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0 pointstyi412y ago0 comments

I can't help but visualise an empty suit when people start talking about "delivering value" in the abstract, with a smug sense of superiority. People like you are mostly just lip service.

http://www.yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer-and...

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4 comments · 2 top-level

SkyMarshal12y ago· 2 in thread

There's a happy middle ground here, no need to split hairs or be black and white. One formula that works is, be a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about business problems. Preferably using your own original language, rather than pre-packaged MBA-speak (though sometimes even that stuff is useful if a particular client needs to hear it).

owenmarshall12y ago

>One formula that works is, be a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about business problems.

That's what I'm really getting at.

At the end of the day the person who decides to give you money in exchange for your code is a business person who wants to pay you to solve their business problems. Showing them that you understand and have experience solving those problems is as important as proving your mettle to other programmers.

And personally I've always had a much harder time with the business people interviews than the technical interviews. It's something that I have had to really work at, but it's helped me much more than I could've imagined.

SkyMarshal12y ago

Yup. I'd say if you're capable of doing both, do both. But if not, focus on being the best programmer you can be. It's the foundation for everything else.

JonFish8512y ago

"People like you are mostly just lip service." Err, ok? I'd argue that the interviewer's job is to determine that. If the interviewer just wants to banter back and forth on specifics of languages and whatnot, that's fine, but in the big picture I don't find it helpful.

So to use an example, if you want to hire someone to build a deck onto your house, do you quiz the person on Craftsmen hammers, Stanley measuring tapes and Black & Decker saws? I wouldn't. I'd ask what similar projects they've done, what problems they've run into, etc.

Call it lip service, but I think the big picture is more valuable. Specifics of language syntax & conventions is OK, but knowing how to wield the tools is far, far more valuable in my opinion.

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