

Are great programmers hired or made? - thisduck
http://rc3.org/2009/04/22/are-great-programmers-hired-or-made/

======
wallflower
Self-made

And if you don't like doing something, you won't invest yourself in getting
better.

And if you love doing something, you won't really mind the drudgery of getting
better.

------
jimfl
People are great programmers when they're working on something that they're
interested in and the feel like they're making progress on something, and
learning things from other great programmers. Hiring is part of this, because
not only should the employer (meaning the team members) be evaluating for this
but the potentially great new programmer should also be trying to determine if
this is somewhere they can be great.

------
durin42
Having been in the "real world" for a while (graduated college recently), it's
been striking to me just how many people in the world aren't self-motivated.
My memory of the Googlers I've worked with suggests that Google tends to end
up with more self-motivated people than average, and maybe that's at least
part of what they're filtering for?

------
edw519
Made.

Smart. Motivated. Works well with others. Has passion. Good problem solver.
Detail oriented. Able to focus.

In order to be a great programmer, how many of these are important? All of
them.

How many are necessary? None of them.

I once had a calculus professor who said, "Many students are simply unsuited
for the sciences."

I disagreed with him then, and after many years of work experience, I disagree
with him more than ever. I firmly believe (with some exceptions) that almost
anyone can become great (or at least very good) at almost anything. I've seen
it over and over again.

I have worked with hundreds of programmers over the years and screened
thousands of others.

Almost all of them consistently delivered substandard work. Not because they
weren't smart or motivated or capable. More likely because they weren't taught
properly and were in terrible environments.

Teach someone how to do the job properly, give them an environment in which
they can thrive, give them a chance to do quality work, and treat them like
human beings. Then watch what happens.

But companies are too stupid or lazy to do this, so they think they'll just
hire talent and dump them into their already sour environment. Fix the
environment and let regular people become great.

Made.

~~~
amohr
But from the side of the company, how do you determine if an applicant is
unmotivated or incapable as opposed to just unchallenged and stuck in
unproductive environments?

