

Ask HN: Does system administration dumb down the brain? - mannicken

Some people here, a while ago, have said that good hackers consider whole system. E.g., one must consider Apache, MySQL, operating system, instead of only concentrating on code.<p>My question is: isn't it dumbifying to install various packages, configure servers, configure linux, etc, and hence not something hackers would enjoy?
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greatfog
From alt.sysadmin.recovery FAQ v1.799999999999999998...
[<http://www.faqs.org/faqs/sysadmin-recovery/>]

    
    
      Perhaps Abby Franquemont summarized the life of a sysadmin the best, when she described us as:
    
      "disgruntled, disenchanted with things we used to really get a kick out of,
      foul tempered, hard-drinking, heavy-smoking, overworked, with no real social
      life to speak of."
    
      Or perhaps she was being optimistic.
    

I have not had responsibility for the operation of a large computer and
communication system since the dinosaur era, but I found the work so
repetitive and tedious that it motivated me to go back to college and get an
EE degree.

Over a decade of lurking on asr shows that some sysadmins preserve sharp
perceptions, wide-ranging interests, and pointed communication skills.

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cmkrnl
I'm an admin, and certainly can relate to what Abby says. However, I can also
code in half a dozen languages, and often fix things with a few lines of
expect and shell, where our enterprise java cowboys would demand a new server
with a java app server and still can't do a complete job of it. Being a
sysadmin was fun in the early 20's. Now getting close to 30, I get high on
Scala, the finer points of TCL etc. I do worry about the future though.

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Xichekolas
You can make it fun by writing scripts to automate whatever the task is while
you do it. Then, at least, you only have to do any given sysadmin task once.

I usually find it interesting to set up things I haven't used before. Tweaking
conf files can be as gratifying as tweaking code... it only becomes boring if
you are doing the same install/config over and over.

Of course, most things are boring if they are repetitive.

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noodle
installing something is boring and kind of dumbifying, sure. but if you're a
system administrator who solves problems, optimizes and tweaks, i could
imagine it being engaging enough to be interesting.

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hapless
One might argue that heeding road signage, signaling, and lane discipline
impairs the driving experience.

It is, nevertheless, necessary.

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hs
<sarcasm>i agree, let's forget the computer altogether, it's much smarter to
write code with pencil and paper</sarcasm>

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pasbesoin
Are you designing (1), or supporting? Whether you are programming,
administering, PM-ing, or doing something else, I find the question pertinent.

If you designing, actively creating, you are likely to be engaged. If you are
merely supporting others, you are more likely to be neglected and relegated to
repetitive tasks as well as "clean up" for others' mistakes.

In good part, I find it a matter of control. If you do admin work, but are
allowed to find, create, and implement better ways of doing it, you are likely
to be engaged. If someone else is telling you what your environment will be
(in minutia), what your tools will be, and basically turning you into a
glorified button pusher, you are likely going to suffer. (I base this in part
on your presence in this forum. I've met plenty of people who are more than
happy to just push the indicated buttons.)

In some of my more engaging work, my technical role was pretty mundane. But it
was a tied to a group of people who were having trouble getting their act
together. By listening to them and getting them to talk to each other, openly
and directly, I changed to process from a morass to a success. Thus my
mentioning PM and other work. I find that often it's not (just) what I'm
doing, but what kind of control I have. Almost always, I see opportunities for
improvement. If I'm allowed to pursue those, I'm happy. (And I do so
responsibly, communicating my efforts up the chain of command and documenting
things.) If I'm not, well, I'm still learning to get out fast. I've already
squandered more than enough time on "the way things are supposed to be".

\----

1\. not meaning the current tendency to associate "design" with UI design

~~~
cmkrnl
Couldn't agree more, with what you quoted.

