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I am certain the length of this post will ensure most ignore it. I read over the responses to this poll and almost without exception, each response passively complains about the miserable conditions to which coders are subjected yet none offers one solution, one inspiration.
The threads reflect a high-school attitude wherein the jocks (sales and management) rule over the passive nerds (coders). Within, I ended this attitude many years - err, decades - passed to live a meritocratic life.
Code is not written by complaining about the business process. The conditions under which you suffer will not be mitigated through passive lamentations. Do something about it. There is no other way. Stand for something.
My wife and I are coders yet we do not permit the attitudes described in these threads to affect us.
When another business partner refers to my position, my department, as a "cost-center" or "profit drain", my initial reaction is a challenge. The argument is specious. I counter that if this were true, for what reason not shut-down every application, every database and even the network to increase net profit? Without these "profit drains" what would be the business profitability and efficiency at the end of ninety-days?
Candidly my initial reaction involves a reflexive command ending with yourself yet I respond more professionally than that.
I work well within teams; however, my primary goal is my own accomplishments. Introduce me to one who exalts the team accomplishments over his own individual successes and I will have met one who has never contributed anything of significance. People without innovation, imagination and talent prefer to hide themselves within teams. The team is mob rule and any dissension is condemned with the same cliché, "...you're a team player aren't you?" If that means subjugating my innovations to the team's credit; then no, no, I am not. I have not ever hesitated to say this aloud.
The result: business partners realize my contributions and attempt to retain me as long as possible.
The plurality foretells the death of our profession to off-shoring. Nonsense. Anecdotally, even Gartner Research admits that the creative quality of off-shored projects is excrement. To prospective employers one of my questions is "do you or have you off-shored programming?" If the prospective employer confirms this practice, I abruptly end the interview and explain my justification. The interview ends immediately.
I study extroversion just as I perfect my skill with a new technology. Through this analysis I postulate their motivations. For what reasons do others ridicule, even corrupt, this profession into a service industry populated with purposeless clerks, announcing that the days of lone programming are over and ensuring that each line of code is a communal effort? My understanding of the extroverted mind enables me to end its attacks and manipulate it to my benefit.
If the current environment makes this an impossibility, I move on without hesitation or worry. If I am unemployed for years; so be it. I can find another job; however, my self-respect once lost to the will of another is irreplaceable.
Do something about it.
L. Nicholas DL
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Solutions:
1. Change your attitude (positive thinking).
2. Lower your standards and accept - even promote - mediocrity. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
3. Move to a different employer or client. The grass may be greener.
4. Start your own business. You can do it better? then go ahead - really. If things are as bad as you think, then that represents tremendous opportunity for someone who really can do better.
5. Recognize that the free market will solve most of the problems [described elsewhere in these responses to the survey] over time and act accordingly.
This last point can be expanded. While it's easy to point out bad management decisions due to technical illiteracy, there are many really great examples of businesses who have embraced technology and understand and realize the benefits of getting it right. Over time, these businesses kill their competition.
Consider the PC scene in the mid- '90s. Consider DELL as compared to IBM, HP, Compaq (separate companies at the time), and Gateway. Consider Wal-Mart's smart use of technology to manage their order and distribution system. Consider Southwest Airlines. They have been making smart use of technology for years. In the years immedialtely following the 911 attacks, we saw most of the big US airlines going to the US congress, hat in hand, looking for handouts while simultaneously laying off employees and paying less to the remaining employees. Southwest did not lay off any employees and didn't ask for any free government money. I could go on. Those who make the best use of technology can and do regularly drive their competition out of business.
If offshoring (or [insert your gripe here]) really is as bad some claim, then over time companies will be hurt by it and will, by necessity of survival, stop doing it.
-Jeff
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Hear yea, hear yea!
[Warning: Another long post follows]
I find it interesting that though the majority of pollsters indicate a level of pride, the majority of commenters indicate a lack of pride.
