Likely this sounds petty and glib, but I have yet to meet a programmer who had the kind of administrative sense that makes a 'good server guy.' The politics surrounding change management and policy enforcement require technology administrators to have at least one foot firmly planted in reality. This doesn't keep server people from being proficient coders, but it suggests there's an upper limit. And, from personal experience, since I switched from full time admin to (mostly) full time programming, most days I couldn't tell you what day it is. It really feels like a personality shift due to less demand for administrivia and more demand for creativity. Four years ago, I knew the location of nearly every object in our home, all the bills were paid on time, all of my socks were matched up and we had a meal plan. Suffice to say, I've started wearing mismatched socks and the bills get paid when someone calls. Much to my delight, the world has not come to an end. Maybe I'll live longer, too.