Don't Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice
This is a must-read for every software developer!
Here are some important points:
- Engineers are hired to create business value, not to program things.
- Producing beautiful software is not a goal. Solving complex technical problems is not a goal. Writing bug-free code is not a goal. Using sexy programming languages is not a goal. Add revenue. Reduce costs. Those are your only goals.
- If you call yourself a programmer, someone is already working on a way to get you fired.
- … Describe yourself by what you have accomplished for previously employers vis-a-vis increasing revenues or reducing costs.
- If you have not had the opportunity to do this yet, describe things which suggest you have the ability to increase revenue or reduce costs, or ideas to do so.
- Anyone describing themselves as either a Java programmer or .NET programmer has already lost
- A good engineer has a track record of — repeat after me — increasing revenue or decreasing costs.
- People who are skilled in negotiation make more than those who are not.
- The dominant quality which gets you jobs is the ability to give people the perception that you will create value.
After reading above article read this too: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice