What programers are hired for

Posted by Background-Data-7700@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 11 comments

So what are programers hired for, are they hired for problem solving abilities with code, or there expertise in a certain field for example web development and I know web development also demands problem solving. And I know companies also demand for other skills like communication, etc but I am talking about major skill. So for example if a programmer is good in problem solving. But if he not good in specific field, will company hire him because he can grasp any language in which the company work in because he knows all the basics in programming, and like I said he is very good in problem solving. Because isn't a programmer's work to make good algo and convert that in code whether any language and that demands I think problem solving abilities.

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11 Comments

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Pablo_dv@reddit

It really depends on the company, but ultimately, they hire developers and engineers to **solve business problems**. Period. It is absolutely key to understand how your work impacts the business. Every line of code and every architectural decision should aim to either **generate money** (by building new revenue streams) or **save money** (by reducing operational costs and improving efficiency). That understanding is what separates a good coder from a valuable engineer.

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AlwaysHopelesslyLost@reddit

Eh..... That understanding alone is not enough. I have hired for those ideals in the past. Quick and dirty makes money, but it causes future support and update headaches that outweigh that initial speed and profit. A good engineer is one that understands the goals you mentioned AND has an eye for long term/consideration of the fact that others must support and grow upon their work.

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Pablo_dv@reddit

yeha i agree

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Ok_Response_5787@reddit

I think companies need engineering personalities that can code well.

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huuaaang@reddit

Depends on the level of the position they're hiring for and how easy it is to find expertise in their domain/language. If it's a niche domain a company might settle for a very senior engineer and expect them to be able to learn a new domain very quickly. For Junior developers you need to have some experience in the domain because they can't afford to be teaching a beginner in both programming in general AND their specific domain.

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TheCozyRuneFox@reddit

It depends a lot on the job. You might be making websites. Or you might be making games. Or going QA testing. Perhaps you might be doing AI/ML and data science stuff. Maybe you are working on embedded systems. Maybe you are writing scripts to automate tasks. There might even be other things I am not thinking of.

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Hoizengerd@reddit

no company can verify your problem solving skills unless you have made actual software to solve problems with you're most likely going to get hired based on your tech stack and coding skills cause it's the only thing they can actually test

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dswpro@reddit

Most programming jobs are for maintaining or enhancing existing software. This can be web sites, machine or factory control systems, accounting packages and custom reports, etc. Some jobs are to configure and install or operate complex software such as identity platforms, information directories, payroll systems, or to operate complex systems, monitor or control processes, troubleshoot errors, etc. You will usually be chosen because you understand a language or two or have experience with the operating systems and large applications or databases in use, or because of your experience in a certain line of business or industry. You may also be hired into a new development project from time to time.

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CodeTinkerer@reddit

Unlike general practitioners (family doctors) who, more or less, do the same thing, the actual task programmers do depends on the job. For example, there might be a product. Perhaps a website where you can order custom t-shirts. Maybe you want to add an AI chatbot to that site. Someone would work on that. Or the site has recently increased its viewership, and you need to handle the increased load. Or it's some legacy code originally written in 1980 on a Cobol mainframe, and still has enhancements and bug fixes, and new logic that has to be updated. Are you asking will someone hire you because you're smart? It's possible, but quite often, a company is looking for a specific set of skills. Say, they run a React website, then it helps to know React. Could a bright person pick it up? Perhaps. Would they opt to do that? Probably not. Why not? It's hard to tell if a person is smart enough to learn things to a proficient level starting with no experience. You're more likely to find people taking chances if you're a junior programmer where you're paid less. FAANG companies used to interview you with challenging questions just to see if you were smart, at least, from stuff that you'd learn in a CS major. They figured you could learn the other stuff (whatever technology they were using) later on. The fact is, you're likely to work on a large code base. The problems you solve won't be nice and simple and isolated like you might see in an algorithms class. The problems won't be so interesting (it could be), and it's likely to take time to understand the code which, sad to say, may be badly written (but functional). Not saying there aren't jobs like the ones you envision, but I suspect they are rare. Depends how good you are. If your super sharp, know a lot, then problem solving skills might be enough.

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RedScam37@reddit

Check the job listing

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Hot_War3379@reddit

Lmaooooo