In a recent episode of The Art of Network Engineering podcast, hosts Andy Lapteff and Jeff Clark welcomed Erika Dietrick—known online as “Erika the Dev”—to tackle a long-standing cultural and technical divide in IT: the disconnect between network engineers and software developers.
Erika, a former Developer Advocate at Cisco with roots in both software development and networking support, brought a rare and valuable perspective to the discussion. What followed was a refreshingly honest, often humorous, and deeply insightful conversation about why these two disciplines so often clash—and how they might finally find common ground.
The Blame Game: “It’s the Network!”
Andy opened the conversation with a familiar story for anyone in networking: the 2AM call blaming the network for a mysterious outage. After hours—or even days—of investigation, the root cause often turned out to be something unrelated, like an expired SSL certificate. These incidents, he noted, stem not from malice but from a fundamental misunderstanding: developers often don’t know how networks work, and network engineers often have no visibility into the applications.
Erika confirmed that, from the developer side, that gap is real. “We learn to code—period,” she said. Most developers aren’t taught about ports, DNS, firewalls, or even how applications get deployed. That missing context creates a friction point during troubleshooting—and, all too often, leads to finger-pointing.
Cultural Barriers and Technical Silos
Beyond the technical knowledge gap, the team dove deep into cultural issues. Developers, often seen as revenue generators, are treated like royalty at many companies, while network teams operate under intense pressure, often out of sight and out of mind until something breaks.
Erika acknowledged that ego can run rampant in developer circles. “There’s this ‘10x engineer’ myth and a constant pressure to prove you’re not a fraud,” she said. “It starts in college and just gets worse in the workplace.” Meanwhile, network engineers are often overworked, underappreciated, and now expected to become coders on top of everything else, with little to no guidance on how to get there.
Automation: Threat or Opportunity?
The discussion shifted toward automation—a perceived threat for some, a lifeline for others. Andy shared a pivotal moment when a teammate automated a change across hundreds of devices using Python, saving months of manual work. It was a lightbulb moment. “I used to be afraid of automation replacing us,” he said. “Now I see it as a way to do more with fewer people.”
Jeff echoed this, arguing that automation isn’t about replacing engineers—it’s about amplifying what they can accomplish. Erika agreed, adding that companies need to do a better job building tools that help network engineers automate without needing to become full-time developers. “Why should you need to be both a network expert and a dev?”
Learning to Think Like a Developer
Perhaps the most powerful part of the conversation came when Erika introduced an idea that resonated deeply with Andy: “It’s not about learning to code—it’s about learning to think like a developer.” That mindset shift, she said, is often the missing piece in developer education, especially for networking professionals.
Andy opened up about his struggles with traditional Python courses, explaining how he’d quit multiple times out of frustration. Erika acknowledged that developer education often fails people like him, not because they lack intelligence, but because the material isn’t designed with their context in mind.
To fix this, Erika is launching a free course specifically for network engineers who want to learn coding with the help of AI. The course is designed around levels of learning: foundational concepts, prompt engineering, and AI-assisted development. It’s less about syntax drills and more about changing how you think and problem-solve.
DevOps: A Common Ground
As the episode wrapped, Erika suggested DevOps as a natural convergence point. DevOps roles often require both networking knowledge and automation skills, making them an ideal space for collaboration. It’s a world where understanding routers, switches, firewalls, APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and version control intersect—and one that might finally help break down the silos.
Final Thoughts: Empathy, Curiosity, and a Bit of Grit
The key takeaway from the episode wasn’t about tools or certifications—it was about empathy and curiosity. As Erika put it, “Real technologists are curious about adjacent fields.” The best engineers—regardless of their specialty—don’t hide behind silos. They reach across them.
If you’re a network engineer struggling to learn Python or a developer frustrated by infrastructure issues, this episode is a must-listen. Not only does it break down the divide, it offers a path forward.
🔗 Check out Erika’s free course on coding for network engineers at her YouTube channel
🎧 Listen to the full podcast episode on The Art of Network Engineering Podcast
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It seems that you had an interesting discussion. I tried to learn Python several times but never finished a course. Hopefully, with the new Python course developed by Erika, this will not be true anymore.
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