Taking the Romance Out of Software Development

This is an article I've been wanting to write for a while, and it's mainly to voice some observations that I've had in my ten years in the software development industry. In my time so far in this industry, I have been truly lucky enough to have worked on some really fun and exciting projects, and also worked as an adjunct professor for a local university.

Part of my job is assisting in the intern program, as well as helping many junior developers who have just gotten their foot in the door, and are learning to stand on their own. Now, in all of that, I've gotten lots of questions, and honestly a lot of times it's the same two questions. The first question is the one most people think of, "How do I get a job in software development?", and that's the question most of my students ask, given that many of them are reaching the end of their tenure at college. The other question is usually the one I get from Junior Developers after they've gotten the all important first job. "How do I succeed in this field?" I've seen many developers come and go, and I've worked with a lot of people I've come to admire in this industry, and the ironic part is that the answer to both questions is the same, and it's rarely what you would expect.

Most of my students or junior developers, all have a specific answer in mind when this question is being asked. They are expecting to hear, "If you learn C#, you'll succeed." or "If you master Angular.js, you'll be making 6 figures in no time." But the sad part is that the answer to this in my experience isn't that easily quantifiable. In my experience, the course of your career starts with your definition of success. An old saying is that if you want to start something, you should always have an end in mind.

This advice is absolutely timeless, in the sense that anything you do... you should have a goal in mind, something you are hoping to accomplish. So the first thing you need to do is define success for you.

For me, it falls into three categories...Am I employed? Do I enjoy my job? Am I being paid what I think I'm worth?

If the answers to those questions are all yes, than I can consider myself successful. The important part here is that you set your own measures of success and make them measurable. Now I know those seem like pretty generic questions, and most people are probably looking at this with a "Come on, your kidding", look about now.

Unfortunately, movies and even colleges define success as working for Google or being the next Zuckerberg. But honestly, that's a very romantic view of the industry, and it sets many up for failure. It's the same thing where everyone who picks up a guitar isn't going to be the next Jimmy Hendricks.

So instead, let's focus on what's attainable. For some of you, it might be getting a job at Google. Becoming a manager at your current job, or being self employed. I prefer to think in these almost abstract concepts to help me stay focused on what's important to me.

Now, I know what you are thinking, "How does this answer those questions?" The truth is that passion is worth its weight in gold for this industry. There are lots of people out there who can write code, and punch a clock. And in the eyes of many employers, they have training programs where they can teach people with any degree of knowledge how to program the way they want them to. But someone with passion is a rare find. People with passion take it upon themselves to learn this stuff on their off hours, and make staying current a priority, and who bring those insights into their own work. This provides more value, these are also the people who take the most pride in their work, and will do whatever it takes to do the best job they can.

These people are the race horses of our industry, and honestly they are the most sought after. They make the highest salaries, they get the most respect, they get attention from companies like Microsoft and Google, and love their jobs.

So you say, well that's great, but how do I become that person, I'm just a fresh out of school, junior developer. The answer is learn as much as you can whenever you can. If you make it a priority to read up on this stuff on your own time, work on your own personal projects, challenge yourself to do things better or find better solutions to problems, and before you know it you'll find yourself evolving into a passionate developer. And honestly in my experience, the rest will fall into place for you.

Now that being said, I don't want to mislead you, this is not easy, it's long hours, hard work, and can be frustrating. When you are sitting up at night, while others are going to the bar, banging your head against why a grid won't load. You'll be ready to scream, but honestly the pay off is huge. And in my experience, that satisfaction you get when you figure it out is amazing.

Now, I'm not saying being a shut-in nerd, but what I am saying is take pride in what you do, and work to better yourself at any turn.

Now saying those are your goals is only part of the process. The next step is to make those goals work for you. Cause what's the point in having the goals if you aren't going to ever do anything to get there.

The first thing you really need to do is make those goals a part of your daily life. You need to focus on using these goals to shape your decisions.

So with every question or opportunity, you need to ask yourself, in my case, "Am I enjoying this?", "Will this help me be paid what I'm worth, by being worth more?" or "Is this challenging, or how can I make it challenging?" If you use this method to keep your eye on the price, you will find yourself evolving into a passionate developer.