I completely understand why the people who don't feel pride need to talk about it... So why do the people who feel pride in their work not want to talk about it?
From what I've read in these comments, there are two fundamental reasons people don't feel proud about being programmers:
- People who are not programmers don't respect your work (management, sales, etc)
- Incompetent or irresponsible programmers are very common and give the profession a bad name
To those reasons, I can only say that they seem to be related... If the majority of programmers are incompetent or irresponsible, then the majority of experiences that non-programmers have with them will be negative, and thus their general opinion of the role will lack respect. Couple that with a generally high cost for programmers, and a general lack of understanding of what they do and how difficult it is or is not, it's likely that programmers, regardless of their skills or abilities will be treated badly. And don't forget people fear what they don't understand, and most people react to fear by either running away or attacking.
So, what's the solution?
Active Tasks:
- Do a good job, so that you have an internal sense of pride.
- Educate other programmers whenever possible, especially those that you work with, and focus on the *worst* of those people.
This benefits you because:
1) you get the ego boost of being the "mentor"
2) you get a more capable co-worker
3) other people will notice the change in the other co-worker's performance and it will be a credit to you for helping him
4) the team only moves as fast as it's slowest member, and generally, people judge you by association, and have a habit or focusing on the worst member of the group -- in other words, if you have a crappy colleague, other people will unconsciously associate you with that person, and have a lower opinion of you.
- Educate non-programmers whenever possible on what good programming is and isn't, so that they may learn to appreciate your work.
Defensive Tasks:
- Document your achievements, as well as the achievements of others in your field (either in your office or not). When personally attacked or degraded, compare and contrast your work to others in the field, using that documentation. Numbers don't lie. If you consistently work faster, under-budget, have less bugs to fix, and make the company more money, regardless of perceptions, those metrics can be tracked and verified, and are your best source of defense when criticized.
- Maintain relationships with management, sales, qa, tech support, clients, or whoever the important non-programmers are in your situation. Be friendly, learn about THEIR jobs, and the challenges they face, and how they perform in it.
Often the reasons that programmers have problems with non-programmers comes from the external perception that programmers are "smart", "technical", "nerdy", etc... Those things are threatening to other people's egos. The sales guy doesn't even know how to set the clock on his VCR, and he feels bad about it. He reacts to feeling bad by being egotistical. You're the big smart programmer, so he looks for ways to degrade and trivialize you, your work, and your skills as a response to his insecurities. Programmers tend to do the same thing, ridiculing managers and sales people (and whoever) in a very egotistical, self-centered manner.
A much more healthy way to interact is to realize that you both have domain specific skills that are valuable to the company, that are respectable tasks that require experience and skill, and that your roles are dependent on each other. If the sales guy didn't sell the software, where would the money come from for your paycheck? If you didn't write it, what would he have to sell? If either of you have to spend all your time managing, you wouldn't have time to get any programming or selling done. It's not easy to be a salesman, and it takes knowledge and talent. The same is true for management.
Understanding that is an important first step, but equally important is talking about it, so that you all understand that you respect each other. Congratulate the sales staff on their big sale. Mention (publicly if possible) how much better things are running since manager x implemented process y. Respect is a two way street, and people are NOT mind readers.
Taking that further, it is always a good idea to learn about a person's interests and life outside of work. If your co-worker really likes baseball, chatting about the game for a few minutes goes a LONG way in terms of his perception of you. If he starts out with a positive mindset, he will be more likely to notice your achievements, and less likely to attack your shortcomings. This is simple inter-personal relationship stuff. This applies to every job in every industry.
- Never react directly to criticism. Always accept the statement, validate it, ask for more details, and address each point in a neutral manner, with supporting reasons why it's immaterial, inappropriate, or incorrect.
