How to be a "Successful" Software Programmer?

Why Corporate-Growth is NOT directly related to the skills one have? Then what does it depend upon? How? 

Is everybody losing, in this game, including the people and the corporations?


Yesterday, I met one Vedprakash, Software Delivery Manager, in one reputed IT MNC.

I still remember our talk some 8-odd years before...

Flashback...>>>

One Vedprakash wanted to make a career in IT, so he inquired me how to make a career in IT?

I was happy knowing that he wants to make a career in my field! I asked him, "Are you a computer engineer?"

"No, I'm a Commerce graduate", he said.

"So, why are you interested in making a career in IT?", I inquired.

"I heard they earn a lot in IT because of $ and ₹ difference and also one gets to go to America, in IT!", he said.

I was shocked to hear this! Nonetheless his commerce background started showing itself with this $/₹ mention.

I guessed, knowing his commerce background, "So are you willing to make a career in accounting, in IT?"

"No!!! Programming!", he said.

"Do you know programming?"

"Is programming needed to be a programmer? Don't they teach you how to program, after you join?"

I was about to fall, barely saved myself from falling. Just not to end the discussion abruptly, I inquired, "So are you interested in programming the applications?"

"No, I don't know programming and don't have any specific interest in it either, but seeing the opportunities in it, want to make a career in it", he said.

"Oh!" was the only thing I could say!

<<<...Flashback

Coming out of the flashback..., I asked him, "So, how did you make a career in IT and grew so fast, like this?"

What he said, really amazed me! Following is the summary of what he had said. 

"I arranged some education certificates and experience certificates and got a starting job in a company! ("Jugaad" is the specific, Indian word for such "Arrangements")."

"That's fine, but what about programming? How did you manage it?"

"Google and the colleagues helped me with initial days of programming. A sweet tongue can make people do anything for you!"

"But then how did you grow?"

"One simple principle! Never say, "No", "Can't" or such things to your boss! However unreasonable and unfeasible the expectations might be, just keep saying, "Yes Sir/Madam", "I'll do it!" and so on! You saying yes, all the time, while other stupid guys worrying the outcome and trying to be realistic and so on, makes you stand out and make you boss' favorite!

"At the end it's boss, who helps you grow!"

"But what, when you can't deliver? Because, saying Yes is easy, but delivering it is difficult if not impossible, in situations!"

"You can always come up with the reasoning and the excuses at that time about why you couldn't do it, in spite of your best efforts!"

"But isn't it unprofessional to come up with the risks and the problems, if not excuses, at the time of delivery, rather the deliverable itself? Isn't it what is expected of a professional or an Engineer, to predict the problems and risks beforehand, before you even start the project/task? Doesn't your manager realize this?"

"First thing, you are forgetting that I'm not an Engineer...! So, let the Engineers predict the negative outcome &/or the infeasibility and piss off the boss by telling this, where the boss thinks about these Engineers like, 'These Techies with Negative attitude, come up with hundred problems, before they start working on anything! This is why these stupid guys are where they are! See, how, I had grown, much faster than them!'

"While those managers appreciate, Go-Getters like me, who never say "No"!"

"Hmmm, I see...!"

"But isn't it appeasing your boss, at the cost of interests of your Project, your Company and most importantly, your Customer? Isn't it betrayal towards your company and the customer?"

"Yeah, that would be, if they could realize! But who do they take a report about my performance from? From the Project, the Company, the Customer or from my Boss? So, whom should I satisfy?"

"Hmmm...!"

"But what, when the Project can't be delivered like this and it fails, at the end, when the rubber hits the road?"

"Who stays in the same company for that long? As soon as the project finishes major phase of development, and makes its presence on my CV, before the rubber hits the road, I switch the job, with 40% or more raise in the next job, with this additional project on my CV!

"And once you start earning more, every next company that employs you think, you are 'Worth' that extra, and you still keep making extra, with every other company!

"Nobody has the time, skill or the priority to evaluate you individually! They try to base their judgments on the others' judgments! Thus, once you make it into a big company with a big brand, getting other jobs become quite easy for you, as every other interviewer thinks, if s/he had been selected by that big organization, then, s/he must be worth the selection, and so on!

And this way, the interviewer's risk also is reduced, as they can always claim, they had selected the 'Best of the Best' (having worked in a big company), so s/he turning out a wrong selection, doesn't make it the interviewer's fault!

For selecting a person from a small company, this would be the risk for the interviewer, if the selection goes wrong!

So, who would take risk, and why, when the companies don't appreciate such risk-takers and frame them in favoritism or other charges for such bold decisions!"

"Hmmm....! So wise of you!"

"But how long, can one keep switching jobs like this? One day one would need to settle down somewhere, won't they? Some day or the other, one will need to deliver, wont' they?"

"Hmmm, I understand where you are coming from...! I also had a situation like this, when I wanted to stop switching and settle somewhere, for a longer duration...!"

"So, what did you do?"

"Easy..., I became a manager!"

I was completely stunned, and don't really recollect, if we had any discussion after this or what!

(But, I will talk with him about his success in the role of a "Manager" too, and will definitely post that too, here, as a part-II of this blog!)