Who makes a better DevOps engineer? What’s the outcome of developer vs. sysadmin? This article will provide you with the answers to these questions and even more.
What’s the Difference?
Before getting into details, let’s see what is the difference between a software developer and a system administrator?
A developer is a member of an SDLC team who programs computers or software. That is, they create a communication gate to make users capable of operating systems. They achieve this goal by writing code sheets or programs.
System admins, on the other hand, are the engineers who make sure the systems are run by the book. They utilize their IT knowledge, computer science skills, electronics engineering methodologies, and/or computer engineering info to preserve the systems.
But when it comes to DevOps engineering, they both do the developmental and Operational parts equally. So, you cannot set a separating line between a sysadmin DevOps and a developer one.
Who Makes a Better DevOps Engineer and Why?
Since the skills of a developer suits the dev & Ops environment, they make finer DevOps engineers. Such a person is already familiar with the basis of developmental procedures and can handle the operational phases as well, due to their hands-on experiences.
A sysadmin is also a good DevOps engineer candidate. However, the fact that they are not initial coders holds them back.
Developers are able to provide the team with both operative and progressive assistance. That’s while a system admin seems to have more efficiency in operational aspects of SDLC.
Below is a developer vs. sysadmin comparison concerning their skills. It will show you what each of them has to determine who makes a better DevOps engineer.
Developer Skills That Come in Handy in DevOps
- Programming
Since a Dev & Ops expert must directly get engaged in CD/CI procedures and/or automation, programming is a vital talent.
It’s a flair that most developers are blessed with. And that’s why they fit in the DevOps engineer role the best.
- Debugging
Before the final release and during the support phase, debugging becomes a vital practice. Developers are able to handle this stage by the book. That’s because they’re familiar with bug identification and resolving related issues.
- Testing
You cannot talk about DevOps not mentioning automated testing and automation mindset. So, being able to deal with such assessments makes developers reliable engineers in Development & Operations.
- Design
Not all developers are designers. However, their acquaintance with the concept of design in SDLC helps them manage related tasks.
- Architecting
Some beginners still wonder if a DevOps engineer is also an architect. Since there are three distinct design phases in Development & Operations, these engineers are considered architects as well. So, being familiar with design increases the chance of developers to top the list of the people who makes a better DevOps engineer.
Proven-Useful System Administrator Skills in DevOps
- Problem Solving
Sysadmins, too, are equipped with practical skills that come in handy in Dev & Ops. Problem-solving, for instance, is one of the main characteristics of these people that is also essential for every Development and Operations expert.
These experts learn to deal with issues as fast as possible as the system users don’t want to wait for a long time. They are good at forming creative solutions to run the system again. And this quality will help them in DevOps since rapid problem-solving is among the fundamental skills for such an execution.
- Communication
By contrast to developers who mostly work in semi-isolated environments, system administrators are always in touch with other forces. That allows them to constantly brush up on their communicative skills.
So, when these experts are introduced to a novel field such as Dev & Ops they’re more likely to blend in well. Communication is a major fraction of developmental and operational executions. And being able to link with other team members comes in handy a lot.
- Configuration
Organizing the changes in the particles of software development is a sysadmin’s job. So, they won’t find it hard to cope with documentation, pipeline design, or CD/CI customization.
- Troubleshooting
What do DevOps people do that can save the future of a product and even the company? They find the flaws, issues, bugs, and repetitive mistakes and inform others of them. It’s a familiar task for system admins since they do have a similar job to operate the troubleshooting processes.
That’s another reason why they can hit the list of those who make a better DevOps engineer alongside developers.
System Administrators Make Better DevSecOps – Here’s Why
It was in the 2019 GitLab Commit Conference in London that Sid, head of the company, pointed out the importance of DevSecOps. He believed that it’s time to let the security teams have access to the same database as others do in the team.
That’s so because, according to Sid, security is now an elemental fraction of SDLC due to increasing cyber-attacks. So, more software development teams are trying to hire DevSecOps engineers to make sure their projects are safe.
That’s while security is among the responsibilities of a sysadmin. And they’re at ease with all sorts of protection execution. So, choosing them for a safety-related job like DevSecOps is a great idea.