

So you want to be a developer rockstar? - swimorsinka
http://thinkfaster.co/2015/02/so-you-want-to-be-a-developer-rockstar

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zzalpha
I gotta say, this sounds like a perfect recipe for becoming the narcissistic,
self-centered developer. The modern equivalent of the ladder-climber.

To me, the perfect example is the "never ask for help" advice.

The reality is, spinning your tires silently instead of solving your problem
by asking for help, all in the name of preserving or enhancing your
reputation, is about the worst advice I could imagine. It's actually a red
flag for me as far as hiring and ongoing employee evaluation goes.

~~~
charlesnw
Interesting. Because the article accurately describes myself and a number of
other folks I work with, all of which are considered "rockstars". It's great
advice in my opinion.

I 100% agree with the don't ask for help advice. People need to ACTUALLY LEARN
something. I'm sick of people externalizing the costs of their inadequacies.

~~~
zzalpha
To be perfectly honest that sounds like a surprisingly toxic work environment,
and a sadly elitist attitude. What are teams for if not to act as a
collaborative support system?

Should it be a crutch? No. But never asking for help as a matter of course is,
in my opinion, counterproductive.

~~~
Gigablah
I would've worded it differently. Do approach people to confirm that you're on
the right track, or to find out the (undocumented) motivation for a certain
design, NOT to ask them to solve a problem for you.

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meesterdude
I agree with most of this and it echos some of my own behavior; except for the
never ask for help advice. Absolutes are an "advice smell" because the world
is not black and white. I think you should ask for help after you've exhausted
your own options, or there is a time crunch.

A few additions:

A rockstar tries to make everyone else into rockstars. they write up
documentation, fill in tests, take notes at meetings for others to reference,
and are the ones people go to for help.

The write code they write is crystal clear and easy to support, and sets an
example in quality.

~~~
gravedave
I don't see why a time crunch is an appropriate reason to ask for help. As a
junior, there's little responsibility you have to assume w.r.t. the success of
the project. If it fails for some reason that may be related to you, you were
probably poorly managed. A competent boss would notice that you struggle and
give your task to someone else in order to meet deadlines.

~~~
meesterdude
The thing with rockstars is that they typically don't need the help, and can
figure things out eventually. It's not because they've got some ideal that
they're trying to fit into that says "real rockstars don't ask for help"
because that's totally maladaptive. Rockstars get shit done and don't care
what they have to do to get there. And sometimes that means asking for help.

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swimorsinka
Thanks for all the comments. I posted a response about the help issue here:
[http://thinkfaster.co/2015/02/no-really-dont-ask-for-
help](http://thinkfaster.co/2015/02/no-really-dont-ask-for-help)

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EugeneOZ
There are 3 kinds of "ask for help". 1) I'm tired with this code mess, please
explain what methods I should call to do this task. 2) There are 3 ways to do
this, one of them requires 3-d party service with monthly payments, second
requires open source library and we need to check license, third is create our
own solution and it will take some time. And I need manager's decision what
way we can choose. 3) There is not enough data to complete the task, I need
your time to give me data and unblock task.

I think only (1) is toxic and should be avoided.

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charlesnw
This is a fantastic article. Can confirm. Agree with it 100%. Most people are
just lazy, or outright incompetent (outside a very small area of expertise).

A wide range of expertise with the ability to rapidly deep dive wherever
needed is what I consider a rockstar.

