Love coding but offered a server/network job -- any advice?

Question

I really enjoy software development. I've done it for going on 3 years now full-time for a small company and still find it interesting and exciting. I haven't had much server/network experience but have an opportunity to work for a large IT company dealing with server setups, configurations, maintenance and some networking work as well. The thing is, I'm not sure whether to accept.

If I were to take this, it would have relatively little if any coding and I'm guessing would start me down a career path away from coding. The only thing is the company is large enough and has a coding division so I guess in a few years I could transition back to the software side of things if I wanted, but I'm just not sure whether I would enjoy the server/network side of things.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Especially if you have had a similar situation occur. Thanks!

Answer 1

From what I have seen, once you go down the hardware way, it is very difficult to transition back to coding (career wise).

You need to ask your prospective employer about the feasibility of transferring to the coding division down the line. Ask if there are any coders at the moment that have actually made this transition - if the number is very low, it will tell you something.

Answer 2

You might find that spending several years out of software development, and then attempting to re-enter, to be a major barrier to overcome, with technology changing so fast.

Besides, why transition out of something you really enjoy doing? Also, and I may get blasted for saying this, but good IT folks are a dime a dozen. Good software development people are not. I think you'd be more valuable, with better career and earning potential, staying in software development, especially if that is your passion.

Answer 3

The company being big enough to have a coding division would be a big plus, if you are going to switch your focus somewhat.

In my previous job, I was working as a network administrator, and was looking to break into programming as a career. But I found it's not easy to get a coding job with zero experience. However, that company had an internal team which was migrating mainframe apps to web applications, and I was able to make a lateral move into a web application developer position. I volunteered to handle a few small projects for them to demonstrate what I could do to get my foot in the door, and the next time they wanted to expand the team, I jumped aboard.

The fact that you've done coding in the past should leave that option open to you as well. If you are a responsible and reliable employee, the company would almost surely want to work with you to keep you happy, so you wouldn't leave for greener pastures.

They'd be taking less of a risk moving you into a development position, than hiring a new person which they won't know nearly as much about.

edit: It would certainly be a good idea to keep your development skills sharp by working on some personal projects and/or open source projects on your own time.

As far as whether you would enjoy the work - general IT work isn't as creative as software development, but it still requires problem-solving skills and can be fun. Keep in mind you might have to do some things after everyone else has gone home, and might get the occasional call in the middle of the night.

Another thing to consider is that someone who has both programming and general IT experience can be a great help to smaller companies who can always put your generalist skill set to use occasionally. Although my job title is programmer at my company, I pitch in and help our IT guys fix problems on occasion, when they can use the help, and I think that's of great benefit to the company.

Answer 4

With the information given in the question, the logic of switching jobs doesn't add up to me.

I really enjoy software development. I've done it for going on 3 years now full-time for a small company and still find it interesting and exciting.

If you really enjoy development, why consider something where you won't be able to?

I think it's normal for us all to desire some type of change. We all get the itch to possibly work on a different project, with different people, technology, locations, etc. Maybe it's time to look for more of a lateral change where you're not leaving what you find "interesting and exciting" but still satisfying the natural tendency to change at some level.

Sometimes the opportunity can arise within the company you're in if you just express some interest. If that doesn't work, then that might be a good queue to look outside of the current job but staying in the career path you find so engaging.

Answer 5

suggestion only - pursue the career but still do part time coding (for fun or for some of your friends). This way you have two careers in one go. Besides, it depends on what you highlight in your resume. (However some interviewers/ hr people are closed minded and think freelance coding is not a REAL job because it's not fulltime)