I am not talking about Linus Torvalds, Larry Walls etc of the world. But I am going to talk about other developers who often make it big. I am talking of people who solve difficult problems, add value and make money.
Great folks I've met are high on productivity, they are quick in discovering things and generally maintain an aura of self confidence around them. Many of them start off because they a 'lucky break' somewhere but they build on it, they work hard and make their own space.
When we are talking of successful guys out there. We are ideally talking of guys who are >40 now. I know a relative of mine highly successful 40+ guy. Some of the things that I've noticed is, he is insanely hardworking, nearing 50 he can give any 20 year old run for his money. He is productive, doesn't blog much, not very active on social media. Doesn't go gaga on small wins, he has great focus on picking and solving tough problems. I mean problems that can add real great value.
A few things that I've noticed is he is agnostic to tool religion. He goes by what helps him, rather than our usual religious tool affiliations. He is also very well organized.
So to add it up:
1. Work really hard, I mean I literally. No excuses on this point.
2. Focus on solving tough problems, adding value and things that matter. Learn and master things that can help you solve problems. But there is no such a thing called 'permanent' technology. You have to learn to move on, because tools help you solve the problems. They are not your problems you would want to solve. Unless selling tools is your business.
3. Technology matters, but that is only a enabler.
4. Be a little disciplined and organized.
5. Celebrate big wins, write and talk about them. Network with people just like you and surround yourself with smart people.
6. Work hard on opportunities and always keep a tab on your next move. The more opportunities you convert to finished work the more you get next.
> When we are talking of successful guys out there. We are ideally talking of guys who are >40 now. I know a relative of mine highly successful 40+ guy.
I like your post and this isn't meant as criticism, but ... could we not say "guy" so much? Women are often terrific programmers, and there should be more of them. But that goal is thwarted by a certain common assumption about who programmers are.
I don't post this with any sarcasm or to draw any inferences about your intended meaning, but just to bring to your attention that the point you've now raised struck me independently upon reading:
> A successful programmer is not just a programmer, he is also a personal representative, a salesman and a contract negotiator.
I'd like to place myself in this category, even though I'm only 34. My claim to being successful is that I make much more money than I can spend (though we're not talking millions here) doing things I enjoy doing. I largely agree with you, but have some comments:
1. I think my best quality is that I'm lazy. Extremely lazy. Yet still very productive. I achieve this by thinking more about problems before I do anything, which usually greatly reduces the amount of work I actually have to do, because I come up with a better way of doing it. I'm extremely serious here; on a normal working day I'll likely spend more than 50% slacking. My clients don't care, they get charged only for the effective hours. And I love it, because the effective hours become so much more productive that I can charge a lot for them.
4. This matters a lot, especially in communicating to other stakeholders. Nothing is more annoying than someone who promises to do something by date X, only to not hear anything by then.
6. Extremely true. I talk to a lot of people to find work, and generally have a ratio of 10:1 for possible opportunities to things that actually lead to real work. I don't think I can improve this ratio much, because really interesting work is not that readily available.
I'm also not very active in the blogosphere and social media, mostly because that's simply not where my work comes from. My work comes mostly from business people and they care much more about recommendations, being able to talk to them in language they understand, etc.
Great folks I've met are high on productivity, they are quick in discovering things and generally maintain an aura of self confidence around them. Many of them start off because they a 'lucky break' somewhere but they build on it, they work hard and make their own space.
When we are talking of successful guys out there. We are ideally talking of guys who are >40 now. I know a relative of mine highly successful 40+ guy. Some of the things that I've noticed is, he is insanely hardworking, nearing 50 he can give any 20 year old run for his money. He is productive, doesn't blog much, not very active on social media. Doesn't go gaga on small wins, he has great focus on picking and solving tough problems. I mean problems that can add real great value.
A few things that I've noticed is he is agnostic to tool religion. He goes by what helps him, rather than our usual religious tool affiliations. He is also very well organized.
So to add it up:
1. Work really hard, I mean I literally. No excuses on this point.
2. Focus on solving tough problems, adding value and things that matter. Learn and master things that can help you solve problems. But there is no such a thing called 'permanent' technology. You have to learn to move on, because tools help you solve the problems. They are not your problems you would want to solve. Unless selling tools is your business.
3. Technology matters, but that is only a enabler.
4. Be a little disciplined and organized.
5. Celebrate big wins, write and talk about them. Network with people just like you and surround yourself with smart people.
6. Work hard on opportunities and always keep a tab on your next move. The more opportunities you convert to finished work the more you get next.