Programming

I'm pretty sure non-programmers share much of the blame. Here's what I imagine goes through the minds of most people, especially management types.

"Oh, a nerd. Great we need another nerd in here because things are not moving fast enough."

I've had job offers for everything from equipment maintenance and repair (because there was a PLC hooked up) to network administrator. It's all computers, right?

When trying to use some of the truly atrocious stuff that gets rolled out with a web interface, I get the distinct impression that random "nerds" are dropped into random slots. There is no consideration that maybe saying "nerd" is like saying "doctor". If that's all you look for, you might get an economist instead of a surgeon.

When I've been presented with expectations outside my field, I've replied with something along the lines of, "Programming is a bit like sports--they all share some common features, but the skill sets are very different. What you're asking me to do is like asking a hockey player to participate in a professional badminton tournament. I can try, but it won't be pretty."

I understand your concerns about the article’s quality. I found that it presents some interesting perspectives on software development, although some points might not be clearly articulated. It’s always valuable to critically assess any content we come across, especially in the rapidly evolving field of software development. Do you have specific aspects of the article you disagree with or find lacking in clarity? I’d be interested in hearing more about your perspective.

If you don't have an expert, you should demand one. If I don't have an electrician, I won't ask my plumber to go read a book and come back to do the wiring. I would wait and get an electrician.

There was a day and age when that was largely the point of college--to teach you how to teach yourself. There was a difference in expectation from the high-school level, where following directions wasn't enough. You had to be able to do things you couldn't do in order to make it.

Not that it's the fault of current students--education has simply experienced inflation and everyone is trying to keep up. But it stands that those teaching-yourself skills will set apart a good developer from an okay developer.

Others have mentioned that the expectations can become toxic, though, especially from the non-technical crowd, and I agree. It becomes more of a question of efficiency than possibility. That is, if you've spent your entire career working on web stacks, and someone makes you program a PLC, it's gonna take a very long time for you to do it even satisfactorily.

There's definitely value to being able to self-teach and figure things out, but it needs to be paired with other soft skills, like "speaking manager" and setting appropriate boundaries.