Just last week I realized that it is over 8 years since I started my programming career (In India guys are ashamed to call themselves programmers, they would rather say “software engineer” or “senior software engineer” or “consultant” etc.). Last time I counted my experience as 5 years and obviously that was 3 years ago!

In Indian software industry, any guy who completes 3 to 5 years of programming career automatically becomes a manager. So essentially no programming/design after 3 or 5 years. Instead the guys start to do what is called “project management”. Something which terrifies me. It is a sheer waste of human talent and experience.

After 8 years of programming I realized an interesting fact. My ability to design software systems or code a software component reached its peak only after 6 years of programming. Ok, it may not be same for all, but it seems that you need to have atleast 5 years of solid programming experience to become a master programmer.

Another ability I acquired recently is the ability to troubleshoot a programming problem instantly. Also during code reviews, a glance at the code gives you lot of design/code improvements even when it is written by an experienced coder!

In most of the software organizations, human resources team(HR)  has no idea about the different types of talent employees possess. There cannot be any exceptions. Everyone has to have the same talent and same aptitude. So that means they cannot imagine a guy with 8 years of experience as a programmer. HR thinks, this guy must be either a lunatic or a total looser to remain as a programmer even after 8 years!

Following is a hypothetical conversation. But it could happen anytime

Tech support : You have all tools needed on your system - Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook Express.

Me: I need Java compiler.

Tech support : I don’t believe you. You are too old for that. Get a written approval from the CEO.