- Ask to be recognized. This one is a little tough. More often than not, programmers are not publicly recognized in the company for their achievements. To give an example: In a previous position, we were about to release a new version of the software. We had been working on it for a long time, put in a lot of long hard hours, and we made major advances because of it. It was a big upgrade... However, management barely even noticed. Of course, they were happy to hear in the development meeting that it would be next week, and they stopped hounding us for release dates, and progress updates, and criticizing our schedule... But they didn't really seem to be excited about the release in a positive way. So, we went to the upper management and asked to have a release party. We would pay for the pizza and soda out of our own budget, and buy enough for everyone, not just our staff. We asked the upper management to announce it, and invite every department to come. We made a big deal about it. We made sure people recognized that we had been working hard and that it was paying off, and we made sure that it was the upper management trumpeting it, not just us.
Anyway, so those are just some ideas about ways to improve the situation regarding those two main points.
Hope that helps,
Troy
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Thanks for sharing a good advise.
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Pride is the seventh cardinal sin
Lust (Latin, luxuria)
Gluttony (Latin, gula)
Greed (Latin, avaritia)
Sloth (Latin, acedia)
Wrath (Latin, ira)
Envy (Latin, invidia)
Pride (Latin, superbia)
In almost every list Pride is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and indeed the ultimate source from which the others arise. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to give compliments to others though they may be deserving of them, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, Pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the famed Doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus. In perhaps the most famous example, the story of Lucifer, Pride was what caused his Fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. Vanity and Narcissism are prime examples of this Sin. In the Divine Comedy, the penitent were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs in order to induce feelings of humility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Deadly_Sins#The_sins
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pjd1001 wrote: Gluttony
Gluttony itself means Greed. Isn't it?
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
Personal Homepage
Tech Gossips
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. --Leonard Louis Levinson
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Anyone taking for acedia and invidia?
The latin names sound very pleasant
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.
Douglas Adams, "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
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Hi,
I feel it is normal these days to be a software developer... The fact is it is odd if you are not!
So being a software developer is just what people can easily get into due to the large number of accesible oppourtunities in the field. This is the case for the comparitively the brighter ones, with good analytical, programming and communications skills.. all the blah blah blah.... 
So it is as such nothing special of great to be that proud about.
But when compared with the Testing field(No hard feelings people!!), etc etc, it is my personal opinion that I am proud of being a Software Developer.
Have a nice day!!!
Priya Sundar
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Priya_Sundar wrote: So being a software developer is just what people can easily get into due to the large number of accesible oppourtunities in the field.
Ah.... So that's why there is so much dross out there. The market demands more software developers, so the universities supply it, but unless they expand properly the only way to supply software developers is to pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap (Total lack of quality).
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote: to pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap
A huge bulk produce normally brings with it significant scrap objects too.
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
Personal Homepage
Tech Gossips
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. --Leonard Louis Levinson
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^ that is very strange.
needless to say, you should be proud of what you do. if you are programmer, then I hope you are proud of that. If you are not, then I suggest you go find a new hobby/profession to satisfy your wants and needs.
Technology is just as important as any other job sector. Medical profession for instance, Without technology you would be getting surgery in a cave; using a sharp stone and some guy standing next to you saying "yup I think his heart is still beating".
Technology is what changes the future for the better, and most technologies going forward include some level of computer hardware / software.
so in short programmers mean a lot to the future and that is why I'm proud of what I do.
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Good point, and there is a certain nobility to the progress of technology..
But how many of us are actually pushing the bleeding edge of anything?
I'm proud of myself as a person, no matter what I'm doing. I'm not proud of being a programmer... I'm proud of doing a good job, and the job I do is being a programmer. I used to build violins for a living, and I was proud of doing a good job at that. I also used to be a cook, waitor, dish washer, cut grass in my neighborhood for $$s, fell trees and split wood, do over-the-phone tech-support, and teach English in another country.
