[BillyParadise]

Not particularly controversial at all, from my POV.

I was a sysadmin with various ISPs in various countries for 15 years before I "turned to the dark side". I'd been using Ruby for a few years with Puppet and Chef, and after dealing with one too many "flaky coders", I picked it up.

I have to say, coding is far more enjoyable, though both come in handy in my day-to-day life.

It sounds like you've dealt with a few "BOFH" sysadmins. Don't worry, we're not all like that, and those that have been on both sides of the team will probably see your way.

Tell your boss I'm available (remotely), by the way ;)