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Survey Results

As a software developer, do you consider yourself a craftsman or a labourer?   [Edit]

Survey period: 11 Jul 2011 to 18 Jul 2011

While many of us aspire to be a Craftsman, there are bills to be paid so we may need to admit we're Labourers.

OptionVotes% 
Craftsman44544.77
Depends on the job44344.57
Labourer10610.66



 
GeneralAn artistic activity Pin
Jaime Olivares17-Jul-11 6:43
Jaime Olivares17-Jul-11 6:43 
Generalyes, depends on the play, the director, the script Pin
BillWoodruff14-Jul-11 17:59
professionalBillWoodruff14-Jul-11 17:59 
GeneralI am less than a labourer Pin
mhamad zarif14-Jul-11 1:16
mhamad zarif14-Jul-11 1:16 
GeneralRe: I am less than a labourer Pin
Lutosław14-Jul-11 5:48
Lutosław14-Jul-11 5:48 
GeneralRe: I am less than a labourer Pin
Morl9917-Jul-11 4:16
Morl9917-Jul-11 4:16 
GeneralRe: I am less than a labourer [modified] Pin
Chris Randle18-Jul-11 23:17
professionalChris Randle18-Jul-11 23:17 
Yes I agree. I suspect you've been in the job less that 3 years, and probably haven't been challenged sufficiently yet. If you genuinely believe you can do better, look for another job and show them projects you do in your spare time.

If it's any consolation, I was earning 18k (GBP) a year after 2 years in the job. I knew I could do the work, but didn't have the experience to handle the responsibility of larger projects. I managed to get the higher paid job but didn't last in it because it was so new to me.


When I first joined the world of IT, I was doing voluntary work. Imagine the stress of work, but for a charity. In the end, I asked for money to finish the project. The boss agreed, but said he would pay me a lump sum after completion. Imagine doing 14 hour days at times to get the code out, before finishing by literally collapsing - only to be told "sorry but we have no money to pay you with". I wept for many days.

Join a few of the voluntary projects on here is a great place to start, but don't expect the job to be rewarding in financial terms. You could choose a lot worse professions.

It is one of the worst curses a developer can have is to suffer a team that doesn't share the importance of your values. You may be a worthy developer - with a string of qualifications under your belt. You've found it frustrating how many times you've overshot project deadlines, but your code is bulletproof. Then you work with another team that just shoots you down, or perhaps the management are more interested in getting something done immediately rather than doing it properly. You are doomed to spend the project copying and pasting code, rather than refactoring out bad techniques. My bugbear at the current role is that the lead dev was solely trained within the organisation. He has left things like Helper classes (bad) and redundant code, plus legacy code issues (obsolete and deprecated classes).

A lot of course depends on

modified on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 7:28 AM

GeneralSoftware surgeon Pin
Doug Domeny13-Jul-11 8:01
professionalDoug Domeny13-Jul-11 8:01 
GeneralRe: Software surgeon Pin
Gregory Henry13-Jul-11 22:32
Gregory Henry13-Jul-11 22:32 
GeneralRe: Software surgeon Pin
Septimus Hedgehog15-Jul-11 2:13
Septimus Hedgehog15-Jul-11 2:13 
Generaleveryone can be craftsman if he want to be,whatever his jobs Pin
afdotcn12-Jul-11 16:07
afdotcn12-Jul-11 16:07 
GeneralRe: everyone can be craftsman if he want to be,whatever his jobs Pin
Debojyoti Majumder14-Jul-11 19:27
Debojyoti Majumder14-Jul-11 19:27 
GeneralRe: everyone can be craftsman if he want to be,whatever his jobs Pin
afdotcn14-Jul-11 23:36
afdotcn14-Jul-11 23:36 
General[Craftsman JOTD] Pin
thatraja12-Jul-11 8:44
professionalthatraja12-Jul-11 8:44 
GeneralSacred Cow Network Pin
W Balboos, GHB12-Jul-11 6:10
W Balboos, GHB12-Jul-11 6:10 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
RedSonja12-Jul-11 20:14
RedSonja12-Jul-11 20:14 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
W Balboos, GHB13-Jul-11 1:11
W Balboos, GHB13-Jul-11 1:11 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
RedSonja13-Jul-11 2:54
RedSonja13-Jul-11 2:54 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
W Balboos, GHB13-Jul-11 7:05
W Balboos, GHB13-Jul-11 7:05 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
RedSonja13-Jul-11 20:06
RedSonja13-Jul-11 20:06 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
W Balboos, GHB14-Jul-11 1:07
W Balboos, GHB14-Jul-11 1:07 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
Peter Mulholland13-Jul-11 5:49
Peter Mulholland13-Jul-11 5:49 
GeneralRe: Sacred Cow Network Pin
W Balboos, GHB13-Jul-11 6:54
W Balboos, GHB13-Jul-11 6:54 
GeneralPrimadonna Pin
RedSonja11-Jul-11 20:00
RedSonja11-Jul-11 20:00 
GeneralRe: Primadonna Pin
Nick Polyak12-Jul-11 10:37
mvaNick Polyak12-Jul-11 10:37 
General..or author.. Pin
Thesisus11-Jul-11 16:27
Thesisus11-Jul-11 16:27 

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