4 secrets of programmers to maintain their value

In China, many people say that programmers are a young person’s job. At first, they said that they have to change careers after the age of 30. Later, some people said that 35 is a hurdle... It seems that programmers are really like prostitutes, destined to grow old and lose their popularity one day.

[[147062]]

No! I want to say, that’s not the case!

All roads lead to heaven, but the journey is painful. I was walking on the road that day. The weeds on both sides were taller than people.
——Hai Zi, Total Lunar Eclipse

A true programmer, who dares to face the bleak life and the blood, will surely be able to forge his own path in the wasteland of time covered with weeds.

In fact, it is enough to just listen to what others say, but you still have to make the decision yourself. In the face of others' doubts, denials, and sarcasm, we just need to move forward firmly and show them. Action is the best proof. If you persist for one more second, the future will be different.

Now let’s take a closer look at where the value of programmers lies.

Application Technology

A considerable number of programmers are engaged in application-level development. The software they develop is used to solve problems in specific scenarios and bring convenience to users' work and life.

When developing an application, high-level languages ​​​​and frameworks are often used, such as C# and .NET, C++ and Qt, J2EE, Ruby on Rails, Python and Django, Java and Android, Objective-C and Cocoa Touch, JavaScript, PHP... There are too many to count.

Many people think that the threshold for application-level development technology is low, and there is not much difference between young people and experienced old people. The new wave will beat the old wave to death on the beach, so when the new batch of leeks grows up, the old batch will be finished.

Actually, it is not. Even from a purely technical perspective, your understanding and grasp of a language and framework will seriously affect development efficiency and product quality.

What kind of people will be easily replaced? Programmers who do not seek to understand the technology thoroughly, who seem to understand it but do not fully understand it, who have worked for many years but still cannot see through the essence of the technology they use, and who are still confused and at a loss when encountering problems, are destined to be quickly replaced by a large number of young talents who are rushing in.

If you have a deep understanding of the various characteristics of a language, and if you have a unique understanding and rich practical experience in the mechanism and various application scenarios of a framework, then you are almost irreplaceable. You have become an expert in this language and framework, and your value is immeasurable. A word from you may save a project several months, and you can solve a problem that others are at a loss for in minutes.

So, don’t pay attention to words like “it’s OK as long as it can run”, “it’s OK as long as the task is completed”, “there’s no need to learn so much”, etc. After you have used a technology to solve a practical problem and meet a certain need, continue to delve into it, learn more, go deeper, and accumulate over time, you will definitely stand out from the crowd. If you don’t have time at work, then continue to invest after work. Remember, your learning and research are for yourself, not for your boss, not for the project. Your only product is yourself, and this product is worth a lifetime of polishing. Highly difficult technology

Some technologies have relatively high barriers to entry, such as assembly language, operating system kernel, and drivers. Precisely because the barriers to entry are high, the rewards are also high. For example, if you are familiar with the Windows kernel or Android kernel and can skillfully write various drivers, then it is not a problem to find a job with a monthly salary of 50,000 or 60,000 yuan, and even 100,000 or 80,000 yuan is not a problem. Because it is scarce, it maintains its value.

algorithm

Most programmers don’t actually understand algorithms, they just use the modules in the framework to build blocks. If you understand the true meaning of algorithms, you will surpass 90% of programmers, and your importance and value will be immeasurable.

For example, if you are proficient in image processing algorithms, video encoding and decoding algorithms, search recommendation-related algorithms, or you have made achievements in the field of pattern recognition... who can stop you from moving forward ?

If you continue to accumulate experience in an industry, have a good understanding of the business, and have deep accumulation, your value will be huge. If you don't believe me, go to the job requirements on recruitment websites, 99% of them require a relevant industry background. Therefore, it is very important to choose a reliable and promising industry. As long as this industry can continue to develop and advance, your accumulation is valuable, and you yourself will continue to increase in value.

Businesses in specific fields have certain thresholds, such as finance, electricity, e-commerce, lottery, archaeology, and medical care... In these industries, if you are a programmer who is familiar with the business, even if your skills are not particularly outstanding, you will be of infinite value.

Product awareness and thinking

What exactly is product awareness? I think product awareness generally includes business awareness, user awareness, innovation awareness and team awareness.
——《Everyone is a Product Manager》

In the Internet age, products are king. Programmers who have product awareness and understand product thinking are the most popular group of people and are also the programmers who can make the best products.

In layman's terms, business awareness means thinking about whether the product can be sold and whether it is easy to sell. This is a must. Although programmers rarely have direct contact with the market, the success of a product often depends on market performance. If you can pay attention to the market, view technology implementation from the perspective of the market, and accept the concept of "technology serving the market", it will be easier for you to make a good product.

User awareness is the easiest to understand. It means that we should think about how to design the product from the user's perspective, because the user has the final say on whether the product is good or not. If you can also think from the user's perspective when implementing the product, and care about whether a function is suitable for the application scenario, whether it is consistent with the user's behavioral characteristics, and whether it fits the user's usage habits, then congratulations, you have surpassed 90% of programmers - most programmers implement products according to the requirements of product managers and UI designers.

Innovation is the source of human development, the driving force of social progress, and also the core competitiveness of products. However, the innovation mentioned here is not necessarily the kind of disruptive innovation. It may be to make many unimportant details better, or just introduce another concept into the product, or give users a different experience like the employees of Haidilao. These are all innovations. Product managers must have a sense of innovation, otherwise, they will never make progress and the product will never be good. Excellent programmers must also have a sense of innovation, otherwise they will not be able to implement a product well and cannot interpret the core competitiveness of the product to the extreme.

This is no longer the era of lone heroes fighting alone. If we want to make a good product, we need a team most of the time. Team awareness is essential. You are with a group of programmers, product managers, UI designers, business analysts, project managers, etc. If you can integrate into the team and influence and promote others to make effective efforts for a common goal, then you are an invincible programmer and a national treasure!

Having said so much, you still need to make your own decision on which direction you are suitable for. You may know what you are suitable for at a glance, so there is no need to explain. Or you may be a little confused, don't worry, we still have plenty of time, you can try to do it, and if you find it is not suitable, try another direction until you embark on the path that suits you.