Ask HN: Realization that i am not a "Programmer"...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2893746

by mpg33 • 15 years ago

15 13 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

So after graduating from school I started a job a few months ago as a developer. I have never been a math/logic oriented person always a word/idea person if that makes sense.. But I never thought it would be a big deal, but now after a few months 5 days a week looking at code it is becoming apparent that my strengths do not lie in this area..

I really enjoy learning about technology and discussing it with others and giving advice, ideas, improvements etc.

Anyone else ever come to this realization? What did you do about it?

duncan_bayne• 15 years ago

My advice: don't write off a potential career based on a few month's experience.

It took me several years to decide that I enjoyed software development as a profession, and that I enjoyed it enough to develop an aptitude for it.

Also, consider that it may be the environment - product, technology, team, company, existing code - that is putting you off. Even if you decide against what you're doing I'd limit the conclusion to "I hate my current job" rather than "I'm no good at programming."

latch• 15 years ago

Agree with this..it's at least worth trying something different. I'd be interested in knowing what kind of company/team you are working in/with?

mpg332• 15 years ago

true, i guess i enjoy explaining things to people and thought maybe I ended up in development because I'm an introvert..

mjs00• 15 years ago

You might consider product management or product marketing. Both require high technical aptitude, but then you specialize around what the hard core programming folks aren't doing. Product managers spend a lot of time on competitive research/analysis, requirements generation/ aggregation/ prioritization, etc, and help validate (or not) potential market fit. Product marketing as well is invaluable to help translate the 'magic' programmers create and the technical/strategic 'vision' into the words and programs that get people or companies to use the product - make it compelling in the language of the target market. And sometimes you do both as the 'product' guy (you get one or the other title above, but ultimately do both).

sp332• 15 years ago

Programming is a big field, I'm sure you can find something that suits you better if you feel like looking around more. Just as an extreme example, Inform 7 is just a subset of English that makes text adventure games. http://inform7.com/

jhen095• 15 years ago

Haven't felt like this, but as sp332 says "Programming is a big field". I would broaden that even further to I.T. Is a big field.

Why not think about such sub-categories such as DBA, Analysis/Reporting/Sharepoint Services developer, or even pre-sales roles. These involve some coding but a lot of customer interaction, giving advice/ideas, designing solutions and improving the customers business.

mpg332• 15 years ago

cool, thanks

codeslush• 15 years ago

I'll second the pre-sales role - it's the first thing that came to mind when reading your post before any of the comments. Sales Consulting/Sales Engineering/Systems Consultant --- they are all mostly the same type of role with different titles. The pay can be lucrative and it's a great blend of different skills.

In one of your other comments, you mentioned "introvert" -- don't let this hold you back from a pre-sales type of role. It's very easy to be an introvert, but become very much an extrovert/good speaker when "doing your job."

wilzy• 15 years ago

I really enjoy coding, but i am not a programmer by trade. I also really enjoy many (MANY) other things. Finding a job that brings them all into the picture would be very difficult, unless of course you created the position yourself. Naturally, that would of course depend on you having a clear understanding about what that role would entail. As duncan_bayne pointed out, it can take several years to work out where your strengths and weaknesses lie. There's no 'right path' to a career. Sometimes a job won’t offer you the opportunity to display the strengths you consider yourself in possession of - and to this I would suggest that where possible, try to exercise these in other ways... most likely outside of your job in extra-curricular tasks.

You might consider starting a business of your own, which would afford you the opportunity to fine tune and have a go at your areas of strength, and most importantly, keep you relatively interested in day to day activity. If starting a business is intimidating, consider offering your services for free for some small tasks/projects, and treat them as though they were paid and professional. You’d feed your interest and learn along the way.

The point I am trying to make is that you’ve plenty of options out there, and they are not very apparent just yet... but from my experience, the more your put yourself out there (particularly in areas that overlap strengths and stuff that is completely foreign) you will start to see some interesting options arise... and you will start to get a better picture of what your interests, strengths and weaknesses are. Best of all... there’s no deadline to work this stuff out... so be proactive and enjoy yourself!

tryitnow• 15 years ago

Even though I am not a programmer, I can't emphasize enough how valuable it is to think like one. I've just started teaching myself simple, basic programming stuff just for fun and I have noticed myself thinking more clearly and logically on the job and it's having a direct, positive impact on my work.

So consider your experience as a programmer as a great investment in whatever field you want to go into.

Sorry for not really answering your question, I just wanted to point out that although you might not be a "programmer" it definitely pays to "think like a programmer."

stel• 15 years ago

It sounds like you didn't study CS or another technical field in school or you would have known you weren't a math/logic person already. I'm curious, what got you into programming (other than that there are a lot of job openings right now)?

Regardless, it's pretty common for your first job in any field to be less than ideal, so I wouldn't write off programming just yet. On the other hand, if your company is large enough to offer opportunities to work in other areas, you might dip your toe in and find something you like better without having to look for another job. Desire for change happens to everyone after a while, even if we enjoy what we do.

systemtrigger• 15 years ago

Whatever you do, go deep. Be an expert in something. Learn a trade. Don't be "the idea guy." Can your ideas can be prefaced with "this detailed plan would definitely be very profitable"? If yes then...work the plan. Otherwise you might want to consider sales, consulting or meta tech stuff like documentation. Strike commentary off your list: the web is awash with tech bloggers. (Just my two cents)

SoftwareMaven• 15 years ago

You may find you like product management. You have to remain reasonably technical, but the focus is on human problems (customer needs, business problems, getting the office behind a release, etc).

I still like coding, but I've found being a PM far more satisfying in my day job.

Ask HN: Realization that i am not a "Programmer"...

Related Stories