The Importance of Being a Real Developer | NYC PHP Developer

Developers can be an opinionated group of people. Put 3 developers in a room, and you’ll get 5 opinions. How would I know? I am one. If you spend enough time around developers, you’ll eventually hear the phrase “You’re not a real developer if/unless (insert some biased opinion here)”. Sometimes it’s said in jest, but usually, that person is expressing a biased, personal opinion. It’s based on their experience and their observations. Sometimes people don’t realize how harmful statements like this can be. These kinds of statements are divisive and exclusionary. Someone new to the field, may actually believe these false statements. However, they say more about the speaker than the listener.

HUMOROUS

Some of these types of statements are said for humor’s sake. Here are a few examples:

You’re not a real developer unless you program in machine language
If you can’t write your web app in machine code you’re not a real developer
You’re not a real developer unless you can first invent the universe

These are funny because they are clearly absurd. No developer writes machine code, especially a web developer. A web developer is so far removed from the hardware of the machine, I don’t think you could get any further away. That doesn’t mean that web development is easy – Just that it’s a whole different kind of pain in the ass.

REFLECTIONS ON EXPERIENCE

Very little in this life is new. As your experience grows as a developer, you encounter certain situations. These situations have happened to others who came before you, and your fellow developers in other organizations. These shared experiences occur when we try something new. Some see them as a rite of passage. That thought inspired the following statements.

You’re not a real developer until you hose production at least once
You’re not a real developer on a project until you break the build
You’re not a real developer if you’ve never left an apology comment for the next person

They aren’t meant to make you laugh, but sometimes they’re funny because they’re true. I’d venture that most developers have said, thought, or tweeted something with a similar intent – including me.

EXCLUSIONARY

There are some things that developers say which are arrogant and exclusionary. They also happen to be wrong. Here are a few examples.

You’re not a real developer if you don’t use a Mac
You’re not a real developer if you don’t use the command line
If you don’t have a GitHub, you’re not a real developer
If you’re not coding in vi, you’re not a real developer
If you develop for WordPress, you’re not a real developer
If you write PHP code, you’re not a real developer
You’re not a real developer until you can write regex without reference material
If you only write HTML and CSS, you’re not a real developer

When people say these things, sometimes they’re teasing you, but usually trying to sway you to their way of thinking. It’s really narrow-minded though. I’m an optimist, so I want to believe that people don’t realize how prejudiced they sound, when they say these things. What works for one person doesn’t work as well for someone else. A good developer recognizes that. So, if these don’t define what a real developer is, then what does make a real developer?

WHAT IS A REAL DEVELOPER

A real developer knows the code they write matters, but also that there’s more to the project than just code. They realize not every project or situation is the same, and the decisions they make need to reflect that truth. A real developer recognizes that the tools and applications they use should fit the needs of the client and the project. A real developer evaluates a language for the value it provides, and weighs it’s strengths against it’s weaknesses. A real developer knows that a team built of diverse people and skills — like a metal alloy — is better and stronger because of it. A real developer has an open mind, learns from mistakes, and recognizes that success isn’t achieved alone. A real developer is always learning new ideas and skills, and perfecting those they already possess. That is what it means to be a real developer.