08.25.06
how the java community continues to not get it…
Well, the Java blogs are afroth (digged, even) over Tom Ball’s post on Java.net asking ‘Is writing code a Career Limiting Move?’. Once again, kids, it seems that we might be missing the point a little.
See, CLM’s (or “Career Limiting Moves”, as Tom calls them) really only matter if you are inclined to embed yourself in the slow crawl up a corporate ladder (as so many Java guys are prone to these days). Yes, if you want to rise within a company from the Java coder to the CIO at some point you have to show ability to manage, lead, understand conflicting objectives, market trends, run projects, etc, etc. In other words, learn and display the skills necessary to do the job of CIO.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to stop coding to advance your career - just that you have to do so if you want to rise through the management ranks in a management-centric culture.
There are alternatives. For example, if you want to keep coding, come up with a cool idea, code it, and launch it to the world. You can keep on coding, without ever needing to learn about management - you can hire people to manage for you! Before you start complaining about having to stop coding, consider alternatives to being a wage slave.
Remember, beautiful code is out there.