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Coder v. Developer
This is a great discussion of the value of experienced coders. Check it out if you write code for a living, or are considering doing so.
he was making a distinction between being a coder and a developer, a distinction made very well by Mike Gunderloy in his excellent book, Coder to Developer. Mr. Gunderloy differentiates a coder — someone who understands the syntax and semantics of one or even a number of computer programming languages – from a developer — someone who can turn out a full application with all the required supporting details.
If I was a COBOL-coding drone who just translated detailed specs into executable code, I recognize that I could easily be replaced by someone willing to work for a whole lot less. But, reading the column, it was obvious that Mr. Adamsky was talking about both coders and developers. I quote:
There’s little future for someone who only programs. Code is a commodity that can be created by other people for less money – much less. Think of coding as the beginning of a career – a great place to start, but not what you want to do for your entire professional existence.
…
I firmly believe that much of bad software comes from a lack of imagination over how software might be used in ways different than those we anticipate. While our industry should not underestimate the value of a newly minted computer science graduate’s enthusiasm, it should also not underestimate the value of a somewhat less enthusiastic, but seasoned, interested and experienced coder.
http://myopiczeal.blogsome.com/2005/03/15/coder-v-developer/trackback/
Great post. I used to be a developer. I brought to market the world’s first fully digital mastering console and a nifty little box the navy used on subs to make cd jukeboxes look like Novell, MS, and NFS volumes, among others. For almost 4 years I ran an Internet co. that I founded. I am now about a month into my first job as a lawyer.
Why? Because as a developer, i.e. someone who had to do and oversee it all, and someone who did it for small companies, I never became an expert on things like Oracle, or Peoplesoft or even Java (although I think I could be as good as most in a few months on that one) and there just aren’t that many jobs out there for someone who is not an expert in some narrow field and who actually likes to create things as opposed to just fix them…no offense to those who fix things, it’s just not me. :) (Eric Raymond said in Cathedral and Bazaar that only about 5% of IT jobs are development) Besides that I hate MS. Always have and probably always will. (It still blows my mind that after all this time Windows still can’t multi-task worth a crap) And that really cuts the job market down.
It’s sad really. If you give me some kind of vague idea of a problem and just a few resources, in somewhere from months to years, depending on the size of the problem, I can present you with a complete solution; product, documentation, marketing, manufacturing, support, distribution…everything. Hardware, software, packaging, mfg. process, outsourced mfg, custom wood, metal, and plastic, buttons, knobs, all manner of interface devices, personnel, budget, VC presentations, shows from top to bottom, sales, installation, testing, certification, export to other countries…I think I’ve done it all. But the jobs just aren’t there or they aren’t such that I can play anymore. I am now middle aged. I have a family and my wife wasn’t married to a ketchup king before me. So I need a job that won’t go away because we couldn’t get the next round of funding and I don’t want to live in Cal.
Well, I wrote more than I had planned. Thanks for letting me vent a little. I have a memo to write on banking regulation now.
Mark
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