Programmer,code r or debuger ?

[Jenea Ciur]

Hi !

I am student in 4th year, Computer Science,and already have been
working for 1.5 year.
I really like programming, I this is what I do a lot.
Before getting a job, I wrote lots of programs by myself,enjoying it
and thinking that I can deal with this kind of job easily.
But when I started to work a a company,I was putted to debug already
written very huge programs...
This is why I jump from one company to other,now it is 4th company,
where the salary is really nice,conditions of work are exceptionaly,
but when it comes to debug ( this is what I do in very now moment )
very ugly code of others... it drives my crazy!!!
It's very difficult for me... It is so easy to write you own code, and
so difficult to analyze others especially if it is millions lines
program and I am only a begginner in this stuff.
All I need are advices from other guru programes, about there
experience in diferent jobs... was that difficult first time to debug
others code ? What do they do in different jobs ? why do they leave
that jobs ?? How many company do they jumped... etc
Thanks in advance from all your advices.

[Michael Nemtsev]

Hello Jenea,

Chill out, man, debugging experience is really cool one.
It helps you to understand how people design and create programs

JC> I am student in 4th year, Computer Science,and already have been
JC> working for 1.5 year.
JC> I really like programming, I this is what I do a lot.
JC> Before getting a job, I wrote lots of programs by myself,enjoying it
JC> and thinking that I can deal with this kind of job easily.
JC> But when I started to work a a company,I was putted to debug
JC> already
JC> written very huge programs...
JC> This is why I jump from one company to other,now it is 4th company,
JC> where the salary is really nice,conditions of work are exceptionaly,
JC> but when it comes to debug ( this is what I do in very now moment )
JC> very ugly code of others... it drives my crazy!!!
JC> It's very difficult for me... It is so easy to write you own code,
JC> and
JC> so difficult to analyze others especially if it is millions lines
JC> program and I am only a begginner in this stuff.
JC> All I need are advices from other guru programes, about there
JC> experience in diferent jobs... was that difficult first time to
JC> debug
JC> others code ? What do they do in different jobs ? why do they leave
JC> that jobs ?? How many company do they jumped... etc
JC> Thanks in advance from all your advices.
---
WBR,
Michael Nemtsev :: blog: http://spaces.msn.com/laflour

"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not
cease to be insipid." (c) Friedrich Nietzsche

[Greg Young]

Without a doubt there are some very bad programmers out there. If you are
jumping from place to place you are probably stuck right in with them. If
you want to avoid alot of it get into a well known shop without alot of turn
around.

Remember that during the interview you are interviewing them as much as they
are interviewing you!

Cheers,

Greg Young
MVP - C#
"Jenea Ciur" <ci********@gma il.com> wrote in message
news:11******** **************@ y43g2000cwc.goo glegroups.com.. .

Hi !

I am student in 4th year, Computer Science,and already have been
working for 1.5 year.
I really like programming, I this is what I do a lot.
Before getting a job, I wrote lots of programs by myself,enjoying it
and thinking that I can deal with this kind of job easily.
But when I started to work a a company,I was putted to debug already
written very huge programs...
This is why I jump from one company to other,now it is 4th company,
where the salary is really nice,conditions of work are exceptionaly,
but when it comes to debug ( this is what I do in very now moment )
very ugly code of others... it drives my crazy!!!
It's very difficult for me... It is so easy to write you own code, and
so difficult to analyze others especially if it is millions lines
program and I am only a begginner in this stuff.
All I need are advices from other guru programes, about there
experience in diferent jobs... was that difficult first time to debug
others code ? What do they do in different jobs ? why do they leave
that jobs ?? How many company do they jumped... etc
Thanks in advance from all your advices.

[V]

Hi Jenea,

I can tell you from my experience (and I have been with one
organization all my life), that debugging other codes teaches you much
more than reading any number of books.

You will go crazy of course, but think of it as an initiation into a
group of elite people who can spot problems in code based instantly,
and can most of the times tell how to solve it.

Over time, this is what I do in my company (besides other things :)
)... I am called upon to troubleshoot things which others can't.

Take this part in a stride. Writing your own code is ALWAYS fun, but
you learn much better (and improve your own code too) by studying and
debugging other people's code.

I can go on and on... but of course, if you can ask some more
questions, then our answers can be more helpful.

Cheers,
Vaibhav

[Göran Andersson]

It's always easier to debug you own code. That is however no guarantee
that your code is better than others. Debugging other peoples code will
give you valuable experience of how code is written, and *not* written,
so that you can write better code yourself. :)

Code from different authors look diffent, not only depending on the
quality of the code, but also because people think differently. Reading
other peoples code gives you insight in different ways of solving
problems. If you only look at your own code, you tend to reuse the same
patterns over and over, regardless if it is a good solution to the
problem or not.

