Ask HN: Should I work in DevOps or as a BA/PM? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should I work in DevOps or as a BA/PM?

3 pointshn_graduate13 comments

I'm a recent IT university graduate who has offers for a job as a DevOps Engineer and as a Business Analyst and/or Project Manager.

As a first job, and as a future career path, which does the HN community value the most? Would it be wisest to do a more low-level technical job like DevOps before getting into the business side of things?

Starting salaries are roughly the same, but my research suggests that more experienced DevOps Engineers can earn more than BAs and PMs.

View on HN

Once you get out of school, structured progression is over. The wisest choice is to choose the one that will make you happier.

If there's any sort of ruthless logic to be had, it's that it's probably easier to gain access to the business side coming from a technical background, than to the technical side after entering the field on the business end. But if your childhood dream was to be a project manager or a business analyst, then that's the way to go.

Good luck.

> if your childhood dream was to be a project manager or a business analyst

That's a rather well-concealed tongue in that cheek, sir.

If your long term plans are to keep growing into management, I'll say take the PM job. Those kind of graduate PM programs help you grow quickly than starting as an engineer and then make your way up.

It all depends on what you want to do in the future. I started working as a developer/consultant and now I'm moving into PM because I don't want to code forever. However, I have friends that only wish to code all their live and that is okay also. Just go for what you want and like and you will be happier.

If you like building stuff, then stay away from the BA/PM jobs. If you would rather work with things than people go with development.

What do you desire to produce? What makes you happy? That is the first question. What ties closer into your passion?

I'd like to recommend two titles to you: "do what you love the money will follow" and "what color is your parachute".

Good luck and enjoy your career. Well done on having multiple offers. Keep up the good work.

I don't know if this sounds kind of unimportant/irrelevant, but knowing I will be able to use a Mac in the DevOps role seems to be swaying me that way. I really dislike using Windows/PCs, and I am almost certain that's what I'd be using all the time in the other company.

Hey, if it's important to you, then it's important. "Above all else, to thine own self be true."

Again, I recommend http://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Money-Will-Follow/dp/0440501... -- it's very well written deep book.

One of the issues I see with being a project manager - your success depends upon other people doing what they're supposed to do. Other people have their own agendas which may not be aligned with what you need done.

Ah, but aligning people is its own kind of skill and fun. Never dull.

The same could be said for developers, devops or any other role. At any company nothing is really done solo any more and all people have "agendas" or their own ideas of the path forward.

If you think writing software or doing sysadmin/operations work doesn't involve working with people then you are in the wrong trade sir.

Hey PM here - once you go PM it's going to be harder to back to DevOps if you want to.

I'm puzzled that Project Management would be offered as an entry-level position. Among the more-important tasks of a PM is to estimate the time required to complete the project. I assert that requires someone with experience in the industry.

Project Managers work with people. It's helpful for them to know how to write code but they really don't have to.

Well it's more of a graduate programme where you'll be trained to be a PM, not necessarily being the sole manager of a huge project to begin with!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com