The Blog of Maxim Porges - maximporges.com
Feedback (1)Here is a post I could actually recommend to someone thinking about becoming a software engineer. His points are all valid and generally ranked in the proper order (especially the top 4)
1. Know that you love writing software. There are a great number of unhappy programmers in the world b/c they got into programming to the money. Problem is, if you don't have the love for it, you'll end up not studying it the way you need to, which leads to doing the least glamorous (although still decent paying) jobs.
2. Point on, but this can be hard b/c the last thing you generally want to do is continue programming after work and few employers offer the opportunity to learn new languages/technologies.
3. True, although it kind of goes along with number 1. If you're the type of student who only programs to do homework, you probably don't love programming.
4. True... I started programming in high school, but there were so many things about CS I didn't encounter until college. Not that college will teach you everything, but it definately gets you started on the right track.
5. Don't agree with this 100%, atleast in my case, I've found myself don't both application development and software engineering. Again, if you have a true interest in programming and do it long enough, you'll generally find yourself doing a wide variety of tasks.
6. Agreed.
7. This can also apply to working in a tech company for a manager who doesn't really understand technology (i.e. never programmed), and therefore under values the talent of the engineers under them.
8. An understated point here, it should be emphasized that pressure and stress are, in my mind, the number one job hazard in computer programming. Have you ever asked yourself why programming make a lot of money. Many people tend to overlook the fact that engineering is a highly stressful job, and for many it's hard to leave that stress or a particular problem you're working on at your desk when you go home at night.
9. Agreed, 100%. If you plan to do this job for any amount of time, you will probably witness the birth of a new major language in that time, not to mention so many custom languages that individual companies use that understanding how a parser/compiler works and the basic language paradigms is far more useful in the long run than understanding any particular language entirely.
