Ask HN: What did the really successful programmers do differently?

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4611337 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4620276 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4616635

As someone who is definitely on the path to be developing software for the rest of his life, I'm somewhat concerned. There are many anecdotes of programmers in their 50s having a pretty bad time, and yet there are real examples out there of programmers who have done phenomenally well: they've made a difference, they're well known and respected AND they've been financially successful as well.

I'm thinking of (contemporary) programmers of the caliber of John Carmack, Rich Hickey, Peter Norvig, Jeff Dean.. I'm trying to understand what it is that they did differently from everybody else that set them apart. I understand that many have been successful through their ventures (see Bill Joy or Eric Schmidt), is that perhaps the only route?

I think this is an interesting and valuable discussion for every developer out there.

Because I'm one of the success stories, I'm in a position to answer. A successful programmer is not just a programmer, he is also a personal representative, a salesman and a contract negotiator.

I originally wrote what became Apple Writer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer) because I was writing a technical magazine article that was difficult to organize. I finally realized I could use my newly acquired Apple II to organize my disorganized notes and help in editing. So I divided my time between writing the article (about Special Relativity) and programming my Apple II to help with the writing task. This meant I was the first user of my program, and I was a demanding customer, a factor that helped the project along.

Eventually Apple heard about my program (originally called LexiCalc, a name meant to remind people of VisiCalc) and, having far too few programs for their computer, asked to see my program. After a lengthy negotiation in which I demanded and secured a 25% royalty rate, we had a deal.

The bottom line -- Apple Writer didn't become a success only because of my programming skills. It became a success and a household name because I was able to negotiate a royalty marketing deal with Apple that served both our needs. The fact that a 25% royalty rate was excessive, was unknown to either me or Apple at the time of the original negotiation, and by the time we both realized it, I was unwilling to change the terms.

To reiterate, programmers that become successful do it by having skills beyond programming -- they know how to present themselves, they know how to negotiate, and they earn a reputation for reliability.

So being a good programmer is not synonymous to having your bank accounts with decent zeroes following some non zero number.

Incidentally, yesterday I was talking to a programmer who had been coding for 17 years, he codes bots for games in C++ when not coding other stuff. He did not take his degree seriously, and today is looking for an MNC to hire him, so that he gets married, for the chic wants a secure life.

What did the good programmers do differently? Its a difficult question to answer. Having said that, couple of things are:

1. starting early

2. getting lucky

3. focus and hardwork

4. marketed themselves properly

5. surrounded themselves with better programmers, to get better at it.

6. capitalized on the opportunity of solving a tough and challenging problem.

ending on a pragmatic quote: passion burns out, what sustains is greed. (taken from "Do you want to be doing this at 50")