Is programming a satisfying profession?

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December 6th, 2002, 04:50 PM
NewFarmerJack

Is programming a satisfying profession?

Hello all,

I am currently working as an EDI Administrator for a healthcare firm and I'm on the cusp of beginning to program. I have some exposuer to VB 6.0 and Perl in my work, and have started to feel that being a "builder" of applications, processes, and systems might be more satisfying than being a high level user.

I'm planning on studying VB .NET on my own, but what I've come to realize is that there is so much to learn. Rather than investing all of the time effort and energy into aquiring the skills only to discover that the work isn't satisfying, I'd like to pose the question here.

Do you all find programming satisfying as a career?

Are you able to feel like you make a difference?

Is there a particular role that is more enjoyable to you than others? (Is building from scratch more satisfying than troubleshooting legacy stuff?)

Do you have creative freedom and control?

My objective is to be certain that I am moving towards greater satisfaction in my work, and more control. I think programming generally would be more satisfying than Administration,...however, the variety of roles within the programming universe really seems to vary quite a bit.

Also,..anyone familiar with VB.NET & MS Web Services? Is it viable as a skill to make a career out of or am I a victim of hype?

Thank you in advance for any help that can be offered,

Jack

:)
December 6th, 2002, 05:46 PM
Cimperiali

mmmm...it depends...

Quote:

Do you all find programming satisfying as a career?

Passion before career.
Or if you're looking for career, better you study as analist (at least in my country, it is not true you have to start as developer to become analist); and if you're looking for money, even better if you learn about netwrok and database administration.

I am satisfied, but people usually tell me I am not completely human...ehrm...

Well, I felt a passion, and thus I am lucky: I do as job my biggest hobby. I have met many developers who are not satisfied: they do the job only to get the living, not (also) as they like it.
So: is it developing satisfying? It is all upon you, your interests and your feeling. Oh, yes, money can help. And I would not code 8-16 hours a day if no money comes (that is : iI would code only 0-6 hours a day for passion only...;) after have done the job that would give me the food)

Quote:

Are you able to feel like you make a difference?

Almost every day. If not, then I come here.... :cool:

Quote:

Is there a particular role that is more enjoyable to you than others? (Is building from scratch more satisfying than troubleshooting legacy stuff?)

Oh, yes, building from scratch. And building after thinking. And building without thinking. And building....Troubleshooting is a good exercise, and I do it every day. To clear the bugs I inserted in code while bulding without thinking enough before. The ugly parts for me is when something works well and then someone want that "small, invisible modification" that is all but small, or when someone else build something without thinking too much, and then I have to "make it work"

Quote:

Do you have creative freedom and control?

If not, better change Software House. Once worked also for building and mantaining financial software. After one year and a half I was quite a living-dead one (to say: not my favorite kind of software)
But now I must warn you: is rare developer has the control. At least where I work and worked, people start as "juniores", and jouniores follow the rules of more skilled people. The first day, they even told me: "open this this way, go to line 55 and substitute 'gt' with 'eqgt' " . And that was the job I got 8 hours a day for first 7 days... 1 word each 30 second on demand... :rolleyes:

VB.NET & MS Web Services should be the future....But no one knows the future.

Cesare Imperiali
December 6th, 2002, 07:23 PM
Yves M

I guess I'm a bit like Cimperiali, since it's also a passion for me. I don't code the whole time, but I like reading about algorithms checking out interesting structures and so on. For example, I coded quite a bit while I was in high-school and then went in college where I actually studied computer science, I coded only very little on my own. Now since I've got a job, I sometimes "take work home", but only the fun parts. A fun part for me is to solve an algorithmic or overall design problem.

Maintaining code is not my favourite, but I do enjoy it when somebody reports an obscure bug that happens only on christmas eve on Windows 95 turkish and then I know straight away what is causing that bug.

Adding features onto old code is probably the worst. Like the "invisible change" Cimperiali mentioned, it consists many times of breaking a whole lot of well-tuned functions and introducing a "hack". Then sometime later you will have to "hack" the code again to add another feature and so on. This can be a nightmare.

I feel I definitely make a difference in my current job, since I'm responsible for a sizeable portion of the program we release to the users. Many parts are visible, so it's nice to get direct comments. Others are more invisible, but it's still quite a satisfaction to see it in action and actually doing useful work for somebody else.

But well, this is just my personal experience :)
December 6th, 2002, 07:49 PM
NewFarmerJack

Your answers are very personal, and that is exactly what I was hoping for.

I've worked long enough and hard enough to know that it only makes sense to knock yourself out at work if you care about what you're doing. The PASSION you mentioned is exactly what I want to be true to.

I just joined this group a couple of hours ago and have already received solid advice from two experienced programmers. I'm amazed and looking forward to participating in more discussions here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hopefully I'll be able to contribute myself at some point,...

