Want to transition careers

[QuintenJ]

I work as a System/Network Administrator who has always loved computers and got the job from self-learning no actual college experience.

I believe I chose the right industry but in the wrong position. I am burnt out and tired of the anxiety of wondering if some outage will happen while I’m sleeping etc. I know part of it is probably the company I work for but after 3 years, I’ve felt the shift of excitement for this kind of work to more of an annoyance.

My question, do you think it would be easier for me to get hired coming from an IT role to Developer? Or will that experience not really help me? I am trying to decide if I should stay or if that experience would prove valuable. I prefer to commit to switching careers.

[miku86]

Hey Quinten,

nice to see you again

@QuintenJ

I am burnt out and tired of the anxiety of wondering if some outage will happen while I’m sleeping etc. I know part of it is probably the company I work for

@QuintenJ

I am trying to decide if I should stay

I think the first quote is sort of an answer.

You have ~50-60 years left on earth, you probably don’t want to get burnt out in your 20s/30s.

@QuintenJ

My question, do you think it would be easier for me to get hired coming from an IT role to Developer?

I think that’s a valuable asset to get a head start.

[ArielLeslie]

SysAdmin experience does have value. There is some technical overlap between development and network/systems stuff, especially strong knowledge of a Linux environment. On your resume and in interviews you can highlight times that you have automated and/or improved your workflow by writing scripts or programs. It doesn’t translate directly over. If you’ve spent 3 years working as a SysAdmin, you wouldn’t be considered to have 3 years of experience as a developer.