Re: grown out of coding

"DennisB" <DQBartlett@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:01e01df6-b372-4c56-bc26-4598d5490e59@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
here's the thing... I (like so many of you) have been doing this pick
thing for 25 years. I now find I'm really tired of coding - sure, I
like to tinker, but I really don't wake up enthralled to tap away at a
keyboard on something that's going to be superceded in a short while.

So the question is: what does someone do as an alternative?

I have knowledge of every computer system from the Microdata Reality
of then to the AIX / HPUX's of today, I have the ability to design,
and troubleshoot, and all that, and yet I don't find it in me to code
anymore...

I have another 20 years to retirement, and therefore I have to earn an
income...

Really just a curious question...

dennis


Dennis,

The traditional life path for someone in the IT industry, especially in banks, insurance companies and the US government, goes something like this:

Coder
Programmer
Analyst
Teacher

They used to say, "Those who can do; those who can't teach" but that's a load of crap. If you couldn't explain what you're doing well enough to do it, you certainly couldn't guide anyone else to do it either.

Coder was the lowest level person at the bank, just above "who's that guy in the front cubicle?". I would get RPG forms or COBOL pseudo-code and convert it into something that would compile. I was instructed not to think about it, just do it. I can do that!

Programmer was the person who took the specs, figured out what was needed, what was available and creating the bridge. He/she didn't actually touch a keypunch machine, they just wrote something down that the coder could understand. This generally required being able to read simple flow charts and being able to write complicated one.

The Analyst was that high level person with their own office when the rest of us had cubies. The analyst got to talk to the users and managers and have enough meetings to understand what was needed/required. They would then create the specs (sometimes a huge document; sometimes a napkin from lunch with the accountant) that the programmer would use to create the notes the coder would use to write the program.

After years of analyzing problems that are each different and yet surprisingly alike, the old analyst finally decides burns out. He/she has no particular interest in the next same-old-thing to come along. But as they slowly go crazy, they realize the reason: there's just too much information floating around inside their head and it needs to come out. Lobotomy immediately comes to mind, but some less invasive methods are writing and teaching.

Personally, I enjoyed teaching. It's a wonderful feeling, molding little minds. The world needs more moldy little minds. I taught in a trade school run by I.T. & T. I quickly figured out that for the most part, the students were pretty smart. And they were paying money and expecting quality. Questions could never go unanswered. I gave breaks a lot for "I don't know. Let me find out."

And coding technique: you have to see it all and know it all to be able to grade it all. I had a student who took my RPG, COBOL and Assembler class just so he could learn EPCDIC and machine language for the IBM chip set. He was building his own computer and all he had was the front-panel dials to program in. We had some interesting after-class sessions on reading core dumps.

With 20+years experience, there almost has to be somewhere within easy driving distance where you can get accredited and teach, at any level. I've given lectures in high school and community college level classes. Simple little 40 minute talk with chalk/white-board accompaniment about whatever subject the person who approached me wanted.

On the other hand, three days without programming and life becomes meaningless.

"You hate to watch another tired man
Lay down his hand
Like he was giving up the holy game of poker"
The Stranger Song, Leonard Cohen

Mark

.

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