Today is workday, and I decided to write a little bit about a profession that has been misrepresented in recent times. I’m a professional programmer, software developer, system analyst, software architect, but always a programmer. When I was studying, the term programmer had very little prestige. It was normally used with the connotation of someone who lacked instruction or did not have a higher education and only did what they were told to do. At that time, system analysts were kings, and they only designed systems. The programmer was responsible for small pieces of code. Database, screens, flows, everything was handed over to the programmer, who sometimes was seen as just a translator of the project into code.

Today is workday, and I decided to write a little bit about a profession that has been misrepresented in recent times. I’m a professional programmer, software developer, system analyst, software architect, but always a programmer. When I was studying, the term programmer had very little prestige. It was normally used with the connotation of someone who lacked instruction or did not have a higher education and only did what they were told to do. At that time, system analysts were kings, and they only designed systems. The programmer was responsible for small pieces of code. Database, screens, flows, everything was handed over to the programmer, who sometimes was seen as just a translator of the project into code.

This was my response to a post on the Python-Brasil list about the importance of certifications.

A few years ago, I hired over 100 IT professionals… developers in C++, Java, testers etc. During this period, I learned not to trust any diploma whatsoever.

I hired people from private universities who were better than those from federal or state universities, although this was not the rule, but an exception. If the person hiring is the same one who will work with you, for example your future boss, he looks for someone who can solve his problems, and leaves the diploma and certificate to the HR department to check. I knew many good people who didn’t have a university degree, but that was rare and not the norm. For some IT positions, having a university degree is a luxury… for others it’s absolutely necessary. I know that for network administration, certification is fundamental.

This was my response to a post on the Python-Brasil list about the importance of certifications.

A few years ago, I hired over 100 IT professionals… developers in C++, Java, testers etc. During this period, I learned not to trust any diploma whatsoever.

I hired people from private universities who were better than those from federal or state universities, although this was not the rule, but an exception. If the person hiring is the same one who will work with you, for example your future boss, he looks for someone who can solve his problems, and leaves the diploma and certificate to the HR department to check. I knew many good people who didn’t have a university degree, but that was rare and not the norm. For some IT positions, having a university degree is a luxury… for others it’s absolutely necessary. I know that for network administration, certification is fundamental.