It's good to see a de facto reply to the "Yet Another Macho Programming Article". I'm tired of the attitude programmers can sometimes have; you're either Smart, and Get Things Done or you're just a piece of human garbage that's getting in the way and would be better off if you were just taken out back and shot.
Also, I like the first comment on this post:
You will look back at what you’ve written in ten years and laugh at your naivety. Stop worrying so much about what other people might think, they’re all faking it anyway - even your ‘heroes’. Also, check your spelling.
Yes, and No. Saying things out loud doesn't always make you a dick just like not saying them doesn't make them go away.
I agree with the author in that there are ways to phrase things, and saying things like "50% of programmers should find another profession" may be arrogant, on the other hand, I have come across several programmers (even tech leads and "architects") who are really really bad programmers. A lot of these people are in for the pay-check, and the fact that there is very little accountability in a lot of organizations ensures that they will continue to do what they do (badly, if I may add) without no reason or incentive to improve.
As long as things "work", slap code anywhere with no care of encapsulation. Duplicate code as long as you get to commit code before its time to go home. Methods are 400 lines long, nothing in terms of unit-tests, and when there are unit tests, printlns are the way to test code, because asserts are too advanced (I am _not_ making this up).
I am mostly a self-taught programmer, and am always feeling like the finger is pointed at me when I read blogs about those 50%. But guess what, I do what I can do to improve. Write lots of code (outside of work), read blogs and opinions of people who are considered "heroes", read open-source, read books about software development, learn new languages, read books on algorithms and data-structures, what-have-you.
And I have to sit and deal with the code of people who are writing code that is really really bad (I have dealt with projects where the language used is Java 5, yet no one uses generics, enums, etc because they never looked at the new language features!). Should I be complaining, absolutely? Do I need to be harsh about it, no. Shaming other programmers is not the way to go about it, but honestly, if someone pointed out something stupid that I did (which there are countless instances), I feel humility, but I also feel good in that the person thought I was worthy of a healthy discussion, and open-minded enough to be critiqued while not being insulted. Its a learning experience, and everyone is in it together.
As much as programming the profession needs improvement, so do HR and management when dealing with programmers.
How often do managers make the project worse? How often does HR ask for people with 10 years of experience on a 2yr old language?
Like every other profession, there are different levels of skill & talent. Usually we deal with this via differing salaries, technical incentives, and placements in various teams. Software development still needs some work in these areas.
> The problem is that there is a difference between a call to improve yourself and a call to quit and find other work, you’re hopeless.
I think it can also depend on the attitude of the person who is being called. Depending on the perspective and frame of mind of the person reading the call, they might take a call for improvement and interpret it as a call to just give up and leave. That people will interpret one as the other is not always the fault of the poster; some people are just defensive, and some will end up publicly whining when called out that they are being defensive. Not to say people can't be assholes, but they can also read too much emotion and spite into things that have none.
Also, and this may be a somewhat unpopular opinion, there is nothing wrong in making judgments and having strong opinions about things, be them people or ideas. Declaring in advance that things can't be ranked doesn't make it so, even if it leads to a period of forced harmony.
> I judge others’ competencies, in my own mind if nothing else. It’s just that when I do, it always leaves me feeling dirty and antagonistic. It makes me protective over my own ideas and not a very good team player.
This strikes me as conflating two discrete ideas. There is judging other peoples' competencies and ideas, and there is being prideful and protective of one's own. Either the latter is assumed to exist, or it is assumed to be implied by the former. I think this is wrong, and I think the assumption that it is true leads to more conflict than is necessary. That one thinks something to be true does not mean that they have to pridefully defend it. Be able to gracefully be proven wrong. Realize that the person is probably gauging your reaction to the argument presented as much as they are the statement you made that provoked the argument, possibly more so.
A lot of times when I've witnessed programmers passing judgment, it was not the disagreement that caused the problem. It was the lack of humility in one, or both, of the parties involved. They either refused to accept good evidence reasonably presented, or they would whine about being a victim of a personal attack. I rarely see reasonable people being kicked to the curb, because usually they are reasonable about where they are wrong, and what their abilities and talents are.
Also, I like the first comment on this post: You will look back at what you’ve written in ten years and laugh at your naivety. Stop worrying so much about what other people might think, they’re all faking it anyway - even your ‘heroes’. Also, check your spelling.
We really shouldn't be caring so much, honestly.