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More Than a Hoodie: How We Talk About Developers (medium.com)
An anonymous reader shares an article: For generations, movies, video games, and tv shows have portrayed the developer as either an awkward hoodie-wearing nerd, or an insane and menacing basement dweller (or both). From Ace Ventura to Silicon Valley, everyone has had their chance to portray the developer. Few actors do this with the same grace they'd reserve for a role portraying a doctor. [...] I think it's time for all of us to try and elevate our understanding of what a developer is. If you are a tech company who markets to developers, or is hoping to hire developers this is doubly true. So, how should we talk about developers? First, we should talk about how important their work is. Programming is one of the fastest growing industries in the world as it serves a role in every part of society. Developers maintain and build critical parts of our infrastructure. Second, we need to talk about the craft of what they do... we need to show more code. Every developer may use a different set of tools, but across the board their craft is evolving at increasing rates. [...] I think we can drop developer stereotypes all together at this point. It's a job people know -- it's time to add some vitamins to that kool-aid. After all, we're just like lawyers, librarians, electricians and cab drivers... we're just people, totally unique and different people. But if there is one thing that unites us, it's a unifying desire to build new things, improve old things, learn when we can and avoid being stereotyped. It's as simple as that.
I prefer we keep the stereotype of software development as a socially unappealing career, not a job welcome in high society like doctors and lawyers (more like the better-paid-after-insurance vets and dentists). Two reasons.
The less appealing the field is presented as, the lower the supply of labor, and thus the more I'll be paid.
Also, the less appealing the field is presented as, the more it will be populated by people actually interested in problem solving, instead of people pressured by parents to pick this career as the best option, as is the norm in India (and the norm for doctors and lawyers here).
I'm quite content to be seen as socially awkward, but be well paid and work with the right crowd.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I ran across a blog many years ago that made a good point about programmers: while many of us are keeping up with the joneses on the who's who and what not, the vast majority of software developers are just ordinary people. They drive their ordinary Camry or Accord to work in an office with ordinary cubicles, go home to the suburbs and play with their kids and spouses, do soccer on saturdays, etc. They don't do meetups, conferences, seminars, or follow the latest blogs or programming fashions. They just do their work, go home, and live their lives. The blog called them the "dark matter" programmers because they are the vast majority of working software developers out there, but you'd never know it because they're too busy living life and not living code.
I don't mean to be rude but working in IT I have found that dress in the office is very important. I never wear jeans or casual cloths even when all my peers do, why? Because the bosses don't. The people who I need to take me seriously dress and behave professionally so I do the same. It makes a HUGE difference, especially when working with business people outside IT or development.
I work in a hedge fund, most developers, managers, traders and directors occasionally wear hoodies.
Regardless of what job you do, if you spend 10 hours of your day at a desk, what matters is being comfortable.
So...this is coming from the perspective of someone who can count almost 30 years writing code, and managing folks who do, professionally, in a number of environments, and I realize that people entering the workforce today face different problems, but...
Coders, and IT people in general, historically have dressed down as a statement of power. This isn't a made up stereotype, and it isn't a lack of style. It is a deliberate way of asserting that they have special value to the business and that the normal rules do not apply. "You can't do what I do, and you can't simply replace me with a snappy dresser."
I've been hiring developers for more than a few years now and things haveâ changed. 10 years ago a good/confident young developer would show up in jeans. Now the younger folks come to developer interviews dressed like salespeople. I struggle not to perceive the way they dress as a lack of confidence in their abilities, to accept that they grew up during a recession and in a world where IT people are screened by know-nothing HR departments before they can even see a technical manager. I wouldn't dress the way they dress if interviewing for the jobs they want, but I started in a different era.
All of which is to say that some of the stereotypes are not without basis, and are not disparaging to the people who originated those stereotypes. They reflect a deliberate tactic to assert unique power in the business environment.
This doesn't actually make much sense. It's the same as any other field already. Let's take the example above and change it to construction workers: So, how should we talk about construction workers? First, we should talk about how important their work is. Construction is one of the fastest growing industries in the world as it serves a role in every part of society. Construction workers maintain and build critical parts of our infrastructure. Second, we need to talk about the craft of what they do... we need to show more finished buildings. Every construction worker may use a different set of tools, but across the board their craft is evolving at increasing rates. [...] I think we can drop construction worker stereotypes all together at this point. It's a job people know -- it's time to add some vitamins to that kool-aid. After all, we're just like lawyers, librarians, electricians and cab drivers... we're just people, totally unique and different people. But if there is one thing that unites us, it's a unifying desire to build new things, improve old things, learn when we can and avoid being stereotyped. It's as simple as that.
Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
I am more a hardware and network support tech than a programmer or developer, but I wear a hoodie ALL the time at work because my lab is Fsck'n freezing. The temp is set for the equipment not me which is fine, and as a bonus it keeps most everyone else out. I keep a couple extra micro fiber pull overs for the CE's and other hardware folks that come and visit occasionally. I feel sorry for the female techs that have to endure the arctic support lab as folks commonly refer to it. Despite the stereotype I deal with quite a few female techs from RH and M$ to IBM and EMC.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?