I've been programming professionally for the last 6 or so years, I've been in 4 teams across 3 companies. The reason this question generates so many answers wit

I've been programming professionally for the last 6 or so years, I've been in 4 teams across 3 companies. The reason this question generates so many answers with such great diversity is that the answer really depends on where you work and what you consider success to be. At the first company, a good software engineer was a person who could effectively work inside of the team and get through the requirements for code review in a timely manner. While working at another job a good programmer was someone who could figure out the requirements by themselves and have a working product to show the boss in a timely manner. At my current a good software developer is someone who has a strong grasp of their language of choice, can deliver features to a Product Owner, and who can grab a project by the horns and lead from an architectural or design perspective. None of these answers are wrong, they are just reflections of the engineering cultures they are born from. Based on my experience a good programmer is someone that understands what success means in the culture they are currently in and can execute on that. Long term a good programmer is someone that continues to learn popular skills, products, frameworks, tools and can continue to follow the path that best suits them, whether that be a startup, large corp, freelance, or entrepreneurship. It's all about opening doors for yourself to walk through.