Slashdot Mirror
Coder or Architect?
camusflage queries: "I recently was transitioned into an architectural role by my employer. I had been splitting time with development and architecture, in that order. It appears my new duties put me as an architect first, and a coder second, with the coding being at my request. At not even 28 years old, I'm already a lead developer and have people with twenty years more experience looking to me for coding hints and tips. Over that past year with my employer, I've expended much effort on developing credible relationships with other groups in the organization, sure to carry me far as an architect. Since I've already resolved that management is not a track I want to get into, is architecture my most logical next step? What do I need to do to make sure my skills still remain sharp, as I'll be spending less time in the bits and bytes? Any tips from those who have made the transition from development to architecture (both successfully and unsuccessfully) are appreciated."
I'm 28 and I think that I'm really awesome. To show this I will list a whole bunch of crap that I've been through in the 6 years I've been out of college. Then I will tell you where I am currently heading and I will wait for the entire slashdot crowd to read in envy and then post about how awesome and on the right track I am. Oh, by the way, I rule.
They cling to the notions that experience should be subborned to genius, with the provision that they be recognized as such.
There's a deep inherent smugness around here, but as Chuck wrote in Fight Club - You aren't special. You aren't a precious little snowflake.
I believe that you aren't wise enough to take on the role of anything other than giant foam finger maker. I am not impressed with your list of accomplishments. I rose to your level of bullshit at the age of 24 - without a college education. Do you know what I've learned? I've learned that there will always be someone ready to come out of nowhere, and with great brevity I might add, to deflate your ego. You really must learn to work with people and be the best man that you can possibly be. Measure your worth by Cliff's potential, not the national standard, which is way low I might add. You think that because you've tasted some success prior to getting that AARP application in the mail that you're special. Guess what, there are people just like you all over the world.
What you need is an introduction to Nihilism. The core concept with regards to you is this - for your entire life you have been told that you are special by your parents, teachers, religious leaders, and most of all, anyone who has marketed a product to you (these people are more to blame than any of the previous).
This has resulted in a collectively inflated sense of self-worth amongst Americans, and a total absence of modesty. You believe you are worth something because your Mercedes tells you so.
Now wipe away all of this. Break down the core concepts of who you are and where you are in the world by destructing it and laying it before you so you can assess it without your own bullshit getting in the way. You'll find you aren't the smartest, biggest, fastest or best anymore. You'll find that there is someone who can code you under the table even in your tool of choice. You'll find that there are people who are effortlessly better than you in pursuits you have dedicated your life to.
Knowing all of this is the payoff, not the letdown. You'll find the liberation in shearing off all of the aggregated horseshit the "I'm okay, you're okay" crowd have jammed down your throat all of your life. Maybe just maybe you'll see things for what they really are starting with your self