Where Are the Programmers?

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Where Are the Programmers?

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LByers Newbie Points: 1 More actions · Answer 1

lokkers (9/1/2010)
I'd agree with that. I see a programmer as someone that writes code closely following a spec, and very little else. A developer "develops" a solution to a problem, and implements the solution (by writing code).

I only disagree with the last parenthetical (by writing code)...maybe as a junior developer this is true, but a good senior developer rarely writes code, they simply "develop" the solution and chunk it out to programmers to write the code.

AKA -

Programmer = Code Monkey

Developer = Organ Grinder

Reference: http://www.tonymarston.net/php-mysql/code-monkey.html

jawilliams Newbie Points: 1 More actions · Answer 2

Like what was mentioned before in an earlier post. The term "programmer" became developer, when programming became something that was cheaper to offshore. Today's office world requires the traditional programmer to have a broader skillset as a solutions provider. Basically, we are called to develop systems or applications, taking a different range of roles to interface technology using computer languages. So, it is not so much about the program we make, but about the end product that we develop (more of an on-going life cycle word anyway). There is more "analyst" in us nowadays, to varying degrees.

mnwcsult Newbie Points: 3 More actions · Answer 3

I became a computer programmer in 1973, my latest title is Senior Software Engineer. Here is an excerpt from my companies bio.

Michael is a Senior Software Engineer with Bates White and has over 25 years of software development and design experience. He provides custom software support to the varied elements of the firm, where custom software is defined as not off-the-shelf, but written to the specific need of the client. He performs data conversion of raw client data into formats suitable for processing within the firm. Michael has multiyear experience in C, C++, C#, VB, VBA, VB.Net in addition to classical programming languages FORTRAN, COBOL and database languages, including several flavors of SQL.

I recently had pondered how much code had I actually rewritten in the previous two days? Where I had spent most of my time researching features and doing analysis of the various sources of data and how they were related.

For the most part I still refer to my work as computer programming. Since 1973 the platforms, the tools and the look and feel have changed. The work is the same, although the visibility of the finished product is now at the enterprise level.

Here is link: http://dotmac.rationalmind.net/2010/08/some-lesser-known-truths-about-programming/

My two cents has it that the computer programmers are still here, probably not cast in the same mold as in the early days. Much better at customer service, better social skills, not some introverted stereotypical geek.

Then again check out my avatar 😉

Roger L Reid SSCrazy Points: 2004 More actions · Answer 4

First, see http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/28/silicon-valley%E2%80%99s-dark-secret-it%E2%80%99s-all-about-age/ - that's for real.

If you're over 45, and still a programmer, you'd better be one of the top ten in the world.

Where are the programmers? Often in less expensive parts of the world than North America, doing coding to specs worked out by developers or others.

The specialties are real and needed - more than they are used - but a request for resumes these days usually expects you to have a dozen specialties as specialties - and a familiarity with a few dozen more.

Chief RDBMS Architect wanted - must have excellent phone skills for busy office.

Roger Reid

Roger L Reid

etm1109 Ten Centuries Points: 1107 More actions · Answer 5

The entire industry is rotten to the core. . .

From hiring managers that inflate job skill requirements

To recruiters that decide if you to 'senior' and the job is 'junior' despite the fact your looking at the inflated

job skill set as requiring a superman or the super job hopper contractor to have been exposed to that amount of technologies and still be a ...'junior.'

As a side ? , what does 'junior' mean anymore.

Is is

a. No one over 30 should apply

b. No one asking more than $X dollars a year should apply

c. It's my selective super recruiter filter.

Then there is reality...You walk on the job that asked for Java, Oracle, SQL, Postgrest, ASP.NET ( Must have 5 years of the last technology that was recently released 6 months ago by Microsoft )...

And you find a decrepit Access 2000 database and some muttering from said hiring manager, we need to move this to Oracle or SQL or Postgres, we haven't decided...but we need to maintain the Access2000 database for right now...

Yeah, that's the game....

Andeavour SSCrazy Points: 2600 More actions · Answer 6

Then there is reality...You walk on the job that asked for Java, Oracle, SQL, Postgrest, ASP.NET ( Must have 5 years of the last technology that was recently released 6 months ago by Microsoft )...
And you find a decrepit Access 2000 database and some muttering from said hiring manager, we need to move this to Oracle or SQL or Postgres, we haven't decided...but we need to maintain the Access2000 database for right now...
Yeah, that's the game....