Jenea Ciur wrote:

Hi !

I am student in 4th year, Computer Science,and already have been
working for 1.5 year.
I really like programming, I this is what I do a lot.
Before getting a job, I wrote lots of programs by myself,enjoying it
and thinking that I can deal with this kind of job easily.
But when I started to work a a company,I was putted to debug already
written very huge programs...
This is why I jump from one company to other,now it is 4th company,
where the salary is really nice,conditions of work are exceptionaly,
but when it comes to debug ( this is what I do in very now moment )
very ugly code of others... it drives my crazy!!!
It's very difficult for me... It is so easy to write you own code, and
so difficult to analyze others especially if it is millions lines
program and I am only a begginner in this stuff.
All I need are advices from other guru programes, about there
experience in diferent jobs... was that difficult first time to debug
others code ? What do they do in different jobs ? why do they leave
that jobs ?? How many company do they jumped... etc
Thanks in advance from all your advices.

[Nick Malik [Microsoft]]

"Jenea Ciur" <ci********@gma il.com> wrote in message
news:11******** **************@ y43g2000cwc.goo glegroups.com.. .

Hello Jenea,

Hi !

I am student in 4th year, Computer Science,and already have been
working for 1.5 year.
Excellent!
I really like programming, I this is what I do a lot.
Before getting a job, I wrote lots of programs by myself,enjoying it
and thinking that I can deal with this kind of job easily.
But when I started to work a a company,I was putted to debug already
written very huge programs...
That's exactly where I would put a newbie as well.
This is why I jump from one company to other,now it is 4th company,
where the salary is really nice,conditions of work are exceptionaly,
but when it comes to debug ( this is what I do in very now moment )
very ugly code of others... it drives my crazy!!!
Hmmmm... You need a better manager. Not to put you on a better job, but to
do a better job of setting your expectations. You should have been told, by
someone, that almost all new developers are put into debugging first. It is
not a salacious trial-by-fire, but a necessary part of the learning
experience. No one trusts you to write good code until you can debug bad
code.
It's very difficult for me... It is so easy to write you own code, and
so difficult to analyze others especially if it is millions lines
program and I am only a begginner in this stuff.
Yes. You are a beginner. I'm glad that you recognize that. You need to
get yourself a mentor at your current company. Someone with eight or more
years of experience in the coding trenches. (If your company doesn't have
someone with eight years of coding, ask yourself why? Is coding fun? It
appears to be for you. If so, why wouldn't there be people in the company
that enjoy coding who are still there for eight or more years? Maybe, the
company doesn't treat coders very well, so they either leave or take a
different job. I do not know if this is the case, but if it is, carefully
plan your 5th move.)
All I need are advices from other guru programes, about there
experience in diferent jobs... was that difficult first time to debug
others code ? What do they do in different jobs ? why do they leave
that jobs ?? How many company do they jumped... etc
Thanks in advance from all your advices.

I thought that I moved a great deal, but you are telling me that you have
moved three times in less than two years. What does your next employer
think when they see your resume? They will look at your record and say "why
should in invest in this person, if they will leave right away" and they
will put you into the job no one wants. What would that job be? Debugging
bad code. Hmmmmm.

First off. Make sure you are in a good place. Evidence: happy people who
have been there for a long time. (like Microsoft) Then, stay there... for
at least three years. Take time to learn this job. It is not an easy one.
Coding is fun, but there is so much more to the job. There is a complete
and varied profession here, one with many different ways for people of
talent to have a positive effect. You will find your niche if you stick
with it.

For people who love to break things and consider every possible problem:
consider quality assurance
For people who love to collect requirements and describe solutions and let
others build them: consider product management
For people who love to work out issues, keep people aligned, and track
progress: consider project management
For people who love to solve problems, dig through data, and fix-on-the-fly:
consider support engineering
For people who love to improve the way people use systems: consider process
engineering, six sigma, and lean
For people who love to take hard ideas and make them easy for others to
understand: consider technical writing or marketing

But first... debug. It's OK. It doesn't last forever. Do you best to
understand the thinking of the developer who came before you. Don't just
rewrite the code so that you will understand it. Understand it first, then
change the one line, or one formula, that needs changing.

And welcome to the best profession on earth.

--
--- Nick Malik [Microsoft]
MCSD, CFPS, Certified Scrummaster
http://blogs.msdn.com/nickmalik

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this forum are my own, and not
representative of my employer.
I do not answer questions on behalf of my employer. I'm just a
programmer helping programmers.
--