Are Programmers Professionals or Tradesmen?
Joel Spolsky wrote an article complaining that people who study computers at school aren’t taught “practical” skills like using source control or bug tracking tools. His solution is that universities should create a class where they teach students to use his FogBugz product. If that sounds self‐serving to you, you’re not alone. Mark Dennehy thinks that Spolsky has become a snake-oil salesman. Setting aside Spoksly’s product marketing, I think his attitude about skills and tooling is very common among managers in our industry. Several times in my career I’ve seen communications from management calling me a “Python Resource” or a “PHP Resource.” Ignoring the completely dehumanizing concept of people as “resources” (which is par for the course in Corporate America) the fact that managers seem so absorbed with skills with particular tools belies a refusal to treat us like professionals and a preference towards viewing us as skilled labor. A graduating structural engineer has no idea how to
Related Questions
- Our team of experienced programmers, graphic artists, and IT professionals allows us to provide excellent return on investment for our customers. What kind of product support does CANELA Software offer?
- Do Professionals and/or tradesmen need registration and licensing to work in Canada?
- Are stored programmers encrypted?
