Don't Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice

[allen0879]

I just read an awesome article that I think a lot of people here will get tons of value from. I wish I read this when I was younger. So much wisdom in here:

Don't Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice | Kalzumeus Software

Even though it is directed at programmers, I think the principles apply to everyone and it shares a lot of the same concepts and philosophy of TMF .

The article explains to programmers how the real world of business and markets work. It's all about creating value and everything you do should be about what the market wants and solving needs.

Businesses hire people to solve a problem for them. If you think less about your own selfish wants and desires and more about how you're creating value for the business and the market, the more successful you will be.

 

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[SoftStone]

As a programmer (somebody who can program, in my definition) who wants to start his own businesses, this was a great reminder. Often, we get too caught up in the great craft(s) themselves rather than the value they create, which is ultimately what people pay for.

To quote Jack Diederich: "we ship features, not code. We don't have customers because we have lots of code. We have customers because we have lots of features."

Definitely a lesson every programmer should learn.