3 ms·

sigh Again? There are tons of great advice in that post, but the title and the eponymous section are based on something I didn't buy the first time around, eit

sigh Again? There are tons of great advice in that post, but the title and the eponymous section are based on something I didn't buy the first time around, either: “Programmer” sounds like “anomalously high-cost peon who types some mumbo-jumbo into some other mumbo-jumbo.” Heck, I'm just 34 years old, but you make me feel like a friggin' dinosaur because I got into this line of work out of my love for programming. It used to be an exciting thing to do, with a whole world of new things to explore. Nowadays you have people who are trying to make it sound like you're doing something mundane and boring, like you're expendable and should be ashamed of not having achieved anything greater than being a nerdy peon. Look, as far as I can tell, it doesn't matter what you call yourself. From what I've lived so far, until you build up some solid skills and experience, nobody gives a damn if you come up with a fancy name or explanation for what you do. And once you've built up some cred, it won't matter what you call yourself either, because you'll be able to prove your worth. Here's another piece of advice people don't offer frequently because it's not glamorous: do what makes you happy. We all grow up thinking we want to be rich, famous and/or powerful. If that's what you still believe in, go read or watch "Fight Club". Then come back and try different things and different paths. Maybe founding startups will make you happy. Then again, maybe working for BigCo Inc. and programming your own stuff on the side will make you happy. TL;DR: The post offers good advice, but use your own judgment. There's nothing wrong in being a programmer.

phillmv 14y ago
Of course there isn't. A programmer will probably always be a (relatively) high-skill, high-wage job. The point behind the post is that 'programmer' in business thoughtspeak means you're basically an undifferentiated commodity. "Programmers" are people you're always trying to outsource to India. If you want to improve your career, you need to market yourself better. You're not paid to write code; you're paid to provide business value.
- CodeMage 14y ago
  You're not paid to write code; you're paid to provide business value. I once had an argument with a friend who had an indie game development company. He wanted to develop games so he could make money. I wanted to develop games and make money off them. It's a very subtle difference that becomes clearer when you dig deeper: he would have (e.g.) made soap if he thought it was a better way to make money; I wouldn't, because for me the important part was "developing games". It's true that you're not paid to write code, but provide business value instead. Indeed, good programmers will try to write as little code as possible and if they can provide business value by removing code, so much the better. On the other hand, if you're reading the OP out of your own interest, you're most likely not being paid to provide business value by drawing pictures of stuff or assembling furniture or arguing in the court of law (to give some examples of activities), but instead you're being paid to provide business value by dealing with code. Yes, you need to market yourself in order to improve your career. Good marketing won't hurt and really bad marketing can hurt you badly. None of that means that you should disregard the fact that you are a programmer and that good programmers aren't an undifferentiated commodity that you can "outsource to India" without second thought. I agree that marketing yourself is important, but there are many -- perhaps too many? -- people telling kids that marketing is important and not enough people telling them that doing what makes you happy and becoming awesome at it "just because" is even more important. I'm just trying to help balance the scales ;)
deleted 14y ago
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eli_gottlieb 14y ago
We all grow up thinking we want to be rich, famous and/or powerful. Holy shit, really? How could anyone be so dumb?

phillmv 14y ago

Of course there isn't. A programmer will probably always be a (relatively) high-skill, high-wage job. The point behind the post is that 'programmer' in business thoughtspeak means you're basically an undifferentiated commodity. "Programmers" are people you're always trying to outsource to India. If you want to improve your career, you need to market yourself better. You're not paid to write code; you're paid to provide business value.

CodeMage 14y ago
You're not paid to write code; you're paid to provide business value. I once had an argument with a friend who had an indie game development company. He wanted to develop games so he could make money. I wanted to develop games and make money off them. It's a very subtle difference that becomes clearer when you dig deeper: he would have (e.g.) made soap if he thought it was a better way to make money; I wouldn't, because for me the important part was "developing games". It's true that you're not paid to write code, but provide business value instead. Indeed, good programmers will try to write as little code as possible and if they can provide business value by removing code, so much the better. On the other hand, if you're reading the OP out of your own interest, you're most likely not being paid to provide business value by drawing pictures of stuff or assembling furniture or arguing in the court of law (to give some examples of activities), but instead you're being paid to provide business value by dealing with code. Yes, you need to market yourself in order to improve your career. Good marketing won't hurt and really bad marketing can hurt you badly. None of that means that you should disregard the fact that you are a programmer and that good programmers aren't an undifferentiated commodity that you can "outsource to India" without second thought. I agree that marketing yourself is important, but there are many -- perhaps too many? -- people telling kids that marketing is important and not enough people telling them that doing what makes you happy and becoming awesome at it "just because" is even more important. I'm just trying to help balance the scales ;)

deleted 14y ago

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eli_gottlieb 14y ago

We all grow up thinking we want to be rich, famous and/or powerful. Holy shit, really? How could anyone be so dumb?