ainfix.com/2009/05/15/how-a- progr...](http://kibwen.org/blog/2009/05/15/how-a-programmer-becomes-a- systems- architect/?comments=1&perma=1) And here are some additional resources for those of you who may be interested: * Martin Fowler's entry on the topic: [http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TwoHardThings.html](http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TwoHardThings.html) * Martin's talk on the topic: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6n7iPy4IbE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6n7iPy4IbE) * A blog post on the topic: [http://martinfowler.com/bliki/HardestProgrammingProblem.html](http://martinfowler.com/bliki/HardestProgrammingProblem.html) * Another blog post on the topic: [http://martinfowler.com/bliki/ThreeBigBits.html](http://martinfowler.com/bliki/ThreeBigBits.html) ~~~ thwarted "No one gets a job. Nobody. They either get lucky or they pick and choose." I'd love to see a data set of job requisitions vs. offers, to see who got the job because they were lucky, vs. who got the job through hard work, and who didn't get any offers at all. ------ j_baker I don't understand why anybody would want to become a sysadmin in their field. Isn't it more important to become a good developer first? I mean, you already have to have some understanding of how systems work to create them in the first place, so it makes a lot of sense that there would be more programmers than sysadmins. ~~~ j_baker Also, sysadmin skills aren't all that hard to pick up. ~~~ shawndrost They're more like carpentry skills. If you know how to make a decent chair, then you can probably do anything to a chair. But it's easier to learn to make a chair from scratch than it is to learn to build a chair from a table. ------ jfager > You can have a degree in computer science or software engineering, write a > book on a new type of software architecture, or you can program and design > databases and file systems The last two statements made me laugh out loud. That's really more about what you're capable of than what you're trained to do, no? A good architect doesn't build the bridge by himself, so to speak, any more than a good plumber isn't just digging holes all day. ------ javanix I think this is interesting, however I do take issue with the "systems architects" I've worked with. As far as I'm aware, they tended to have a few years of experience on the internet, writing software and speaking publicly about it - essentially, they were very good at making a website look pretty and writing Javascript. I've never seen a serious one, that had years of working experience on servers under their belt - they're in a different sort of position from a developer, and I don't know how much experience one needs to be effective at the sys level in my opinion. ~~~ davidk0101 What do you consider to be the position of the "systems architect" ? They certainly aren't all software engineers, and they aren't developers, and they aren't systems engineers. ~~~ javanix Fair enough. I agree that they are a diverse set of people and there is no hierarchy, but in general I think of them as developers - they're very good at designing software. ------ Tycho Wouldn't the better title be 'How it doesn't make sense to study to become a systems architect', since the alternative is studying to become a developer? ~~~ evlapix Maybe, but then we wouldn't have HN, and it would be less readable :) ~~~ Tycho oh, I was talking about the OP's headline: "As it turns out, only about 0.1% of programmers become systems architects." I would have liked to be reading this article with "systems architect" instead of "systems engineer" :) ------ spudlyo As a former systems administrator, I can tell you that in every organization I've worked in, developers who know how to write programs for servers would be a rare and valuable commodity. It is one of the things that makes my job a helluva lot easier. ------ xianshou The author talks about how systems engineers are rare and are worth their weight in gold, then follows up the article by declaring that we should stop paying developers to write software, that being a developer is good enough. I find it extremely amusing, because to me that seems like someone who's never _worked_ as a software engineer. If you are skilled enough as a programmer to be able to write code and communicate effectively, it's a _little_ bit short sighted to dismiss the role that good system engineers have to play. At the risk of being downvoted, I'll provide a bit more context as to why I'm taking issue. In both web application and game development, there is a huge need for systems engineers, from dealing with database architecture, web server architecture, load balancing and clustering, clustering, scaling and scalability, to dealing with the myriad of problems associated with handling a decentralized service. It takes a lot of skill to do that right, so much so that when I encounter unskilled system engineers (and I run into them a lot, since I consult), my heart sinks a little bit. Don't get me wrong: I'm certainly not saying that we need to become trained robotics experts. But if a good developer needs to have some experience with certain system architectures (database servers, load balancers, routers, storage, etc.) to make solid decisions about architecture, then certainly systems engineers should be compensated in the same way as a developer. I know I personally appreciate the input and advice of good system engineers (and, occasionally, DBAs, network admins, etc.), and consider my work to be a lot smoother and more profitable because of it. I think a lot of engineers are missing out on some really important opportunities if they don't have at least a few knowledgeable coworkers who can bring a fresh perspective. So when I see a developer complaining that he can't get the help he needs because they don't need sysadmins, I kind of sigh. It's like complaining that the grocery store doesn't stock fresh vegetables. Sometimes you need a little more help than that. ~~~ prodigal_erik > The author talks about how systems engineers are rare and are worth their > weight in gold, then follows up the article by declaring that we should stop > paying developers to write software, that being a developer is good enough. Right. Developers write software to solve problems for a living, whereas sysadmins are rarely allowed to, only as side work. Any professional ought to have a strong sense of what the true priorities are, and this is the opposite of that. ~~~ Evbn I think it would be impossible to have an article titled "how systems engineers are rare and are worth their weight in gold" and have _not_ read it. Which leads me to suspect that he did. ------ j_baker To be honest, that sounds more like a sign of a mature field than anything. Sure, everyone says they have enough experience with what it takes to be a good architect, but not enough people actually have that experience. ------ gaius Software Engineers are "systems architects" too! ------ maeon3 We really have enough software engineers. We need more hardware engineers.