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I don't think it's fair to compare software engineering with painting. One is (mostly) a craft, and another is (mostly) an art form. You success as a software e
by nnd 10y ago
I don't think it's fair to compare software engineering with painting. One is (mostly) a craft, and another is (mostly) an art form. You success as a software engineer is defined by how fast you can learn, be that a new programming language or a javascript framework, although there are exceptions of the rule if you specialize in some legacy technology which still needs to be maintained. You success as an artist doesn't involve fast learning, but rather creativity and marketing skills.
- biztos 10y agoAs a painter and a programmer I'm very wary of comparisons between the two, but I think the article was getting at something different. Namely: the daily practice of doing what you do. This can be any discipline, and it can be multiple disciplines for the same person. It does look like there's a certain advantage to quickly learning the latest thing, but that's a job-hopper's advantage. I don't think the fast learning of fashionable things makes one a better or more respected engineer than the deep learning of useful things. (I admit there may be more money for job hoppers, in case that's the measure of success here.) Success as an artist is a much more complex, chimeric thing than just creativity + marketing. But it doesn't happen without a lot of discipline, even if it's the same boring discipline one can achieve by going to the gym three times a week. If you study the great artists throughout history, even contemporary ones, you see time after time the "1% inspiration, 99% perspiration" formula.