The idea of a programmer getting better in transitions is a fantasy. Programmers start out good or bad, and on average don't improve much. They move up the ladder by getting more knowledgeable about the organization; coding less, and talking more.
You sound like you moved past the coding long ago.
[quote]But the reality is that anyone who thinks they are a DTP isn't one, and they'll cut too many corners, and produce something that is the equivalent of a go-cart that makes it through one race and then falls to bits, because duct tape just isn't that durable, and people who rely on it in production environments are dangerous idiots.[/quote]
Netscape transformed the face of IT; maybe even of humanity.
What kind of impact do your programs have?
No, I don't forgive them for writing obfuscated spaghetti code and leaving it for me to maintain.
"Spaghetti code" is just a term used by programmers to describe someone else's work.
And guess what, they're right. If you show UI early on, people get a better mental image of where you are going. You can then respond to feedback early in the development cycle, which is priceless.
The strategy you ironically list as "unrewarding" results in an excellent code base that doesn't solve anyone's problem.
Software production is assumed to be a line function, but it is run like a staff function. -- Paul Licker
