What does it take to be a software developer?
I have been interested in electronics for the past 30 years or so. Before that I was interested in chemistry, particularly chemical warfare. I gassed moles and other garden pests; eventually I almost gassed myself. I decided that Chlorine was not for me and I turned to electronics. I did a lot of HF stuff, first with valves, then turning to semiconductors. When computers became affordable, I dug into those, too. 6502 was my pin code for years…
I now work for a big corporation. I kind of do niche work, stuff that is not the main stream business of “my” company. It is challenging, rewarding, and enlightening, in a sense. Now “my” corporation thinks that I was born with this knowledge, or magically was indoctrinated with it since I joined the club. Well, I forgot, big corporations only hire folk who have a genetic disposition to do the job, like developing software; in other words: it comes automatically, much like the pay check every month.
That means, off course, that buying computer magazines, the latest hardware, subscribing to news lists, spending hours and days of your private time to keep abreast of developments are a complete time and money waster, as all this knowledge is already in my genes, or is it?
Well, I am not sure. I always thought that having a job that interests me privately, as a hobby, was the ultimate fulfilment. But that is not recognised by “my” big corporation. If you weren’t born a software developer, you’ve got to be damn grateful to be able to call yourself one; at least as long as you are part of a big corporation…
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