Advice for Future Programmers?
- by Nate Zaugg
I have a buddy that is going to be giving some presentations to high-schoolers. Specifically he asked:
What would you be looking for if they
approached you about work?
Perhaps you are in that age group
right now. What do you want to know?
Perhaps you are just a few years into
the workforce. What do you wish
someone had told you but never did?
Perhaps you have children, relatives
or friends in or soon to be in that
age group. What are you worried they
don't know about?
I'm sure there are other perspectives
and questions I'm not even thinking
about. I'd like to hear what you
have to say about it.
Here was my list:
Don't be afraid to try! Don't let the
perception that something is too
difficult stop you from
experimenting.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but an un-inquisitive person is
mostly useless.
Stolen from Einstein: You don't really understand something until you
can explain it to your grandmother.
It's never enough to be smart, you also have to work well with
others.
Before you can be really smart, you must learn how to learn.
There will always be someone smarter than you are -- Become their
buddy! Get to know great minds and
learn all you can. Some knowledge
can only be expressed this way.
Communication, Communication, Communication! Projects rarely fail
because of technical reasons and the
difference between good programmers
and outstanding programmers is how
well they communicate.
A good work ethic never goes unnoticed.
Know when to ask for help and when to figure something out for
yourself.
