I don't call myself a programmer because software development is not programming, probably not even mainly. Moreover, programmer gives other people a false impression of your work. Outsiders consider a 'programmer' to be a 'trained monkey that does the typesetting'. Software developer, in an all-encompassing sense, is the best description I have found for my work.
Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
11–20 of 123 posts
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#12I thought the general advice is to call yourself a software engineer.
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#13I was having a beer in this small Brazilian town, mid-afternoon. Two girls come to my table. We try to chat ; they can't speak any foreign language and my Portuguese is awful. - Me: What is your job ? - The girls: Programma - Me (for the next 30 minutes): Oh great, me too ! Which languages ? Even "Java" didn't seem to mean anything to them. Strange. I assumed they had special programming languages in Brazil. 10 years…
I don't know if I'm laughing more at the confusion on your part, or the likely confusion on their part after you told them you were a programma too. Hilarious.
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#14You should call yourself whatever based on the situation. If you are hanging out with a group of consultants, you call yourself consultant; if you are a special effects programmer, and talking to a model, you say you're in the movie business; if you are interviewing with the author, you call yourself programmer. The best way to connect with others is to understand how they perceive things and find ways to relate to t…
This is one of the most useful bits of wisdom I've read on this site over the years. Thanks for this.
(or in other words: "This.")
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#15The business terms are "cost center" and "profit center". If you do IT for a financial firm, you are a cost to be controlled. If you do product development at a software company, your work contributes directly to profits and the more of you there are, the more profit they make. I can add that aside from software, consulting also treats programmers as profit makers although clients will see you as a huge cost. Good companies know that IT facilitates their work and should be treated with respect, but that mindset is still the exception rather than the rule. The one an interviewer told me I had asked an excellent question, was to ask how IT is viewed within this (financial) organization
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#16In the huge mega conglomerate where I work, I was told by my old boss to not call myself a 'programmer', as those with that title they can outsource to India, I had to have something with Architect in it to hopefully keep me employed continuing the daily grind.
Of course in all reality I am more of an architect, but when people ask what I do, do I say architect of this or that, and have to explain that, or simply computer programmer and that they get right away.
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#17I was having a beer in this small Brazilian town, mid-afternoon. Two girls come to my table. We try to chat ; they can't speak any foreign language and my Portuguese is awful. - Me: What is your job ? - The girls: Programma - Me (for the next 30 minutes): Oh great, me too ! Which languages ? Even "Java" didn't seem to mean anything to them. Strange. I assumed they had special programming languages in Brazil. 10 years…
Haha I laughed to this. Specially because I'm brazilian.
And yes, it is the same word, 'program' is a slang for prostitute work. We programmers here joke a lot about this :)
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#18I was having a beer in this small Brazilian town, mid-afternoon. Two girls come to my table. We try to chat ; they can't speak any foreign language and my Portuguese is awful. - Me: What is your job ? - The girls: Programma - Me (for the next 30 minutes): Oh great, me too ! Which languages ? Even "Java" didn't seem to mean anything to them. Strange. I assumed they had special programming languages in Brazil. 10 years…
That's pretty funny. In case anyone's wondering, the full term is "garota de programa", literally "girl of program" or "program girl". Obviously, the English is "call girl".
Normally, "programa" just means events, like "what's the program for the evening?". Here, of course, you can figure it out yourself.
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#19I thought the general advice is to call yourself a software engineer.
I hate the trend of calling people who code 'engineers.' It's just not a good title for anything to do with software. And invariably people who embrace its usage seem to be trying to compensate or ignorant of what a real engineer actually does or is.
Re: Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice
#20I was having a beer in this small Brazilian town, mid-afternoon. Two girls come to my table. We try to chat ; they can't speak any foreign language and my Portuguese is awful. - Me: What is your job ? - The girls: Programma - Me (for the next 30 minutes): Oh great, me too ! Which languages ? Even "Java" didn't seem to mean anything to them. Strange. I assumed they had special programming languages in Brazil. 10 years…
I don't know if I'm laughing more at the confusion on your part, or the likely confusion on their part after you told them you were a programma too. Hilarious.
Up to this day I'm still wondering if the girls thought that "Java" was a very special service I was requesting.