Cheers!,

Jack
December 7th, 2002, 04:49 AM
Cimperiali

You're welcome

And you will find us herearound (Vb forum, in my case).
Have nice days and happy coding,

Cesare Imperiali
December 13th, 2002, 09:58 PM
CBasicNet

As I plan to get into the IT line, as you regulars know.

I want to know if it is useful for me to learn basic business stuff, like accounting, or business administration. As IT's role is to support business operations in a company.

Thanks.
December 14th, 2002, 06:42 PM
proxima centaur

It depends on what field you want to work in. I hate accounting. Therefore I value my ignorance in that field :)

If you work for a high tech company or fields in which databases or accounting is not an issue, then no. Otherwise, yes. So as all good answers, yes and no.

However, one thing is essential to learn: how a business works. Unfortunately, I think you can only gain that knowledge from (sometimes painful) experience.
December 17th, 2002, 07:26 PM
CBasicNet

A few days ago, I just read a thread about writing software for inventory control. I realised I don't know how to write 1!! I think I have to learn how business model/organisation work someday if I want to get a programming job.
December 19th, 2002, 09:06 PM
NewFarmerJack

Understanding the busness you're working in

That's definitely worthwhile. I have a great deal of experience working in Medical Billing. The company I work for "streamlines" and automates many billing processes.

My experience as a "Biller" has been in many cases more valuable than any programming knowledge I could ever bring to the table.

Find a field that you care about, and see if you can make a difference there. If you havn't any experience yet, you will,..but I wouldn't waste time working towards a mission you don't care about.

If you like video games,...work for a video game company. If you like Pizza,..find out who makes Domino's software. If you're contributing to something that you care about,...you'll find a personal satisfaction in contributing to the mission of the company.

Cheers!,

Jack
December 19th, 2002, 09:22 PM
TheCPUWizard

[quout]Do you all find programming satisfying as a career? [/qoute]

I do it for the passion, it happens to provide my income.

Quote:

Are you able to feel like you make a difference?

Sure, some of my bugs have bankrupted companies :D

Quote:

Is there a particular role that is more enjoyable to you than others? (Is building from scratch more satisfying than troubleshooting legacy stuff?)

Fresh design is the best.

Quote:

Do you have creative freedom and control?

No Way. I own my own firm, every single client exerts control. Normal employees have only one boss.

Quote:

My objective is to be certain that I am moving towards greater satisfaction in my work, and more control. I think programming generally would be more satisfying than Administration,...however, the variety of roles within the programming universe really seems to vary quite a bit.

It is very subjective and personal. Give it a shot. Some of us love it, others dont! Good Luck.

Quote:

Also,..anyone familiar with VB.NET & MS Web Services? Is it viable as a skill to make a career out of or am I a victim of hype?

That is one area my firm has been expanding into for the past year. Currently 20-30% of our business. Long term prospects look good. Be wary of market saturation with all of the hype.
December 20th, 2002, 08:55 AM
Andreas Masur

Quote:

Originally posted by TheCPUWizard
Sure, some of my bugs have bankrupted companies :D

*rofl*...I hope it did not happen that often...or that you have at least a good insurance coverage... :D

Quote:

Originally posted by TheCPUWizard
Fresh design is the best.

Unless you would re-inventing the wheel over and over... :cool:
December 20th, 2002, 10:11 AM
TheCPUWizard

Quote:

Sure, some of my bugs have bankrupted companies

OK, so it should have been singulay (COMPANY) and I should point out that I was the owner of the company in question :mad:

Seriously, I did have one venture that was forced to close because of a "problem in software design". This is one of the reasons I am so vocal on getting the design right, and using the compiler (or other tools) to ENFORCE it. Programmers (Even "...Wizards") can and will try to use software in ways that it was never intended (even if they wrote it themselves!).

Quote:

Unless you would re-inventing the wheel over and over...

Yeah, but my latest wheel has a new and innovative feature..... NO CORNERS... Vast improvement on earlier sqaure models :p
December 21st, 2002, 12:11 PM
Andreas Masur

Quote:

Originally posted by TheCPUWizard
OK, so it should have been singulay (COMPANY) and I should point out that I was the owner of the company in question :mad:

Seriously, I did have one venture that was forced to close because of a "problem in software design". This is one of the reasons I am so vocal on getting the design right, and using the compiler (or other tools) to ENFORCE it. Programmers (Even "...Wizards") can and will try to use software in ways that it was never intended (even if they wrote it themselves!).

Well...I just realized that although your first comment sounded funny I should not have answered in this way. I apologize for my comment since these kind of problems can cause serious problems for small companies or even one-person-companies.

Quote:

Originally posted by TheCPUWizard
Yeah, but my latest wheel has a new and innovative feature..... NO CORNERS... Vast improvement on earlier sqaure models :p

Really??? :eek: Wow...how can I get my hands on this?? :D