My first thought was, "Go to college and do both.", much like the parent post. However, being educated as a mechanical engineer and self-taught as a sysadmin/developer, I think what is missing here is the influence of teachers. This is a somewhat ironic thought since my engineering professors did little to really give me great insight into engineering or the practice of it. What I do know is this: Someone who wanted to learn administration or development could learn more in one week with me than they would in one year of college or learning by themselves. The information might not be as deeply embedded in their brain as it is in mine, due to all the pain and suffering of figuring things out for myself, but I often wish I'd had a great teacher or mentor. I'm sure my skills would have benefited greatly.