1. Yes, I believe building something “tangible” whether its a table or a web site that allows people to donate money to good causes both yield a similar sense of satisfaction to the persons responsible for building them. The difference with software development is its not quite as easy to admire the work since the UI could be the handy work of a great designer, but the nuts and bolts holds the magic. The great wood work involved with building a cabinet will also be more appreciated by a non-carpenter; the same couldn’t be said for a piece of impressive code.

2. Growing up in the 80’s, programming classes were always an after school activity for those folks interested in programming or computing. Hopefully they’ve been promoted to at least an elective like the shop and art classes.

3. Software development has and always will be a tool – a means to an end. While I believe there are plenty of opportunities for software developers, within large corporations there is certainly a glass ceiling. The business folks have the money and IT is considered a cost sink. Someone will always be your boss. The end game for folks who want to stay in software development is doing something amazing outside of the corporate walls.

4. Outsourcing has certainly impacted the career experience for IT professionals by changing perception of great software development from a highly-valued skill into a commodity. This in turn has impacted how companies structure incentives which naturally impacts what skills employees focus upon.

5. Having a software development background is one of key requirements for a good IT manager/leader. Understanding the day-to-day experience of being in the trenches is a required attribute for good IT management. There’s a reason why apprenticeship was developed back in the middle ages. Its not to say a manager without an IT background cannot be successful IT leader, but they need to be well aware of their limitations and defer to others when they are being stretched. A software developer who has made the successful jump to IT leadership (by picking up communication & project management skills) will always be better off than a business analyst who moves into IT management and has never touched a piece of code in their lifetime.

Failure in software development projects is usually a people problem first and a process problem second.

1. Yes, I believe building something “tangible” whether its a table or a web site that allows people to donate money to good causes both yield a similar sense of satisfaction to the persons responsible for building them. The difference with software development is its not quite as easy to admire the work since the UI could be the handy work of a great designer, but the nuts and bolts holds the magic. The great wood work involved with building a cabinet will also be more appreciated by a non-carpenter; the same couldn’t be said for a piece of impressive code.

2. Growing up in the 80’s, programming classes were always an after school activity for those folks interested in programming or computing. Hopefully they’ve been promoted to at least an elective like the shop and art classes.

3. Software development has and always will be a tool – a means to an end. While I believe there are plenty of opportunities for software developers, within large corporations there is certainly a glass ceiling. The business folks have the money and IT is considered a cost sink. Someone will always be your boss. The end game for folks who want to stay in software development is doing something amazing outside of the corporate walls.

4. Outsourcing has certainly impacted the career experience for IT professionals by changing perception of great software development from a highly-valued skill into a commodity. This in turn has impacted how companies structure incentives which naturally impacts what skills employees focus upon.

5. Having a software development background is one of key requirements for a good IT manager/leader. Understanding the day-to-day experience of being in the trenches is a required attribute for good IT management. There’s a reason why apprenticeship was developed back in the middle ages. Its not to say a manager without an IT background cannot be successful IT leader, but they need to be well aware of their limitations and defer to others when they are being stretched. A software developer who has made the successful jump to IT leadership (by picking up communication & project management skills) will always be better off than a business analyst who moves into IT management and has never touched a piece of code in their lifetime.

Failure in software development projects is usually a people problem first and a process problem second.