I've been tracking down responses to the Software Development Meme and it's really interesting to see where people started, what their experiences have been and what advice they have to offer.
Not surprisingly (at least to me), most of the big name software devs started programming in their teens on whatever primitive computing device was available to them. As I expected, I'm a late bloomer compared to most that I've read about. Also not surprising is the answer to the question: If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming? So far the overwhelmingly common response is something along the lines of "absolutely".
The question on advice to new programmers has yielded a lot of good responses, some of which are things I would have probably included if I'd taken more time or space for my answer. One thing that I think I'd add that I haven't seen yet is: Don't be afraid to move on. I had a cushy position for 15 years where I was comfortable and appreciated and supported in my efforts to learn and grow. The problem? It was too cushy, I hit a plateau in terms of what I could accomplish with regard to new skills and career growth. it was cushy, comfortable and safe, being the first place i worked professionally as a programmer, the place where I was the 'kid' until well into my 30s. My co-workers meant well and provided good mentoring over the years, but I need to leave the nest in order to fly.
How did I finally get myself out of that comfort zone and on to bigger and more challenging things? I got laid off when the parent company shifted away from Microsoft based software development and shifted some products away from our development team. I will always consider that to be the best thing that ever happened to my career, it's been onward and upward from there. I will also always regret, to some degree, that I didn't make the move myself. So my advice to new programmers would be, don't let yourself get too comfortable. If you're too comfortable, you're falling behind. Push yourself within your current situation and keep your eyes and ears open for new challenges.
Posted by buggy at July 7, 2008 09:52 AM