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This article is tangentially related to a question I've been thinking a lot about lately. At many organizations, the amount of time you spend programming is in

This article is tangentially related to a question I've been thinking a lot about lately. At many organizations, the amount of time you spend programming is inversely proportional to your skill as a developer. As you become a better developer, you end up spending more time mentoring less experienced developers, fighting fires, dealing with management, dealing with customers, and dealing with other tasks that are not programming. Not only are you spending less time programming, but you're also in a state of perpetual interruption. Maybe this is good for the team in the short term, but in the long term, I am convinced this approach will cause the talent level of your organization to converge to a pretty mediocre level. What is the best solution to this problem?

rikf 14y ago
A Less experienced programmer does not necessarily mean a bad programmer. Its a myth that the best programming team consists solely of rockstar ninjas. I have worked on teams that consisted entirely of very very good programers and it resulted in a-lot of friction because everybody had there own philosophies and approaches to solving problems. This becomes more true the larger the team gets. I think the best team is a mix of skill and experience mixed with youthful exuberance.
kitsune_ 14y ago
I want to know a solution to this problem myself. I'm definitely the most skilled developer in my team right now. This sounds like arrogance, but it's the simple truth. I don't think I'm a great developer in general, but I'm just more skilled than my team mates who are really not that good. I'm constantly interrupted. There are always questions. It's such a drain. I want people who can show me things, who can validate my work, I feel like I'm working in a bubble. I'm stuck to online communities for feedback and input. I recently suggested two things, a) a couple of hours per week where individual developers can learn new stuff on their own. b) a meeting every week where we can share knowledge and mentor each other. I'm just fed up with the knowledge gap.

rikf 14y ago

A Less experienced programmer does not necessarily mean a bad programmer. Its a myth that the best programming team consists solely of rockstar ninjas. I have worked on teams that consisted entirely of very very good programers and it resulted in a-lot of friction because everybody had there own philosophies and approaches to solving problems. This becomes more true the larger the team gets. I think the best team is a mix of skill and experience mixed with youthful exuberance.

kitsune_ 14y ago

I want to know a solution to this problem myself. I'm definitely the most skilled developer in my team right now. This sounds like arrogance, but it's the simple truth. I don't think I'm a great developer in general, but I'm just more skilled than my team mates who are really not that good. I'm constantly interrupted. There are always questions. It's such a drain. I want people who can show me things, who can validate my work, I feel like I'm working in a bubble. I'm stuck to online communities for feedback and input. I recently suggested two things, a) a couple of hours per week where individual developers can learn new stuff on their own. b) a meeting every week where we can share knowledge and mentor each other. I'm just fed up with the knowledge gap.