advancing from Unix Sysadmin to Programmer
From: Frank Cusack (fcusack_at_fcusack.com)
Date: 05/20/04
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Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:07:41 -0700
On 20 May 2004 05:05:33 -0700 nospammac@yahoo.com (Martin McMahon) wrote:
> I am a 33 year old Unix System Admin and am currently at a stage
> in my career where I have identified a change is needed in my career.
>
> I am nearly finished (one year left) a B.Sc. in Information Technology
> and have approx. 8 years of solid Unix System Admin experience behind
> me. I am also proficient in Shell Programming, Perl and reasonably
> proficient in C. I do not have experience in OO programming, but am
> practising at home on personal projects.
>
> I would be very grateful if there is someone out there who could
> answer this question for me, or who has gone through the same scenario.
> My question is:
>
> Is it possible at this stage of my life to transfer (by whatever
> means) to a purely programming role, considering my age,
> experience and education?
Of course it is possible! However the fact that you are asking this
question at all hints that you may not be prepared for it.
There are many types of programming jobs. I can't think of any good
ones in which an Information Technology degree is helpful. Certainly
none where there is any job security. (And I assume you're only
considering unix programming jobs.) Don't get me wrong, you should
definitely complete your degree.
> Any experiences, opinions and criticisms are all appreciated.
> I realise some may say that Unix Sysadmins *are* programmers,
> but I do not believe that to be the case - we are more like
> mechanics who maintain what has been designed and occasionally
> repair or tack on certain additions of our own.
True, but there are many mere "mechanics" who build/maintain/extend
systems whose value is far greater than the sum of their parts. What
I really mean to say is, you are being self-limiting. If, as a
sysadmin, you are not "designing" and "extending" (to quote your own
words) systems, well I hate to say it but you are not very far along
in a SA career. Or, you've only worked for crappy companies.
You seem to be of the opinion that system administration is a lesser
role than programmer. I'd disagree; they're different skills. One
does not "advance" from SA into programming.
Experience is king. Given your SA background, you should have a leg
up on someone with similar programming skills (experience). So you
should figure out what kind of programming you'd like to do, and
gain *real* experience doing it--implement something that your
current employer needs. It can be done, quite readily if you put
your mind to it.
/fc
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