Ask Slashdot: What Do You Wish You'd Known Starting Out As a Programmer?

snydeq writes: Most of us gave little thought to the "career" aspect of programming when starting out, but here we are, battle-hardened by hard-learned lessons, slouching our way through decades at the console, wishing perhaps that we had recognized the long road ahead when we started. What advice might we give to our younger self, or to younger selves coming to programming just now? Andrew C. Oliver offers several insights he gave little thought to when first coding: "Back then, I simply loved to code and could have cared less about my 'career' or about playing well with others. I could have saved myself a ton of trouble if I'd just followed a few simple practices." What are yours?

Comments

Re:C++ is not the language you start with

[gnupun]

Python, or even BASIC, are better than C/C++ for beginners.

Re:Pick a different job.

[ChrisMaple]

A (publicly traded) corporation allows people to invest without having to engage in the management of the organization they invest in, and it allows an organization to raise cash to fund expensive projects that might otherwise not be possible. Why do you object to this?