PvP Lives Here

Yesterday a true story

Boss - come in here a minute
Me - yes?
Boss - is this working right?
Me - no. report it to the helpdesk
Boss - sends email to the helpdesk "X doesn't work"
helpdesk - sends email back with psuedo code explanation of "it works correctly in the code"
Me - sends email with citations of the documentation for when the spec was outlined a year ago and includes the correct code i want inserted
helpdesk - i'll get right on it
Boss - Fuck yes! You went all code on his ass! Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy working with you?

Lesson: even if you don't work in IT, it's a good idea to have a working knowledge of coding and database construction.

I'm a fan of:

*Overhear conversation between colleagues*
Me: You should do it like X
Colleagues: X is far too much work and we have a deadline
Me: X is harder, better, faster, stronger???
Colleagues: Suuuure.
*some time passes, insignificant relevant to the deadline*
Me: Here's a working prototype...
Colleagues: !

Actually it's always a good idea to have knowledge about jobs of other people you work with, whatever they may be.

I couldn't agree more. Though its not part of my major I think i'm gonna take a couple coding classes just to throw down on my resume.

Or maybe i'll just buy a book and learn myself.

I always found that it's difficult to learn how to program (or learn a new language) straight from a book. I'm a very hands-on learner, but in general I think it's best to either take a class or learn-by-doing.

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind while I pick classes for junior year.

I agree. Books work better for references and honestly, you're going to look online for the "i know this is possible, but i can't quite remember" moments.

http://www.khanacademy.org/#computer-science

I think that in the next few years, online lecture courses in coding from MITx, Khan Academy, and most likely others will be sufficient for the basics for the driven student. Khan Academy only has Python tutorials right now, but once you learn one, the others are much more simple.

That isn't to say lecture courses at a university won't teach you well, but it's a balance between major courses and courses you're interested in but will also require a good bit of work to be great at. Just my two cents..

I love this story and the others!

when i worked in equity research i was often the go to gal for end user testing new software platforms designed for colleges or clients - first out i often broke them and found the bugs - the IT guys always saw it as a challenge to make something "sara proof"

The IT dept had a special ring tone for me so they knew i was calling... i found this amusing because it meant my calls tended to get answered quicker than others!! Much to my colleges constination.. basically if i was calling with a problem it really was a problem as i normally trouble shooted out most things before calling them. The problem with this is that my colleges caught on and then i was IT support on the floor!

psychologically
A working knowlege of computers takes away the percieved expert - some geeks like it.. some dont as it means they now have to actually work.. the investment bank it guys liked it.. the it guys at the school i work at hate that i know what they are doing... mostly cos it means they have to do it in a more timely manner.