On Wed, 2005-04-06 at 15:45 -0400, David Brodbeck wrote: > OT: While it's not necessary to be an expert programmer to be a system > administrator, you'll end up doing a lot of extra work if you don't have at > least some minimal programming skills. One of the joys of UNIX system > administration is being able to write scripts to automate repetitive tasks. > > On the other hand, I've known many expert programmers who made absolutely > awful system administrators. Places that require a CS degree of system > administrator applicants have always puzzled me a little, for that reason. >
I'm going to have to agree with you on this last point, I know several IT Directors / Company Owners that have banned their programmers from the server room and doing administrative tasks to the servers. The reason, the programmers don't always stop and consider who else their actions are going to affect. Whether it is because they don't know what services outside of their's are hosted on the server, or just absentminded-ness. On the other hand I know of some programmers who are excellent administrators as well, so it really depends upon the person more than what the job the perform (or the title they hold). Tim Donahue