I have been proud of doing a good job in all of those fields... Not because any of those pursuits were any more or less noble/useful/difficult than the others... But because I entered a contract with my employer to deliver a service, and I kept up my end of the deal. I gave them what they expected, and when possible exceeded thier expectations and needs. That means I kept my word, and that I'm a trustworthy worker.
Also, almost every employable job out there start because of a problem.. Someone has a problem and needs someone to provide a service that solves that problem. I like to solve problems and make people feel satisfied, and less worried... regardless of the specific context.
That's what's important to me, and that's what I'm proud of...
With regards to the context, that's where your own personal opinions, sense of right/wrong, and sense of integrity comes into play.. If you think that the problem is not a good problem to solve (like oh, the problem of how to make a hydrogen bomb), then don't agree to help solve the problem.
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One must differentiate between being proud of what one does and being proud of what one is.
Rgds PhilD
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Oh this proudness question can be interpreted in a couple of ways.
I'm not proud at all. I haven't been learning all this to flaunt and show people my huge virtual dong. I'm doing this because I love it... yes, I'd say I'm a passionate programmer. Just because I don't feel like "proud" doesn't mean I would trade it for any other thing... I'd never ever even think about it
/me flounders around in a tub of bytes.
Though if I finish a project and review it, remembering how much I've been thinking about some problems to solve in elegant and nifty ways, I feel a little proud about that piece of software and myself - still not flaunting around. Though I'm dressing attractive, I don't like publicity much anyways.
Cheers!
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qumer101 wrote: Asslam o Alaikum Hamed
Assalam o Alaikom qumer101 (If anyone reading this is not an Arab this word is equal to hello)
I'm not an Arab, but I understand what you say, Thanks.
qumer101 wrote: being a programmer there is nothing to be proud
But I didn't mean that exactly. Having a science in itself is NOT something to be proud of. What I mean is that to me there are bigger goals that I shall do them, and if I can, I will be proud of myself. Programming might be a need sometimes but not the only reason.
For example I mean if I'm a programmer and start coding a virus that offends people I'll be ashamed of myself not proud. I can't be proud of myself, even if I'm a successful programmer:
"Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value." Albert Einstein
-- modified at 8:41 Friday 30th November, 2007
// "In the end it's a little boy expressing himself." Yanni
while (I'm_alive)
{
cout<<"I love programming.";
}
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hi dear hamed
When your name and family name is arabic you are Arab.
![Rose | [Rose]](https://www.codeproject.com/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
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Ali Khanlarkhani wrote: When your name and family name is arabic you are Arab
What a bout my profile?!
// "In the end it's a little boy expressing himself." Yanni
while (I'm_alive)
{
cout<<"I love programming.";
}
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Hi
For example I mean if I'm a programmer and start coding for Osama bin Laden I'll be ashamed of myself not proud. I cant be proud of myself, even if I'm a successful programmer:
I think HERO of one person is TERRORIST of other person and reverse also true. I think there is no need to put the name of Osama or other people. I may be not very useful to start such debates on code project 
Anyways we should leave it here
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Oh, sorry.
I just wanted to put an example here. I mean I was wondering to give an example that anyone hates, but It is my bad. Please accept my apologies. I'm so sorry. I'll correct that typo right now.
// "In the end it's a little boy expressing himself." Yanni
while (I'm_alive)
{
cout<<"I love programming.";
}
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Yeah. I guess it depends on the company you're in.
Only fools rush in. Foo!
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What is so special about a programmer to make me proud of myself or my job?
To be proud, I need more than just being a programmer.
// "In the end it's a little boy expressing himself." Yanni
while (I'm_alive)
{
cout<<"I love programming.";
}
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Asslam o Alaikum Hamed
I agree with you, being a programmer there is nothing to be proud 
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qumer101 wrote: I agree with you, being a programmer there is nothing to be proud
Then why do it?
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Well Angus
There may be number of reasons,like you do not have anything else to do . Sometimes you are in one profession but it is just profession for you nothing more than that. So in this case you do not feel proud to do things at ur work place.
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