You’re undoubtedly curious in what it’s like to work in the field of programming if you’ve been thinking about making a career change into that field. And I don’t mean that in a philosophical or existential sense. What is it like on a day-to-day level, rather than in general terms?

Now then, let’s see what kind of work goes on behind the scenes at a programming company, shall we?

What exactly is it that a coder does all day? The Abbreviated Version:

I am more than happy to supply you with a condensed response or an overview if that is what you are seeking. After all, I put a significant portion of my life into my career as a programmer working in an office. So that I can talk for a long time and then briefly recap what I said.

So, what exactly is it that a coder does all day?

It should come as no surprise that they devote a lot of time to programming computers. But they don’t act in isolation. They also spend time engaging in activities that support programming, such as research, education, teamwork with peers and others outside of their group, and participation in office activities as general employees lead management companies.

We’ll examine everything in greater detail and discuss how it truly is throughout the remainder of this essay.

You have something that has to be cleared from your mind before we get any further. And that is the notion that programming is in any way comparable to how movies depict it being done.

By referring to the horrible movie Swordfish, in which, presumably, programming includes Hugh Jack man tossing around virtual cubes… or something, I may be giving away my age. However, there are other movies that depict things that are as absurd. People hiding their identities behind ski masks and using computers as if they were pianos at a jazz club to gain access to the network in order to sidestep the mainframe. This representation is right on the edge of being humorous and annoying for people who work in programming.

Put all of that in the past. The end product of filming professional programming would be comparable to a less engaging version of watching someone play video games. Imagine you are observing someone while they create a spreadsheet.

To clarify, none of this is meant to imply that programming in and of itself is not fascinating. It’s quite similar to having to work puzzles all day long for money. However, it is nothing like how popular culture presents it, from the way programmers dress to the way they interact with computers. This is true for both aspects.

The majority of a programmer’s day is spent writing code, but not all code is created equal.

 

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about something completely apparent. If you were to ask a smart ass listening to you what programmers do for a living, they would undoubtedly respond by saying “they program.”

And, yes, you are correct in saying so. Programmers program. And unless a corporation is completely broken, you can expect programmers to spend the majority of their time programming, although this is not always the case. However, not all programming is generated on a level playing field. In light of this, let’s take a high-level look at the many categories of activities.

Greenfield Development

First up is the activity that practically every software developer enjoys the most—the creation of new features. The term “greenfield software development” refers to the process of creating software in a manner analogous to the building metaphor of “breaking ground” on land that has not been developed in any way. But you shouldn’t worry about it since developing greenfield software is a lot less soul-crushing than evicting Thumper and Bambi from a meadow so that you may build a Starbucks.

In the realm of computer programming, this is the place where one constructs anything. You begin with nothing and go from there, laying down what would be the equivalent of a foundation in software and growing up from there.

This is typically quite gratifying for software engineers, much in the same way that it is more enjoyable to compose a new blog post than it is to go back and edit the spelling problems in the one you wrote the week before. It fosters a sense of inventiveness and originality.

In addition to this, however, it typically results in the highest levels of production. In the beginning phases, there are not yet any customers who may become upset with you if you repositioned a button on a website to a different location or added additional links to a menu. It is not necessary for you to worry about damaging items on which other people rely.

You just construct various things.

Programming for Upkeep and Maintenance

Throughout their careers, programmers frequently express a preference for working on “greenfield” development projects. Perhaps their employer will begin developing a new product or service and will delegate them to work on the project. Or, it’s possible that they quit their job to join a brand-new company that’s just getting started.

However, the vast majority of the time, programmers work on pre-existing software as opposed to developing fresh new applications. This type of programming is commonly referred to as maintenance programming, and it takes up the vast majority of labor hours in the programming industry.

Anyone who works on adding new functionality to pre-existing software is considered to be performing maintenance mode tasks. It is still programming, but the type of the job that you are doing will typically have a greater number of restrictions, and the work that you perform will take a greater level of attentiveness on your part. Maintenance programmers spend roughly the same amount of time examining existing code, gaining a grasp of what that code does, and making minor adjustments to it. Greenfield developers spend the majority of their time developing new code.

To continue with the analogy of blogging that I used earlier, maintenance programming is comparable to making a few corrections to the spelling of a blog post as well as maybe adding another subheading and section. It is still writing, in a sense, but it includes more reading of the article and thinking about how your thing fits in, as opposed to simply pounding down some free-form thoughts on the keyboard.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is the type of programming that most people dislike the most, so here we are at that point. It’s not that the activity is boring or uninteresting in some fundamental way. It’s just that you’re generally doing it under some sort of pressure, and most of the time, it’s because of a mistake that either you or one of your teammates made.

