Better job: sys admin or network engineer?

I know this may sound like nonsense. But I'm trying to choose a direction. Most of my 10 years has been spent in a sys admin role.

What job has the better long term outlook?
Do you think sys admin jobs are becoming harder to come by?
What roles can a sys admin grow into outside of management?
Should sys admins just become developers as software slowly eats the planet?

At least network folks don't have to deal with windows and the failings of vendors that attempt to make apps for said operating system.

It's time for me to focus and become a bad ass in something. Just not sure what yet

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tmtex

Good question, looking for replies

OctalDump

Do you want a technical role or more management?

It's probably easier to stay current in networking technical roles since it moves a little slower than the systems world. Which can make it easier to go deeper get more expert, if you have the inclination. You can get something like a CCIE and work for an MSP, vendor or partner. That gives you lots of time at the pointy end, dealing with complex problems, and of course can pay very well.

Some kind of network is also going to be inevitable in any organisation for a while longer, meaning there still be a need for network engineering. There's scope to broaden your skills as well, if you want to stay working for smaller companies, things like voice and wireless, which seem to be everywhere.

There's also some new things becoming more common, like virtualisation, cloud networking, software defined network, internet of things etc. So there are opportunities there.

If you look at the Windows path, then the MCSE moves you very much into more architecting type role. As you move further down that path, there is the opportunity to move away from day to day technical things, which can get you off the treadmill of constantly updating your skills. For something like that, you can look at getting ITIL Expert certification, project management certifications and maybe even an MBA.

I think developing the softer skills in Sys Admin, can also protect against Cloud and PaaS, SaaS etc where technical knowledge of operating systems and architecture might become less relevant. But in that world, you still need to know how to evaluate solutions, how to pick them, how to negotiate a good deal, how to work with solution sellers, and how to bring together different solutions to solve the business problems of your organisation.

gkca

I think that something like network devops is a good field as the automation and nfw just starting to pick up and most likely will be in demand for quite a while due to the slower technology and equipment update cycle compared to the server side.
Well, in my humble opinion of course, but that's the direction that I plan to move to.

NetworkingStudent

Q&A -- System Admin vs Network Admin | What are the differences
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbAtK6AcPAI&feature=youtu.be

markulous

It's up to each person really. I'd personally rather manage systems than just networking but a mixture of both is nice.

Networking doesn't get you away from vendors really. All those applications that your company likely communicates over LAN, WAN, or internet, and could have flaws in them that impact your network.

gorebrush

I've done both and prefer Network Engineering on the whole but do miss Systems work - want to become an infrastructure architect long term so having experience of both has been critical to start building up toward that.

ITSpectre

If you want a lot of hands on - Net Admin
If you want to deal with a lot of software - Sys Admin

Personally both jobs need each other. the NetAdmin makes sure the network is running smoothly, and the SysAdmin makes sure the software ON the network is running smoothly.... Networking and Systems go hand in hand....

gorebrush

In the right gig - you can end up doing both. I did for the latter part of my systems admin time

kohr-ah

It really depends on what interests you but no I dont think sys admin jobs are going away but what people need to realize is that you need to start branching out.

Networking - For Example, is more than route and switch now and days. You learn wireless, security, data center, and in a lot of instances now a form of virtualization and linux (because EVERY product runs on it now it seems).

Networking I enjoy more because I am all over the world. I am controlling how my company talks to the world, and in a lot of case how the other side of the world propagates information back. What people can and can't do. How information is relayed from point A to point B. How users authenticate with their own wireless devices. This is just a touch of the surface.

I've done Sys Admin work and as gorebrush said there are parts of it that I miss but overall I enjoy Networking much more.

alias454

minit wrote: »

I know this may sound like nonsense. But I'm trying to choose a direction. Most of my 10 years has been spent in a sys admin role.

What job has the better long term outlook?
Do you think sys admin jobs are becoming harder to come by?
What roles can a sys admin grow into outside of management?
Should sys admins just become developers as software slowly eats the planet?

At least network folks don't have to deal with windows and the failings of vendors that attempt to make apps for said operating system.

It's time for me to focus and become a bad ass in something. Just not sure what yet

After a ten year career as a sys admin you kinda should be a badass at it. Sys admin jobs aren't going anywhere, anytime soon, neither are network engineering roles. They are however changing rapidly in what the definition of an admin is IMHO. It is also good to note the traditional titles of sys admin, server admin, network admin, etc. are becoming more blurrred with the advances in "cloud" and software defined datacenters. New initiatives will keep the trend moving in that direction. FWIW, titles are for HR and large corporations anyway since they make classifying the cattle easier.

My title up until a few months ago was network admin. Besides my Windows and Linux servers, I also manage the VMware stack along with countless other things. I don't configure any physical switches, routers, or firewalls on the main network but once the networking hits the virtual stack (UCS FI down), my network engineers are hands off.

As far as career prospects outside of management, I would look at storage subsystems, virtualization, backup architect, security curmudgeon, DBA etc. All of those types of jobs will greatly benefit from a systems admin mindset IMHO.

To the point about admins becoming developers, I would go with yes, Everyone in IT should have some basic understanding of how the development process works and know how to code at a rudimentary level at-least, even if only for the sake of scripting away mundane redundancies. I think the correct term now days is devops. This mindset goes along with software defined x and to some degree configuration management. I recently implemented SaltStack as a config management solution but am finding uses for it far beyond simple patch and configuration management.

I haven't seen a high level role that doesn't require dealing with vendors on some level yet but YMMV.

All in all, you have to decide what you want to do. If you like networking then do that, if you like doing sys admin type work then do that. Both types of work are critical to businesses today. As a side note, if you can find a way to automate yourself out of a job, you will never need to look for one as you will be highly skilled and an in demand resource.