3 ms·

Counterpoint: I joined my last company with very little programming experience. With a great mentor and lots of work I was 'decent' in 6 months. I worked closel

Counterpoint: I joined my last company with very little programming experience. With a great mentor and lots of work I was 'decent' in 6 months. I worked closely with the other developers and handled one of the big features of our app by myself.

ceejayoz 12y ago
How does the fact that you were decent after six months refute the argument that you can't get decent in less than six months?
delluminatus 12y ago
It sounds like you've found an awesome learning environment, and I bet in a year (or whenever, depending on when this happened in your life) you will look back and see just how limited your knowledge was at that time. Learning software development is a rabbit-hole that never ends. Anyone can look back, see their own dumb mistakes, and recognize that even they, with X years of experience, still didn't fully "get it". I think it's that kind of feeling which leads people to criticize these development schools. Of course this isn't unique to software development; it's a feature of every vocation. But many other vocations do a much better job acknowledging and addressing the difficulty of attaining expertise, and have a great respect for experience that seems to be lacking in the startup world.
galaxygr 12y ago
Proper training and support goes a long way.
crpatino 12y ago
> I joined my last company with very little programming experience... I think you underestimate the bast amount of tacit knowledge it takes to write a simple (yet working and correct) 1-5 KLOC program. That itself requires as prerequisite another bast amount of tacit knowledge on how to operate a computer. It sounds more like you have made the jump from "advanced beginner" to "junior practitioner". That would have been impossible if you did not have a minimum knowledge and skill base to start from.

3 ms·

Counterpoint: I joined my last company with very little programming experience. With a great mentor and lots of work I was 'decent' in 6 months. I worked closel

by joshdance 12y ago

ceejayoz 12y ago
How does the fact that you were decent after six months refute the argument that you can't get decent in less than six months?
delluminatus 12y ago
It sounds like you've found an awesome learning environment, and I bet in a year (or whenever, depending on when this happened in your life) you will look back and see just how limited your knowledge was at that time. Learning software development is a rabbit-hole that never ends. Anyone can look back, see their own dumb mistakes, and recognize that even they, with X years of experience, still didn't fully "get it". I think it's that kind of feeling which leads people to criticize these development schools. Of course this isn't unique to software development; it's a feature of every vocation. But many other vocations do a much better job acknowledging and addressing the difficulty of attaining expertise, and have a great respect for experience that seems to be lacking in the startup world.
galaxygr 12y ago
Proper training and support goes a long way.
crpatino 12y ago
> I joined my last company with very little programming experience... I think you underestimate the bast amount of tacit knowledge it takes to write a simple (yet working and correct) 1-5 KLOC program. That itself requires as prerequisite another bast amount of tacit knowledge on how to operate a computer. It sounds more like you have made the jump from "advanced beginner" to "junior practitioner". That would have been impossible if you did not have a minimum knowledge and skill base to start from.