In the event that something goes wrong, businesses often employ some kind of support personnel to deal with it. Therefore, not all problems with the software are reported to the people who developed it. But some do. When this happens, you essentially take on the role of a digital private investigator.

The first step you need to do is make an effort to reproduce the problem, which may be a fairly challenging task. After you have succeeded in recreating it, the next step is to analyze where you went wrong. The fact that it may be compared to investigating a crime scene is one of the reasons why I find the detective comparison so appealing. After the fact, you are attempting to piece together evidence in order to discover what went so wrong at an earlier stage in the process.

This is a common programming task, especially after a corporation has released a significant new version to the public and received feedback from customers.

Researchers and students are always at work in the programming industry

After going over the various approaches to the actual process of programming, let’s move on to the various other tasks that are performed by software engineers. Learning new things and doing research are two essential activities that go hand in hand.

And before you ask, yes, I am implying that becoming a programmer requires a lot of on-the-job learning. To add on to that, I deem that to be acceptable. Programmers are required to act in this manner, despite the fact that it is frowned upon in many other fields of employment.

To put it another way, programmers operate in an environment that is constantly shifting to the point where one could properly compare it to an earthquake. The frames that everyone had been using a year and a half ago are now considered obsolete. Apple and Microsoft often provide upgrades to their operating systems, which alter everything. New approaches and technology come forth.

When you work as a coder, you are essentially required to continually solve issues that no one else has ever solved before. Consequently, you need to educate yourself and educate yourself via study.

Because of this, programmers dedicate a significant amount of their time to reading how-to manuals, watching videos, and engaging in online question and answer forums. They do it while they’re on the clock, and their bosses don’t seem to mind one bit. In point of fact, many businesses go so far as to provide assistance in the form of paid memberships to such resources for their employees.

Programmers Work Together With Other Software Developers in Collaboration

Now that we’ve moved beyond the domain of coding and reading about coding, let’s discuss working together. The majority of the time, software developers work in groups. In addition to this, they usually work together.

This can take the shape of going over to one another’s desks and asking for guidance, for example. Other ad hoc forms are also possible. It is also possible for it to include more includes all the required, such as design meetings centered around a board and official code reviews. And other times, it’s just an issue of policy, like in the case of programming teams who utilize the technique of pair programming.

Understand, however, that skilled programmers routinely work together regardless of the form such collaboration takes. Some people choose to do it in person, others prefer to communicate via videoconferencing, while yet others choose to use online chat rooms. In spite of the stereotype of the solitary coder as a “lone wolf,” however, most programmers tend to work on many projects at once.

Programmers are also involved in other facets of the company’s operations.

 

Additionally, they continue to work together with the other programmers in their teams. Additionally, programmers engage in a lot of interactions with other employees. The structure of that relationship is covered in great detail here, so I’ll simply list the forms it takes here:

·  Periodically, managers will meet with programmers one-on-one.

·  For the purpose of defining how users will interact with the software and how the software should look, programmers take part in design meetings that include individuals from different disciplines.

·  Support technicians and operational staff regularly communicate through email or phone when troubleshooting. However, if the situation is critical enough, you may all designate a meeting space as your war room.

·  There will be a lot of back and forth between programmers and quality assurance personnel regarding bugs and fixes as they test the software.

·  Programmers and project managers will likely work together extensively online and hold a few face-to-face status meetings.

The work lives of programmers are not dominated by this kind of collaboration; if they were, the business would be in “dysfunction” zone. But they undoubtedly occur frequently.

Programmers also perform tasks that other corporate employees perform.

I’ll wrap this with one more aspect of a programmer’s day that you could miss. And by extension, this means that programmers are simply office employees like any other. Therefore, you have already had some contact with programmers if you have ever worked as an account manager, salesman, accountant, administrative assistant, etc.

·  They’ll attend all-hands meetings at the firm, just like you.

·  Any training that is mandated by the company will involve both of you if it is linked to major issues.

·  You’ll all be there for the welcome and farewell meals.

·  All of you will be caught up in team building or group activities.

Generally speaking, this kind of event happens more often the bigger the organization. There is therefore a lot of overlap.

Emphasizing that coding for a living is neither especially mysterious nor unusual is a smart way to end. It is both an office job and a knowledge-based vocation. But a lot of things at the office are as well. Programmers essentially just show in, perform their work at the office, and then go, albeit with a particular and sometimes glorified speciality.