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I feel bad about failing as a programmer and having to settle as a sysadmin

9 points by shivajikobardan ↗ HN
Is it just me? By programming, I mean web development. CSS stuffs, node js stuffs. react js stuffs. full stack web dev or frontend or backend, the logic never went to my head. I can program though(small basic programs).

23 comments

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slater
Save what you enjoy doing for your free time.

We'll always (knock on wood) need sysadmins, even if you don't see it as your calling in life.

mydriasis
Hey, don't feel bad. Programming is tough. We need sysadmins too, and that's an awesome and powerful skillset to have. Programming isn't for everyone, and you shouldn't feel bad that it's not for you!
shivajikobardan
i feel this culture of "you can program" has resulted in this situation to me. program is extremely tough. I feel day and night difference in programming for hobby vs working as a sysadmin. the amount of brain power required for programming is different, you need to give your 500% every minute while programming for me. IDK some people are just built differently to program or something. Thank you for consoling me, that is nice.
mydriasis
Right. And you don't owe anyone that. Everyone is different, and different jobs require different skills. You're not less than others because you don't like programming or you don't do well at it. You have other valuable skills! Programming isn't the end-all be-all.
jgrahamc
I am a programmer and a crappy sysadmin. I always feel bad about not being a better sysadmin. To each his own.
dpio
I’ve never heard of sysadmin as a step down from programmer.
ftxbro
Maybe you just don't like web development. Other kinds of programming can be more interesting to some people, like scientific programming. Also I don't see how sysadmin is worse than programming, or why a good sysadmin would be a lower status job than a css guru for example.
the_only_law
> Also I don't see how sysadmin is worse than programming

Probably pay. Neither is incredibly prestigious, but it seems development work can cap out much higher.

sydbarrett74
Coding is neither better nor worse than sysadmin. They require somewhat different skills. Do what you enjoy and feel confident doing, and screw what others think.

You might also investigate DevOps if you haven't already.

meiraleal
> Coding is neither better nor worse than sysadmin

Coding is better than sysadmin because you need the minimum of sysadmin to be a real programmer, even if you admin just one system. To say that coding isn't better than sysadmin is the same as saying that to be a data analyst isn't worse than to be a data engineer or data scientist on a professional scale.

sydbarrett74
Really? I know plenty of developers with decades of experience who have never held a professional sysadmin position. Now if you're saying that it helps to do sysadmin work as a hobby to facilitate a development career, I won't disagree with you. But if you're erecting an artificial barrier to entry, I vehemently disagree with your assertion.
codingdave
Being a data analyst is not worse than a data engineer or data scientist. If you are happy in your job and it matches your skills and goals, then any title you land on is fine. And if you are not happy in your role, then by all means act to improve it. But assuming that everyone has a goal of climbing to the top of some arbitrary ladder of job titles is simply not reality.
meiraleal
Happiness and career perspectives are not the same metrics. Someone can be very happy with the worst job or no job while plenty of Google ML Engineers are in depression. They still have the best careers in the world tho, there is no need to assume nothing when we logically compare that career X is better than career Y.
catlover76
Honestly, being a sysadmin might have better job security.
spansoa
You can combine the two roles so you're not solely focused on programming. This is where devops / devsecops / creating ansible playbooks and Docker runtimes can be fun.
icedchai
Call yourself a "cloud engineer"... we don't have sysadmins anymore.
salawat
...How exactly do you think that's failing? Computing is fundamentally about problem decomposition.

Being a sysadmin is assembling parts into a functional whole. Development is what happens when there aren't parts that can be assembled into a desired whole. Honestly, if you're doing nothing but development, and not operating anything, I'd say that is probably a strike against you in a sense.

t. Person who has recently taken up an interest in the Operational side of things after over a decade in development.

I've found that switching between the modalities of developer/operator gives you an insight into code that just isn't found elsewise.

GoldenMonkey
Look into being a database developer. Pretty good pay, compared to sysadmin. Enough script/programming to keep your mind occupied.
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webworker
I have done both sys admin and programming. I currently do programming and have since I graduated from my university. My experience doing sys admin was a lot of fun, and those skills have made me a better and more versatile programmer.

You're not doomed to sys admin forever.

giantg2
I'm not good at anything. It seems you're at least good at something, even if it's not your first choice.