61–70 of 130 posts
So what do B and C developers do? Not everyone can be in the A tier. Wouldn't a better strategy for society be to focus on extracting maximum value and output from people of all capabilities? Just pay less capable people less, and give them smaller responsibilities.
A bit of a meta question: As someone who feels like a 'B' or even 'C' at times, what would it take to become an 'A' player? Is it predicated on pure talent alone, hard work, or experience? Even though I know I'm still a junior developer (~1 yr exp), I feel hopeless at times that I'll never approach being 'A' status especially knowing that I have many peers my age that are already far and away better than me. How woul…
Anyone who thinks they are an A player quite frankly isn't.
Will someone (other than Steve McConnell) who parrots these numbers ad nauseum please provide some evidence for your claims? Really, the best car is only 20% better than the average car? In what way? Define the best? Please, go on, explain your methodology.
Do the people who continue to spew forth this gibberish actually claim to have education and credentials of a scientific persuasion? Do they actually consider themselves professionals in a field that requires logical and critical thinking skills? Barf!
A bit of a meta question: As someone who feels like a 'B' or even 'C' at times, what would it take to become an 'A' player? Is it predicated on pure talent alone, hard work, or experience? Even though I know I'm still a junior developer (~1 yr exp), I feel hopeless at times that I'll never approach being 'A' status especially knowing that I have many peers my age that are already far and away better than me. How woul…
I feel hopeless at times that I'll never approach being 'A' status especially knowing that I have many peers my age that are already far and away better than me. There are many people who learned to code starting age 4 or 5 who are having rings run round them by people who learned to code in their 20s or even 30s. Age and experience are only components in a much larger, more complex equation. While I can't provide mu…
We hear this a lot and somehow feel it's true but there are no reliable metrics and little verifiable data so ultimately it's just talk.
Further, if the distribution really is very skewed and A players are rare, then I would put forth that the A players are vastly underpaid.
Putting aside the productivity arguments, talking about the immense value you place on your employees while (possibly) conspiring with your competitors to keep salaries low is awfully unethical. [1]
[1] http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-20/tech/30645933...
A bit of a meta question: As someone who feels like a 'B' or even 'C' at times, what would it take to become an 'A' player? Is it predicated on pure talent alone, hard work, or experience? Even though I know I'm still a junior developer (~1 yr exp), I feel hopeless at times that I'll never approach being 'A' status especially knowing that I have many peers my age that are already far and away better than me. How woul…
And I think the exact number or ratio is not important, and probably not measureable. But I bet anyone who's been around long enough, exposed to wide enough variety of programmers, will agree that there is a wide range of skill & talent. But of course when it comes to pay, salary-wise, working for somebody else, there really isn't. And that's a shame. Or at least an inefficiency.
A bit of a meta question: As someone who feels like a 'B' or even 'C' at times, what would it take to become an 'A' player? Is it predicated on pure talent alone, hard work, or experience? Even though I know I'm still a junior developer (~1 yr exp), I feel hopeless at times that I'll never approach being 'A' status especially knowing that I have many peers my age that are already far and away better than me. How woul…
The computer itself gives you plenty of feedback, although not on the quality of your code. Once you get good at the foundations, read through Code Complete once, skimming the boring stuff (and there is plenty of boring stuff). This will give you the basic framework for code quality.
Next step is to get a challenging job...make friends with a recruiter who recruits for start-ups. For example Python meet-ups. You have to be a professional programmer for 2 years before you get good.
We hear this a lot and somehow feel it's true but there are no reliable metrics and little verifiable data so ultimately it's just talk.
I would love to see some objective evidence on the distribution of productivity among programmers. Is the distribution really so skewed? Further, if the distribution really is very skewed and A players are rare, then I would put forth that the A players are vastly underpaid. Putting aside the productivity arguments, talking about the immense value you place on your employees while (possibly) conspiring with your comp…