As a super job hopper contractor 🙂 I can say I've had more than my fair share of these situations. The job spec asks for a list of skill you're unlikely to get in an IT Department, never mind one individual, including every latest technology known to man (and a few known only to William Gibson) and the reality is they're still running SQL Server 7 databases on NT4 servers...

I think this is the problem when HR write job requirements. (And, by the way, when did the good old Personnel Department become Human Resources - something that sounds more suited to an organ bank than an IT company?)

thorkw SSC Enthusiast Points: 133 More actions · Answer 7

I disagree with Jeff Moden. SQL was invented so "we" didn't have to worry about "how" it gets the solution, just tell it what you want to see. In that case, we didn't have to be programmers per se, just think like a developer.

But T-SQL was clearly invented because deep down we are still programmers at heart, and black boxes like SQL are not always good enough in real life situations.

Just my 2 cents.

Alvin Ramard SSC-Forever Points: 41190 More actions · Answer 8

As Shakespeare once said: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Alvin Ramard
Memphis PASS Chapter[/url]

All my SSC forum answers come with a money back guarantee. If you didn't like the answer then I'll gladly refund what you paid for it.

For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]

dmurray-548176 Newbie Points: 4 More actions · Answer 9

When I started doing this stuff in a different century, programmers were the people who took a problem, analyzed it, created a solution and implemented that on a computer. And be careful not to drop the cards.

I may have missed it, but a term I didn't see in the previous posts was programmer/analyst, which is what we started calling ourselves when some shops had a separate individual to analyze things.

Today, I know of a shop at another office in my company that has eight people, a network admin, a database admin, an operator (true), a business analyst, three developers and a manager. But when the boss talks about his IT department, he has eight programmers.

Stephen Hirsch SSCommitted Points: 1822 More actions · Answer 10

Call me whatever you want. Call me Ishmael, but right now I'm a Business Intelligence Architect.

If the title is at all correlated to the money you get, then it's important. Otherwise, not.

Andeavour SSCrazy Points: 2600 More actions · Answer 11

If the title is at all correlated to the money you get, then it's important. Otherwise, not.

Never was a truer word spoken....

scottcote SSC Rookie Points: 43 More actions · Answer 12

I call myself a glorified plumber ....

When i was in high school, I can remember my teachers telling me that programmers were "a dime a dozen ... Get an engineering degree and make yourself useful." Now I'm an engineer and a plumber 🙂

j_e_o SSC Eights! Points: 959 More actions · Answer 13

You would be hard pressed to label me as a programmer. I'm definitely a software engineer. My duties include:

Requirements Engineering (Acceptance Test Driven)

High Level Design (Functional and Test Specifications)

Detailed Design

Prototyping

Coded implementation using test driven development (TDD)

Off-shore resource management (define, design, drive and validate or 3DV)

All of this is wrapped up with agile management practices (SCRUM) that have to side-step an overall corporate engineering process that is waterfall to its core.

What software do I engineer? A custom model driven ETL platform that also requires that I know my way around T-SQL and SQL Server.

Programmer definitely doesn't fit what I do for a living.

Daniel Bowlin SSC-Dedicated Points: 34566 More actions · Answer 14

First....I had a Vic20 also. It is probably still in the basement somewhere.

Straight to titles...lets get some that express how we really feel, and stroke our ego.

Master of all things technical.

I know more than you so shut up.

The prince of programming.

The deity of development.

Miracle worker.

Magician....watch me pull a rabbit out of my a**. That is what you are asking me to do isn't it?

A little fun on a Wednesday. Nice editorial. I like some of your title suggestions. Next time I look for a job I may have to come up with one of those.

LightVader Hall of Fame Points: 3810 More actions · Answer 15

dmurray-548176 (9/1/2010)
I may have missed it, but a term I didn't see in the previous posts was programmer/analyst, which is what we started calling ourselves when some shops had a separate individual to analyze things.

My title right now is Programmer Analyst 🙂 Honestly, I really don't care about the title as long as I get to do what I love.

The opinions expressed herein are strictly personal and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of my employer.