Software Engineering Stack Exchange
Software Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [career-development]

This tag exists only for historic reasons and system doesn't allow using it anymore.

See Improve question quality by informing askers of expectations in some career related tags:

these questions are now considered wholly off-topic here... also these tags are blacklisted and can no longer be used on new questions.

70 questions
330
votes
63 answers

Is 4-5 years the “Midlife Crisis” for a programming career?

I’ve been programming C# professionally for a bit over 4 years now. For the past 4 years I’ve worked for a few small/medium companies ranging from “web/ads agencies”, small industry specific software shops to a small startup. I've been mainly doing…
Jeff
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237
votes
33 answers

Will high reputation in Stack Overflow help to get a good job?

In a post, Joel Spolsky mentioned that 5 digit Stack Overflow reputation can help you to earn a job paying $100k+. How much of that is real? Would anyone like to share their success in getting a high paid job by virtue of their reputations on Stack…
Shamim Hafiz - MSFT
  • 4,145
97
votes
21 answers

How can a new programmer impress the software engineer (boss)?

I'm working at my first programming job. My boss is a very smart software engineer, and I feel like I have very little to offer compared to him. Problem is, he is always busy, and needs someone to help him out. I feel like I'm not good enough, but…
Pablo
  • 827
86
votes
14 answers

What are the advantages and disadvantages to using your real name online?

As a programmer, do you see any professional or other advantage in using your real name in online discourse, versus an invented handle? I've always gone by a single username and had my real name displayed whenever possible, for a few reasons: My…
Jon Purdy
  • 20,547
64
votes
19 answers

Which skills would you expect and appreciate in a Junior Software Engineer?

I recently finished my Master of Science in Software Engineering, and I am about to start my professional career in a few weeks. My role will be as a Junior Developer for a company which develops software using Java & related technologies (among…
Bartzilla
  • 361
60
votes
10 answers

Is there such a thing as staying in a job too long?

After reading through a few "job hopping" related threads recently, I've been thinking how the opposite of job hopping can also be a problem. I've known many people (especially in large, relatively sluggish companies) who got comfortable in a cushy…
Bobby Tables
  • 20,576
59
votes
4 answers

Does having a higher paid technical job mean you do not get to code any more?

I work at a large company where technical people fall roughly in one of these categories: A developer on a scrum team who develops for a single product and maybe works with other teams that are closely related to the product. An architect who is…
c_maker
  • 8,280
50
votes
7 answers

I am not a good programmer (in logic), how should I fix it?

Ok, so here is my problem: I work for a big company, some how landed a job (frankly because the interview was easy). It's not that I don't know my stuff, I am pretty good at understanding java, it's libraries etc. But, when ever I try to solve some…
John
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41
votes
7 answers

How much time can I spend learning at work?

I've been working as a software developer for about 2 years by now. It seems obvious that in a field so rapidly evolving as software development, you need to spend time on learning new technologies, frameworks, etc. I always thought I could take it…
nikolas
  • 480
40
votes
16 answers

Why job postings always looking for "rockstars?"

I have noticed a recent trend in requesting programmers who are rockstars. I get it, they're looking for someone who is really good at what they do. But why (pray) make the reference to a rockstar? Do these companies really want these traits as a…
Jé Queue
  • 3,927
35
votes
11 answers

Is ageism in software development based on anything other than bias?

I am sure that this question will piss off some people, but that is not my intent. We are all in the same boat - I will be subject to it one day as well. According to Milton Friedman's view, who was not a theoretician, discrimination in the work…
Job
  • 6,459
33
votes
6 answers

Employer admits that its developers are underpaid and undervalued. Time to part ways?

My employer recently posted an opening for a C# Developer with 3-5 years of experience. The requirements and expectations for the position were fair, up until the criteria for salary determination. It was stated clearly that compensation would…
Psionic
  • 413
31
votes
5 answers

What is the career path for a software generalist?

A question on software specialties inspired this question. How valuable is a software generalist compared to a specialist? When I say generalist, I mean someone who can take a project from requirements to deployment, and is competent with all…
Ryan Michela
  • 2,072
28
votes
10 answers

Moving your career to another programming language

I'll cut to the chase. I'm looking for advice on how an experienced developer would convince a prospective employer that they should be considered for a position that uses another language. This is with other non-language specific requirements being…
canadiancreed
  • 871
27
votes
0 answers

Does being a jack-of-all-trades hurt your career?

Possible Duplicate: Is it better to specialize in a single field I like, or expand into other fields to broaden my horizons? Looking at job postings, the vast majority ask for extremely specific qualifications and requirements and a great deal of…
Kyle Lowry
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