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Colin Angus Mackay wrote: I don't agree - The skills of programming are transferrable. As a quick example: You need to take a problem and break it down in to smaller parts and work out what each of these need to do and if necessary repeat until the parts are small enough that you can do something with them. That skill applies to any form of problem solving. Divide and conquer, basically.
Exactly! There are many times when people turn to me for problem solving or putting together a system or plan because they know I'll be able to make sense of everything, divide and conquer, simplify, and build a coherent model. Programming is the main place where those skills were honed.
Colin Angus Mackay wrote: I'm normally a bit shy and I find it difficult to start a conversation with someone.
A lot of programmers are introverted - including me. Introverts focus more on internal thought processes and less on interacting directly with the outside world. It's generally not the best in social situations, but it also means that you work a lot on strong thinking skills and knowledge.
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Programming, nothing can beat it.
We made the buttons on the screen look so good you'll want to lick them. Steve Jobs
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Its atleast better than waisting time with chicks..........
d A n N y
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Whooo, slow down, I think you take programming TOO seriously
Who the f*** is General Failure, and why is he reading my harddisk?
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Why do I not find that suprising?;P
It's only when you look at an ant through a magnifying glass on a sunny day that you realise how often they burst into flames.
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The time I spend with chicks pays a heck of a lot better than the time I spend programming.
You may be right
I may be crazy
-- Billy Joel --
Within you lies the power for good, use it!!!
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PJ Arends wrote: The time I spend with chicks pays a heck of a lot better
Wow, I'm impressed.
Far better that they pay you, than you have to pay them.
Software Zen: delete this;
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norm .net wrote: Programming, nothing can beat it.
Agreed 100%! There's nothing else in life I'd rather do.
/ravi
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Strange poll this. There are 5 options that i would happily use to describe why i program. I went for 'It's my job' as these days i have little time to program for any other reason.
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Allowing only one anwer forces you to think what is most important for you.
Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Velopers, Develprs, Developers! We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP Linkify!|Fold With Us!
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Shouldn't they be merged
i enjoy programming since i get to learn new skills... i enjoy learning new skills which i find in programming...
Its a way of life, the money comes second
A physics professor and his assistant are working on liberating negatively charged hydroxyl ions, when all of a sudden, the assistant says, "Wait, Professor! What if the salicylic acids do not accept the hydroxyl ions?" And the professor responds, "That's no hydroxyl ion! That's my wife!"
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Yeah, for glamour and prestige... It feels really glamourous at around 03.00 when everyone you know is asleep...
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Also, most people see you as boring, at least they do at our school
Especially the people from psychology...
WM.
What about weapons of mass-construction?
"You can always try to smash it with a wrench to fix that. It might actually work" - WillemM
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WillemM wrote: Also, most people see you as boring, at least they do at our school
Especially the people from psychology...
Speak for yourself... I have several friends who majored in psychology or are currently taking psychology, and they definitely don't consider me boring. But then, I have a wide range of interests beyond programming and tech.
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I love it when I'm at work and my Skype Contacts list contains only gray icons. Who said 'Get a life!' ?
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The prestige comes as soon as I go for the details as the new Hardware, a lot of coffee and some snacks, the friendly collegues that help me troubelshooting every Technology Problem, reading and chatting in the internet and the overall payment package and my working time.
Greetings from Germany
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Work in a turkey factory for awhile and suddenly programming seems glamorous.
For a start, unlike Turkey factories (and other), you can take a break when you like, you control how your day goes.
You wanna grab a coffee? Then grab a coffee.
You wanna grab a sandwich, then grab a sandwich.
You wanna spend an hour learning how to communicate over the web programatically, do so.
In factories, they look forward to lunchtime, mine just comes and goes without me noticing sommost of the time, and that's out of choice.
If you're even half good at what you do, your employers have to work to keep you, because the demand for programmers is very strong. Unlike bog standard assembly line factories, where people are hired and fired like safety matches.
You get to work with and learn from intelligent and talented people, rather than people on probation, and people who left school before their exams started and thinks reading the Sun newspaper is an intellectual pastime.
You possibly get to see your work on sale, or see it's influence when you go on holiday to the opposite side of the planet.
Yeahhhh, I'd say it was glamorous.
Ben Glancy
Software Developer
Articad Ltd
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Youre completly right, working in a Turkey factory isnt as good as programming.
The poor animals which got slaughtered. (But I like eating meat a really big lot)
Greetings from Germany
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I used to work for a chicken factory.
Seriously, I was on a team that wrote all the software for the scales, pricing, inventory, scheduling, and everything else that's needed for a factory to run.
Got 10% of my pay in Chickens. :-P
It's only when you look at an ant through a magnifying glass on a sunny day that you realise how often they burst into flames.
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The exception to the turkey factory rule then!
Ben Glancy
Software Developer
Articad Ltd
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you could apply this for pretty much any unskilled (or semi-skilled) or manual labor job. I was an electrician for 7 years before I went back to school and got a degree (always done programming, just hard to get a job w/ no degree), and I'd say its pretty much the same in that industry.
you got my 5.
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Don't freelance electricians/plumbers etc have a glamorous lifestyle? It always seems they do.
Regarding programming, I suppose it depends where you work.
Companies like EA like to talk of glamour, when they really mean a never ending stream of meetings, HR gatherings (a promotion scheme for the line managers), annoying persistent weekly catchups and extensive overtime. Completely over the top in my opinion. The only word I can think of to describe it is erm... "pesky"
Ben Glancy
Software Developer
Articad Ltd
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ArtiBen wrote: Don't freelance electricians/plumbers etc have a glamorous lifestyle?
only in porno's.
Texas (where I live) is very hot most of the time, and working outside in the heat sucks. running my own business paid very well, but I never slept easy at night knowing that if any building I was in ever burned down, I would be the sole scapegoat (arent fires usually blamed on bad wiring?), and did I carry enough insurance to cover that.
nothing like software disclaimers!
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