

Ask HN: Realization that i am not a "Programmer"... - mpg33

So after graduating from school I started a job a few months ago as a developer.  I have never been a math/logic oriented person always a word/idea person if that makes sense..  But I never thought it would be a big deal, but now after a few months 5 days a week looking at code it is becoming apparent that my strengths do not lie in this area..<p>I really enjoy learning about technology and discussing it with others and giving advice, ideas, improvements etc.<p>Anyone else ever come to this realization?  What did you do about it?
======
duncan_bayne
My advice: don't write off a potential career based on a few month's
experience.

It took me several years to decide that I enjoyed software development as a
profession, and that I enjoyed it enough to develop an aptitude for it.

Also, consider that it may be the environment - product, technology, team,
company, existing code - that is putting you off. Even if you decide against
what you're doing I'd limit the conclusion to "I hate my current job" rather
than "I'm no good at programming."

~~~
mpg33
true, i guess i enjoy explaining things to people and thought maybe I ended up
in development because I'm an introvert..

~~~
mjs00
You might consider product management or product marketing. Both require high
technical aptitude, but then you specialize around what the hard core
programming folks aren't doing. Product managers spend a lot of time on
competitive research/analysis, requirements generation/ aggregation/
prioritization, etc, and help validate (or not) potential market fit. Product
marketing as well is invaluable to help translate the 'magic' programmers
create and the technical/strategic 'vision' into the words and programs that
get people or companies to use the product - make it compelling in the
language of the target market. And sometimes you do both as the 'product' guy
(you get one or the other title above, but ultimately do both).

------
systemtrigger
Whatever you do, go deep. Be an expert in something. Learn a trade. Don't be
"the idea guy." Can your ideas can be prefaced with "this detailed plan would
definitely be very profitable"? If yes then...work the plan. Otherwise you
might want to consider sales, consulting or meta tech stuff like
documentation. Strike commentary off your list: the web is awash with tech
bloggers. (Just my two cents)

------
jhen095
Haven't felt like this, but as sp332 says "Programming is a big field". I
would broaden that even further to I.T. Is a big field.

Why not think about such sub-categories such as DBA,
Analysis/Reporting/Sharepoint Services developer, or even pre-sales roles.
These involve some coding but a lot of customer interaction, giving
advice/ideas, designing solutions and improving the customers business.

~~~
codeslush
I'll second the pre-sales role - it's the first thing that came to mind when
reading your post before any of the comments. Sales Consulting/Sales
Engineering/Systems Consultant --- they are all mostly the same type of role
with different titles. The pay can be lucrative and it's a great blend of
different skills.

In one of your other comments, you mentioned "introvert" -- don't let this
hold you back from a pre-sales type of role. It's very easy to be an
introvert, but become very much an extrovert/good speaker when "doing your
job."

------
stel
It sounds like you didn't study CS or another technical field in school or you
would have known you weren't a math/logic person already. I'm curious, what
got you into programming (other than that there are a lot of job openings
right now)?

Regardless, it's pretty common for your first job in any field to be less than
ideal, so I wouldn't write off programming just yet. On the other hand, if
your company is large enough to offer opportunities to work in other areas,
you might dip your toe in and find something you like better without having to
look for another job. Desire for change happens to everyone after a while,
even if we enjoy what we do.

------
wilzy
I really enjoy coding, but i am not a programmer by trade. I also really enjoy
many (MANY) other things. Finding a job that brings them all into the picture
would be very difficult, unless of course you created the position yourself.
Naturally, that would of course depend on you having a clear understanding
about what that role would entail. As duncan_bayne pointed out, it can take
several years to work out where your strengths and weaknesses lie. There's no
'right path' to a career. Sometimes a job won’t offer you the opportunity to
display the strengths you consider yourself in possession of - and to this I
would suggest that where possible, try to exercise these in other ways... most
likely outside of your job in extra-curricular tasks.

You might consider starting a business of your own, which would afford you the
opportunity to fine tune and have a go at your areas of strength, and most
importantly, keep you relatively interested in day to day activity. If
starting a business is intimidating, consider offering your services for free
for some small tasks/projects, and treat them as though they were paid and
professional. You’d feed your interest and learn along the way.

The point I am trying to make is that you’ve plenty of options out there, and
they are not very apparent just yet... but from my experience, the more your
put yourself out there (particularly in areas that overlap strengths and stuff
that is completely foreign) you will start to see some interesting options
arise... and you will start to get a better picture of what your interests,
strengths and weaknesses are. Best of all... there’s no deadline to work this
stuff out... so be proactive and enjoy yourself!

------
SoftwareMaven
You may find you like product management. You have to remain reasonably
technical, but the focus is on human problems (customer needs, business
problems, getting the office behind a release, etc).

I still like coding, but I've found being a PM far more satisfying in my day
job.

------
tryitnow
Even though I am not a programmer, I can't emphasize enough how valuable it is
to think like one. I've just started teaching myself simple, basic programming
stuff just for fun and I have noticed myself thinking more clearly and
logically on the job and it's having a direct, positive impact on my work.

So consider your experience as a programmer as a great investment in whatever
field you want to go into.

Sorry for not really answering your question, I just wanted to point out that
although you might not be a "programmer" it definitely pays to "think like a
programmer."

------
sp332
Programming is a big field, I'm sure you can find something that suits you
better if you feel like looking around more. Just as an extreme example,
Inform 7 is just a subset of English that makes text adventure games.
<http://inform7.com/>

