[lug] Career advice

[Steve Rogers]

On Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 10:49 AM, David Morris <lists at morris-clan.net> wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 08:03, Rob Nagler <nagler at bivio.biz> wrote:
> > Michael J. Hammel writes:
> >> Become a software architect.  We have plenty of people who can write
> >> code.  We don't have nearly enough who can define how systems should be
> >> built.  That's because most engineers are terrible communicators.  And
> >> software architects can't afford to be the same.
> >
> > I strongly agree with "this is so much fun".  It's really great to
> > hear you (Michael) are having fun.  I think that's the most important
> > thing in any career path.
> >
> > I have to disagree with the concept of Software Architecture as a
> > career.  I don't think it's a healthy career path.
>
> I may be missing the point of your argument, but I disagree that
> Software Architecture is an unhealthy career path.
>
> A good software architect is critical to the success of a large
> project, but many software projects don't have anyone with the
> appropriate skill set to architect a large software system.  Every
> successful software project has such a person, though the managers
> don't always realize it.
>
> The problems described in the article you linked to comes about from
> software architects who have no experience writing software and/or no
> interest in writing code.  In order to be successful, the software
> architect needs to have an intimate knowledge of pitfalls of various
> designs and conflicting requirements, an ability to code all portions
> of the software being designed, and the capability to balance the
> reality of coding against long-term usefulness and customer needs.
> These skills can only be obtained through years of experience working
> in the trenches of software engineering on a variety of projects which
> have both succeeded and failed.
>
> Personally, I think "Software Architect" is a perfectly valid and
> healthy career path if you have the natural talent for it.  Just be
> aware that it isn't a career you can jump into right away, it requires
> a lot of prep work.
>
> --David
>
>
A problem with some "software architects" is that they come to believe that
they're designing the system and the programmers are just implementing it.
Computer programming is a design activity.  A good software architect should
understand coding and testing, and be good at them, though she might not do
much of it on a particular project.  One who never codes is likely to lose
touch with the realities.

-- 
Steve Rogers
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shrogers
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -- Theodore Roosevelt
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