TODAY’S JAVA DEVELOPER! THE MAN… THE MYTH… THE LEGEND

When many of us think of a Java Developer or a “techie” in general, the images of an awkward, geeky, pocket-protector wearing, living in mother’s basement playing video games, pseudo-genius comes to mind. While these images probably originated from some certain truths, the Java Developer of today represents a diverse group of professionals from various walks of life that are affected by every day’s society like everyone else. Here we will list several myths associated with a java developer and have a little fun attempting to debunk them.

• MYTH # 1: THE JAVA DEVELOPER IS THE SMARTEST GUY IN THE ROOM.

As a developer myself this is one myth I would personally like to embrace! But in reality, though the nature of their work does require some level of higher intelligence, you will find that the Java Developer tends to think differently than his/her non-technical counterparts. This requires the Java Developer to think more analytical that some of their colleagues which could give the impression of superior intellect. The reality is usually that the thought process and problem resolution is different, but not really superior.

• MYTH # 2: JAVA DEVELOPMENT IS A YOUNG MAN’S SPORT.

There is a saying, “youth is wasted on the young”. I’m not trying to debate on the validity of this statement but I often find myself saying “if I knew at 25 what I know now…”. There does seem to be the perception that a younger, more energetic individual doing “all-nighters” to pump our code is the model for an ideal developer. In practice, there are not many things that beat experience. Many times you find that a good mix of experienced and younger developers provides the perfect balance between energy/enthusiasm as well as experience/wisdom.

• MYTH # 3: NO LADIES ALLOWED

Discrimination, insecurity, and indifference are a few of the many things that may explain the absence of females developers. Though statics do back up the premise that the developer is a male dominated profession, there is definitely a place for our female counterparts. Women bring a different mindset and fresh point of view to the industry while destroying false stereotypes regarding technological intelligence. Plus they can help keep the fellows in-line in providing a more politically correct workplace just by their presence.

• MYTH # 4: THE JAVA DEVELOPER HAS NO SOCIAL LIFE

The life of an IT professional does include long hours, late nights, off hour deployments, stressful product releases, etc. These fact with the perception of the Java Developer being a notorious introvert creates the image of an all-work-no-play social misfit. But today’s developer is asked to do much more than burying his/her head and code thanks to the popularity of concepts such as DevOps. This forces a developer to interact with other IT  professionals throughout the development life cycle process. And with Social Media outlets like GitHub and Meetup groups, there are many avenues that encourage the Java Developer to network with like-minded professionals.

Hopefully, the information above has cleared up some of the misconceptions or stereotypes of the Java Developer. I would love to hear any questions or comments in the section below. If you like this post, click the “Like” button. However, if you love this post, “Share” it. Thanks!