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I see programmers are mostly concerned, over any other profession, of how good they are at what they do. How to be best. Yet - they are the least understood or

I see programmers are mostly concerned, over any other profession, of how good they are at what they do. How to be best. Yet - they are the least understood or recognized for the effort. Anyone else finds it strange?

kassner 13y ago
True programmers are passionate by what they are doing. People in another job which is also passionate, will concern about getting better too. I'm not sure about other professions, but people that actually don't like programming and works with it, quits very soon. I don't saw people with 5+ years of experience that don't love doing it.
- mildtrepidation 13y ago
  Programming is not all that much different than other disciplines, and if you spend time in corporate IT, you will see just as many programmers doing their job just as a job, despite not being in love with it, as you will cooks (not chefs) who don't adore cooking, but do it because they're good enough at it to make a living that keeps them happy. I think part of the reason this thread is generating "programmers are different" comments is that it's easy to believe you're different when yours is the only field you know intimately from the inside (wow, that came out wrong).
dragonwriter 13y ago
> I see programmers are mostly concerned, over any other profession, of how good they are at what they do. How to be best. IME, that's not even close to being true. Sure, there are programmers that really care about their craft, just as there are people that care about their craft in every profession, but I've never seen any evidence that programmers in general have more than the average degree of drive to find ways to be the best. IME, professions where the average professional doesn't make very much and/or where the opportunities to make lots of money in the profession tend to come with a fairly short time clock tend to be the most driven -- athletic professions (not just the sports where the "big leagues" are well known like football, etc., but things like dance as well) are very much like this. Programmers in general, not so much. Quite possibly people drawn to the startup world (whether its software startups or biotech startups) are more likely concerned than average about being the best -- that certainly seems consistent with my experience -- but that's different than the particular profession.
tenpoundhammer 13y ago
I think this ideas comes from the lack of careers that are so openly talked about that also have so much latitude for improvement and improvisation. Many professions have been turned into assembly lines, button pushing, and quality monitoring. The craftsmanship of many jobs has disappeared. Programming is only widely open and publicized via the internet, it's natural for people with computers to have a greater presence on the internet. However if you talk to someone that practices a craft,like carpentry or brewing, you will find a similar drive and passion to learn the techniques, soft skills, and hard skills that are required to be great. It's really about craftsmanship, not about software.
- kassner 13y ago
  So programmers are bottle-ships builders 9 to 5? Using their hobby to make a living. Fine by me.

kassner 13y ago

True programmers are passionate by what they are doing. People in another job which is also passionate, will concern about getting better too. I'm not sure about other professions, but people that actually don't like programming and works with it, quits very soon. I don't saw people with 5+ years of experience that don't love doing it.

mildtrepidation 13y ago
Programming is not all that much different than other disciplines, and if you spend time in corporate IT, you will see just as many programmers doing their job just as a job, despite not being in love with it, as you will cooks (not chefs) who don't adore cooking, but do it because they're good enough at it to make a living that keeps them happy. I think part of the reason this thread is generating "programmers are different" comments is that it's easy to believe you're different when yours is the only field you know intimately from the inside (wow, that came out wrong).

dragonwriter 13y ago

> I see programmers are mostly concerned, over any other profession, of how good they are at what they do. How to be best. IME, that's not even close to being true. Sure, there are programmers that really care about their craft, just as there are people that care about their craft in every profession, but I've never seen any evidence that programmers in general have more than the average degree of drive to find ways to be the best. IME, professions where the average professional doesn't make very much and/or where the opportunities to make lots of money in the profession tend to come with a fairly short time clock tend to be the most driven -- athletic professions (not just the sports where the "big leagues" are well known like football, etc., but things like dance as well) are very much like this. Programmers in general, not so much. Quite possibly people drawn to the startup world (whether its software startups or biotech startups) are more likely concerned than average about being the best -- that certainly seems consistent with my experience -- but that's different than the particular profession.

tenpoundhammer 13y ago

I think this ideas comes from the lack of careers that are so openly talked about that also have so much latitude for improvement and improvisation. Many professions have been turned into assembly lines, button pushing, and quality monitoring. The craftsmanship of many jobs has disappeared. Programming is only widely open and publicized via the internet, it's natural for people with computers to have a greater presence on the internet. However if you talk to someone that practices a craft,like carpentry or brewing, you will find a similar drive and passion to learn the techniques, soft skills, and hard skills that are required to be great. It's really about craftsmanship, not about software.

kassner 13y ago
So programmers are bottle-ships builders 9 to 5? Using their hobby to make a living. Fine by me.