Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Programmer or System Administrator

What is the difference between a programmer and a system administrator?

System administrator or programmer - tests and polls show that most people simply do not distinguish between these concepts, and think that these people are doing the same thing. But in fact, programmers and admins are completely different specialists. You can’t just answer the question: system administrator or programmer - which is better? For each, there are advantages in a particular profession, but in order to understand them, it is necessary to clearly separate the concepts and understand which of them is engaged in what.

So who is a system administrator? Usually these are people who are independently trained to work with software, computers, servers, various computer equipment and networks. Higher education in such people is not so rare, but it is not common. Admins perform such tasks as monitoring and maintaining the network, ensuring network security, including information, administering PBXs, and creating optimal software. The system administrator must understand all the nuances of such work, therefore, often employers are reluctant to hire young people who have just completed their studies or who are recently involved in system administration. For the normal and stable functioning of the IT sector of the enterprise, considerable experience is needed. But those admins who have been working in this area for a long time are very appreciated,

A programmer is a completely different story. He knows one or more programming languages, has a university degree, is engaged in the design, manufacture of software, carries out software development and utilities, thanks to which ordinary users greatly simplify their lives. If we talk about who is more important - a programmer or a system administrator, then there is no definite answer. Each of them is valuable in its own way, performs certain work and can work in its own direction professionally. So, if there is no specific program, then the system administrator cannot work. If there is a program, but it does not meet the basic requirements of the enterprise, then there is a large field of work for the programmer.

By the way, a programmer and a system administrator are far from a complete list. There are also specialists like technical support engineers. These are people who perform work on setting up user computers, installing and setting up software, and various application programs. Such functions are similar to those that have admins, and quite often quite good system administrators are obtained from such specialists. Often, engineers begin to perform work that falls within the scope of the system administrator, with company management more likely to trust such specialists. And this is self-confidence and possible career growth net administration.

Software development or system administration?

Choosing between two areas, a specialist with quite a lot of experience often cannot decide where exactly to direct his efforts. You never need to think that admins will not be able to work as programmers. Yes, switching from a system administrator to programmers is quite difficult, but there is nothing impossible. The main professional qualities that a system administrator has are relatively high analytical skills, flexibility, a high concentration of attention, resistance to stress, as well as the desire and ability to perform routine work. It is also necessary to understand that you will have to work not only with equipment and technology, but also with people, therefore, the nature of such a specialist should include sociability and tact.

If we talk about a new generation of specialists, then there is a tendency for new administrators to possess not only basic knowledge and computer skills, they can serve networks and entire systems. A new generation system administrator often has fundamental knowledge in the field of programming, knows several programming languages.

It also happens that small firms, not having a sufficient budget, hire a specialist who performs all the duties that are involved in the profession of system administrator vs programmer. This can clearly be seen in a direction such as 1C, where the leadership of a small company hires a new employee with the calculation that allows you to get two valuable employees in one person. In this case, the system administrator will be engaged in the maintenance of networks, ensure their life cycle, maintain efficiency. At the same time, such a specialist will develop a DBMS. That is, he will take upon himself all the responsibilities for setting up, designing, developing and maintaining the company's IT infrastructure. This approach is fundamentally wrong. Taking all the responsibilities on the shoulders of one person, you need to understand that he will not be able to perform them qualitatively even with all his will. Sooner or later, serious mistakes will be made in the work, and then you will have to spend a lot of money, effort and time to fix them.

A programmer, a system administrator are professions, as many managers believe, for young people. It seems to them that after forty years a person is not able to respond in a timely manner to changes in the field of IT, does not receive enough knowledge, focuses only on his previous experience. Indeed, in many companies it is difficult to meet a programmer or a system administrator who is already over 40-45 years old. In fact, such specialists do not leave so early. They settle in fairly reputable and large companies, find their niche and feel great in a professional and well-formed team. Of great importance is not only the scale of the company, but also the region. A programmer or system administrator is a kind of multi-armed Shiva, for whom there is practically nothing impossible. He is engaged in any tasks, which the leadership puts before him. That is why promising young professionals are trying to move to big cities in order to fully surrender to their profession, and not to perform numerous work for themselves and the guy from the neighboring department.

At some points, these professions overlap even in large companies, where all the responsibilities of each specialist are clearly divided. So, admins should understand at least the initial level of programming, and programmers should have some knowledge of how to ensure the correct server settings.

If we talk about the level of wages and the prospect of career growth, then who is better in this regard - a programmer or a system administrator? Naturally, programmers receive a salary that is much more than the salary that administrators receive. The complexity of the profession lies in the fact that the system administrator, having come to work, can drink coffee, condemn gossip in the office, talk about life with colleagues. Programmers are almost always deprived of such pleasure, as they are fully occupied with the task. And if they have an 8-hour working day specified in the contract, then often they are forced to work such an 8-hour working day without lunch, rest, or any distractions. As for the nature of the work, it used to be thought that programmers are solid introverts. Today, the situation has changed dramatically. It is necessary to have practically unique communicative abilities, since you have to work in completely different directions, and find a language with people who do not understand programming and even computers absolutely nothing. Naturally, this is very annoying, but there is nothing to be done. It is necessary to somehow explain to the authorities certain stages of their work, to find out the details of software changes in the company that is engaged in auditing in accounting. In general, you need to find a language with almost everyone in the company in order to get the maximum amount of information you need, and this can be quite difficult. but there's nothing to be done. It is necessary to somehow explain to the authorities certain stages of their work, to find out the details of software changes in the company that is engaged in auditing in accounting. In general, you need to find a language with almost everyone in the company in order to get the maximum amount of information you need, and this can be quite difficult. but there's nothing to be done. It is necessary to somehow explain to the authorities certain stages of their work, to find out the details of software changes in the company that is engaged in auditing in accounting. In general, you need to find a language with almost everyone in the company in order to get the maximum amount of information you need, and this can be quite difficult.

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