What Do Programmers Do - Research Paper Example

?What Do Programmers Do? Introduction Programmers are among the group of professions that are shrouded by a sense of esotericism. Society has become used to technology as a part of the convenience in their daily lives. It is but worthwhile to understand who is responsible for the existence and availability of such advancements. People do know that programmers are responsible for generating programs, also called softwares but as far as depth of knowledge goes, that is it. They do not even that they utilize the works of programmers everyday—be it when they make a call on their phone or turn on their laptops. These devices came through the hands of experienced programmers. Much worse case is that they fail to recognize the difficulty and significance of the job. To gain better comprehension of what programmers exactly do or clarifications of misconceptions will assist people into achieving a sense of deeper appreciation for both the professionals and their craft. A professional even once said that what people commonly think that programmers delve into a field that is encompassed by pure science is inaccurate. Programmers actually are more like artists in their profession (Dollery 1). Additionally, it can be described as an interesting and stable choice of profession nowadays with the continuous advancement of the computer age (“Information Technology Jobs in America: Corporate & Government Career Guide” 29). There are numerous approaches one can take to become a professional programmer aside from attaining a degree in computer science or software engineering. There are unconventional ways where one programs accidentally or one has an interest in programming therefore adopts it as a past time (George 1). Comparing computers in the past and present, it is obvious at how it has remarkably evolved and continuously pushing its limits, if there are any. Through this, one can also expect that the field of programmers and the nature of their profession have also and will continue to metamorphose throughout the future (Morley 718). The Programmers’ Job To avoid any obscurity about the description of a programmer’s job, it can easily be broken down into three steps—writing the program, testing the program and debugging it if errors are found then testing again until the correct function has been achieved. In some ways, programmers identify their expertise similar to those of writers only much rigid (Seibel 299). What really make the jobs of programmers enigmatic are the various, distinctive languages they utilize for the development of programs. In fact, programmers are burdened with understanding numerous languages if not all during their course of education to assure their adequacy in a task (Morley 572). It is an imperative that people who delve into this profession know a handful of programming languages. For instance, in America, they demand experience in C++, Java, JavaScript, VisualBasic, Cobol or Fortran which are popular programming languages (“Information Technology Jobs in America: Corporate & Government Career Guide” 116). Furthermore, a computer programmer is equipped with many essential skills. To be the best in their craft, these professionals are expected to have acquired a basic skill in debugging where the planned operation goes otherwise and they have to be able to find it, figure it out and correct the problem (Read 5). This might be simple enough but it requires cleverness and artistry. Though there are tools available for the professionals, a specialized knowledge must be accomplished before once can debug with ease. Some expert programmers even say that to be where they are, it took a lot of hands-on experience (Seibel 4). Finally, programmers, as with all professionals, are assigned with the task of unit testing which assures that all their developed programs are efficiently working. In this final stage of production, there is quite a demand not only in skill but also a good working relationship (Helgeson 240). It is said that in our age even our advancements require continuous advancing to assure the generation of quality and flawless programs. Those are the skills considering only the personal and technical part of the job. In programming, one is demanded to work in pairs or teams. Pair programming, simply put, is the manner of where two professionals develop programs alongside each other and using only one computer unit. The purpose behind this method is that it has shown a great potential throughout the years in generating better software in a short period of time since the team is only composed of two programmers (Chong 1). Studies have been conducted regarding the fine points as well as the flaws of this approach of work. The reason for success is the constant interaction and exchange of skills, experiences and ideas between the two programmers which consequently and consistently improve the designs between the collaborators (Chong 2) in comparison to working alone in developing programs. Programmers working in teams are quite common nowadays, since programs provide needs of society in quite a larger scale. Therefore a group of people assures that the delivery of the programs will be more efficient, time-conservative, and highly accurate (Seibel 14). Since the working environment of a programmer is unique, having only knowledge about languages, debugging process and software auditing is not enough. As in all profession, your personal qualities are also considered. Programmers expected to work in teams or pairs should have reliability, good communication, teamwork and leadership skills, accountability, abilities that are current and risk management (George 2-4). A programmer who can be trusted with the accomplishments of tasks is more valued than one who knows all the software languages known to man. For those beginners in the field, the key to enjoying their career choice is to view a programmer’s job as similar to that of engineers constructing a bridge—without them, no one will be able to cross to the other side and the city will merely fail without external connections. Through this, they will be able to comprehend the significance of their jobs (Sutarwalla 112). Conclusion: The Future for Programming as a Profession in Today’s Job Market For those people who are quite interested the field of programming, whether the fate of their careers shows promise or lacks one is entirely dependent of a set of factors and decision they must make. To start with, people who have graduated with a college course in computer science, software engineering or programming-related choices logically have an advantage in qualifying for and landing a job and a bright future in their chosen field. These educational courses are still appealing to a very substantial population (O’Brien 1). Furthermore, company employers screen potential programmers by the educational institution from which they have attained their knowledge. They believe that this has implications on making future decisions. After graduating college, there is also the decision of carrying on with more advanced studies or not. Those who have chosen to continue on reasonably stand out more among companies than those who do not (O’Brien 1). In contemporary times, programming has evolved in many ways from its simple beginnings---making it, debugging it, iteration and then you are done. More advancements in technology mean more advancements in human intellect. Over the years, a battle has been cultivated between programmers and hackers (Tynan 1). Therefore, security in software development is a major factor. In the future, computers are expected to work at a more rapid and efficient rate. The design team, which includes and is mostly dependent with computer programmers, has the responsibility to continuously establish and explore new strategies and approach (Morley 95). Therefore, the demand for the skills of professional programmers among information technology companies will always be at a considerable if not an increasing level. What could also be considered a motivation to delve into this profession is the improvement in personal as well as financial status that are in effect of programmer’s job especially information technology companies across America (“Information Technology Jobs in America: Corporate & Government Career Guide” 115). The future of programmers is uncertain though, especially their continuity. Universities have claimed that there are fewer and fewer people who choose the course of programmers (Thompson 1). They attribute this to the failure to communicate to the future generation of the significance of their participation. While they may be capable in using search engines in the internet or use Microsoft office, which is not the competence in technology that is required to sustain the rise of the computer age. Additionally, experts believe that lack of software tools at people’s disposal is a contributory factor (Thompson 1). How would one expect the youth to step in line when they do not have the necessary steps to take? References Dollery, Bryan. DevX.com. Understanding the psychology of programming. Web. March 2003. Read, Robert. How to be a Programmer: A short, comprehensive, and personal summary. Free Software Foundation. Web. 2002. George, Sarah. What is a professional programmer? Developerdotstar.com. Web. 2006. Chong, Jan, Plummer, Robert, Leifer, Larry, Klemmer, Scott, Eris, Ozgur, and Toye, George Pair programming: When and why it works. California: Stanford University PPIG.org. Web. 2002. O'Brien, Laura. “Tech Jobs - Tech education. SiliconRepublic.com. Web. Feb. 2011. Tynan, Dan. IT turf wars: The most common feuds in tech. NetworkWorld.com. Web. Feb. 2011. Morley, Deborah & Parker, Charles. Understanding computers: Today and tomorrow, comprehensive. Boston: Course Technology. Web. 2010. Helgeson, John. The Software Audit Guide. Milwaukee: Quality Press, 2009. Print. Sutarwalla, Ismail Adamali. Good programming skills and practice. Delhi:Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. 2006. Print. Seibel, Peter. Coders at work. Apress. Web. Sept. 2009. Thompson, Bill. Who will write tomorrow's code? BBC.com. Web. April 2008. Read More