Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. I’d like to know how startups usually hire sysadmins, specifically early stage startups? Most of the early employees in startups are software engineers. How can sysadmins get in early?
AMA
Role of sysadmins in early stage startups
2 answers from the community
A· Jun 12, 2014
Not needed. Developers can usually do devops on a limited basis.
A· Oct 3, 2014
A smart startup hires an 'engineer' who is 80%+ architect that understands how systems work together. Unfortunately, most startups simply hire engineers who know little to nothing about systems architecture, and end up paying the price once they need to scale.
Developing a scalable system isn't about hiring a systems architect when you finally need it - it's about developing with that mindset from the beginning (whether you call the systems architect a "systems" person or a "developer"). A good litmus test in my opinion: does anyone on your core team understand the difference between TCP and UDP?; does anyone on your core team understand what happens when file descriptors run out on your servers?
If the answer is "add more servers" or "no" to either of those questions, you have a major problem.