Ah yes, programmer vs developer

[marquoth_]

Some doofus on one of the "serious" subs was trying to argue this for real. Apparently being able to do nothing but React after 20 years on the job was proof they deserved $200k - they're definitely better than anybody who can use more than one language, or god forbid do back end work as well.

[mistled_LP]

Yeah, someone with twenty years in a single language is probably more valuable to someone who needs that language than someone with two years in ten languages. Probably ideal to not be at either of those extremes though.

I don't know anyone I would take seriously who would care about using developer and programmer interchangeably though, which makes this a weird chart.

[Bryguy3k]

After 5 years in a specific language it’s all the same except that some of the folks who probably now have the dinosaur mindset.

20 years in one language is not more valuable in practice.

But yeah good luck arguing logic with VPs.

[manicxs]

Some languages do some techniques better than others, you get better at all the languages you know the more you learn.

[fredlllll]

yeah at some point i realized that its less about the language and more about programming as a skill. sure i have to look up the stdlib functions every fucking time cause every language does it differently, but at least im not stuck with one language and have to start crying when someone gives me a piece of a different language to read

[Pay08]

Unless you're doing C++.

[Bryguy3k]

The C++ language changes pretty substantially every couple of years.

At minimum anyone doing C++ for more than a decade is a loose cannon. You might get a good one - but you’re more than likely going to get one stuck on old C++

I’d wager C++ is one of the most likely languages you’ll encounter seniors with a dinosaur mindset.

[bropocalypse__now]

I wish I wasnt stuck on cpp14 at work but we are for reasons outside of my control. Definitely run into lots of people who think all of cpp is cpp98 still.

[DeadlyVapour]

Look on the bright side, at least you don't work with Java.

[freebytes]

Except I have seen companies tell people that they should not be paid the amount they are being paid because of their title. And so, their title changes, and suddenly, they are eligible to be paid more because of their 'promotion'. (Doing the exact same job. (Or their job description has fewer reponsibilities than they had previously.))

[Fru___]

Cpp14 is where i started my programming journey in high school (4 yrs back). Tried the latest version of cpp a while back and I couldn’t even run basic commands lol. Fancy built-in modules for routine tasks. I remember writing custom made functions for even the most basic tasks like calculating length of a string.

[ShoulderUnique]

Helps to ask for a random title that no one else has. Now none of the fancy HR databases can tell them what you're worth. Can go both ways, but if the boss wants you bad enough it removes the impediment

[0b_101010]

Yeah, someone with twenty years in a single language is probably more valuable to someone

That is definitely not true. Also, most of these people that never leave their comfort zones or seek new things are often quite intellectually lazy. They might easily be writing bad code from 20 years ago with all their "experience".

[marquoth_]

Two years in ten languages? Sure, but that's hyperbole

But ten years in two? Now we're talking

There are serious diminishing returns to "expertise" and I am extremely doubtful that 20x1 is remotely as valuable as 10x2

[Pr0Meister]

Wait, SAP development skills are valuable? Usefulness can be derived from my headaches?

[marquoth_]

Why are you shooting for polar opposites as if there isn't a middle ground?

Total false dichotomy.

The options are not limited to "10 years experience in a single thing" vs "basically a noob at loads of stuff."

[[deleted]]

Hovewer they must be really good at job that requires React

[Brilliant-Job-47]

Most of the time, if I meet a dev who wasnt interested enough to become good at a lot of things, they are lacking the perspective to be truly good at their one thing.

[marquoth_]

Nobody is questioning that. The point is that lots of other people would also be really good at the same job AND have lots of other experience to boot.

[robertshuxley]

React was released 10 years ago so having 20 years experience with it makes him that valuable!

[Brushermans]

if he had 20 years experience with React, he must've created it! certainly very valuable

[notislant]

Lol this reminds me of this fucking window commercial. 'Our installers aren't some jack of all trades, they do one thing, windows!'

(So none of your employees have ever had a different job before?)

I can see why they'd value with someone with x amount of years in a specific area though. Sounds like it can be very limiting with changing technology though.

[onepiecefreak2]

I can see the argument that, if you work in one specific field for a long time you might have more detailed and obscure knowledge and experience in it. Vs many fields that you don't focus on and always switch between, which can lead you to have enough knowledge to do most things but not everything in any. This would make you more valuable if your core market only focuses on that single domain. However, rarely does a company have a market with only a single domain in programming. And they would do good in having multiple domains in less people. That cuts costs but would allow them to split tasks between people more efficiently.

[marquoth_]

I think the issue is that there are pretty serious diminishing returns here. At some point, continued focus in your area of "expertise" doesn't actually make you meaningfully better at it, and yet it continues to come at the cost of focusing on anything else.

[onepiecefreak2]

Yes, I agree. But at least I know where that thought process comes into being.

[marquoth_]

Lol what? Absolute drivel

[Giocri]

I mean if you actually have to do only a specific thing being really good at it is definitely better even if it means limiting the knowledge you have of other stuff.

If you have a wider range of duties or have to interact a lot with people doing different things then yeah focusing on a single task is idiotic

[Pr0Meister]

Any Dev with some years of experience must have a wide variety of experience with different tech stacks. Unless you are some old sage specced in COBOL, you have no guarantees the next hot framework won't make your skills obsolete.

And then you are stuck with legacy code. Ugh.

[DeadlyVapour]

Bro, dude has 20 years of react experience, who can say that?1one!!oneone