Ever wish you could go back in time and offer your younger self advice? I would certainly like to say a few things to my younger self before starting a career in software development.
1. The industry isn't anything like these "Day in the Life" Videos.
I didn't really know what to expect when I was dreaming about getting into software development, and I really wanted to know what it would be like when I started working before I went down that path.
So what a better way to see this, then to see the real footage of what a typical day would be like. These are usually the most watched videos when it comes to software development. So if you're a little YouTuber, it's probably a great way to get some exposure. These videos are going to get millions of views. However these videos are just for that. They're mostly to get the views. they 're meant to be flashy, but realistically
- You're not going to eat food all day.
- You won't be playing Football all the time or something like that.
- You're not going to go on a trip every day.
Some businesses might be like that. Yet none I've applied for.
If I ever made a video of my average day, my long commute will start with waiting in the cold for the bus to arrive and then getting on the bus. Then we're packed in there like tuna fish and then I get into the office. Then I'm just going straight to my desk, sitting there for about six to seven hours. It's likely that the other hour or two of my day will be sitting in meetings, or like 30 minutes to go eat. But honestly that would be extremely dull. That's probably why I shouldn't be making those kinds of videos.
I'm not trying to be a buzz kill. Software development is a very rewarding career but don't think it's all going to be fun games. They're paying you a lot of money at the end of the day to do any job that many other people can't do.
Then on the other hand I see people working in the office until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. And they got in at 8:00 a.m. That's a twelve hour day! I don't know about you, but I don't stay in the office that late. You've had me for eight hours, and then I'm going home. There's either a manufacturing problem or a tough schedule for me to stay that long. That's the only reason I'm going to stay late.
2. If you're going to develop software, you've got to talk a lot.
You may not get up in front of a crowd of 1000 people, but you're going to get up in front of your 8-12 person team or maybe a small group of investors.
It's very valuable to be able to convey your thoughts clearly and get all the members of the team on board. It's not easy and that's why we need something named "meetings". Meetings are any developer's worst rival. Conferences that are poorly organised are the number one money waster in a company.
You'll have to protect your precious programming time from meetings. But then there's slack, phone calls and people coming in and asking 'hey got a minute?'. Sometimes it feels like I do programming as a side job and meetings are my main task. You can code much less than you expect because a lot of my work week is spent on stuff other than actually coding. You're going to do code tests rather than meetings, you're going to know something new and you're going to have to do estimates.
3. Ego is indeed a thing.
Everyone takes pride in their code. And it is nice to take care of your job. Indeed it increases the motivation and output efficiency.
But unnecessary possession contributes to defence of one's job. Than It's time to step back a little and take a deep breath. your self-worth shouldn't be coupled with your code. I was there.
In the war of egos, the winner is the bigger loser - Chaitanya Charan Das
If you're currently working as a software developer, I'm sure you've received some negative feedback on a pull request after working on a function for days. And it just felt like a gut blow. But too much ego prevents you from learning and becoming a better developer.
It can also lead to knowledge accumulating in order to boost your self-worth even more. You're going to generate code that nobody else can modify. Either by writing each piece of a feature yourself, or by writing code that is so unclear that no one else can understand it. Even if that means that you have to stay longer just to fix a little glitch in your little project. You're going to be the guy who does that one thing.
You're going to be really important and you're going to be a company liability. That means that when you get run over by a bus, your company is in big trouble. You can't go on holiday any more. Not at least when you're not connected to your baby project or company. Well, guess what? This is an terrible notion. That's not going to make you less replaceable or more significant. It'll just keep you stuck in your profession and keep you from rising. There is a good reasons why a lot of businesses are stopping information hoarding.