A good career move?

I spent 7 years in network support prior to moving to development and haven't looked back since doing so. I found my career progression opportunities limited due to the fact that there seems to be a bias towards developers when it comes to management positions. Since moving over I have had 2 promotions in 3 years.

I also think that having both backgrounds placed me ahead of a lot of the competition as people begin to realise how diverse IT is they are begining to appreciate the importance of having management who can get a grip on all aspects of their staffs work.

I personally think there is more stress on the Sys Admin/Developer side, this is primarily because you depend on current environmental factors on the network for your system to perform as needed and for you to develop within an expected environment is sometimes difficult if you dont' have some control over the LAN. I recently got a job as a LAN Admin/Sys Admin. And I love it because I can change things as I see fit. So many times these two positions are in cells and operate alone.

I don't think this will help you manage people - no positions managing software or networks is going to prepare you for that. Most IT Managers assert that they do not need to know everything about the network to tell you what needs to be done. I think all you need is an "I know what needs to be done" attitude to round yourself off. As for money and satisfaction I like the Sys Admin side and in that sense it's not like a cookie cutter position, not that LAN admin is but less changes occur in the process that Systems.

When I first started doing I.T. I spent almost 2 years doing nothing but LAN/App support.. I didn't see much advancement in that, especially money wise, so I started getting involved with network security, then training, Database and so on. Not mastering anything, but rather knowing enough about everything to be useful to the company. Eventually I became the IT Director in charge of everyone else.

To make the story short, the more you know, the more valuable you can be, at least to smart managers and companies. Branch out and learn all you can, but if you prefer support type positions over management, dont spread your knowledge too thin. Specialty people make good cash also.

Good luck!

You probably know the precise environment better than we do, but in general I think that a system administrator is a step above a LAN administrator.

First, I presume that the developer/system administrator position will primarily be about system administration not development, but that is okay. A system administrator, especially for something like an accounting package, has much more user contact and visibility than a LAN administrator.

I can't predict whether this will lead to management in the future. Remember, management positions are a numbers game; 7 to 1 staff to manager ratio is a basic rule of thumb. This ratio implies that upward movement, especially in a static or slowly expanding business, is limited. Take the new position and enjoy it. Don't worry about getting into management and realize some people can make a career of being a system admin, especially in a key product for their companies.