Code Justin

Posts Tagged ‘essay on computer programmers’

I had to write up a quick essay for school last night about my career choice for my personal finance class.  Figured I would post it here for anyone that cares to give it a read.  The essay is not how I would have liked it to be but I had to follow a certain grading rubric so the format is a bit sloppy.

Career Project

Computer Programmer

PART ONE: Why this career suits your values, interests, and abilities.

First off let me explain that I tried to take the test provided to me on the site but the login information was wrong. I than proceeded to do my worksheets hoping that the login information would work if I tried it later on. Well still the login information for the career test site did not work so I went to careertest.net and took their test. My worksheets matched fairly well with computer programming. What really confirmed my career choice was when I got my career test results (keep in mind I did my career test after my worksheets because it was not working). Below are the results to my test along with a description of my personality type ‘ISTJ’.

Personality type results

EI: 14 out of 17

Extrovert |————————————————-| Introvert

|

82%

SN: 8 out of 17

Sensation |————————————————-| iNtuition

|

47%

TF: 6 out of 17

Thinking  |————————————————-| Feeling

|

35%

JP: 3 out of 17

Judging   |————————————————-| Perceiving

|

17%

ISTJ

When their skills at maintaining the structures that they believe hold up society fall short of achieving the security they are striving toward, ISTJ’s become tired and weary. If the stress becomes overwhelming, ISTJ’s become immobilized and cannot fill the responsibilities that they consider necessary for rightful membership within their community. They become incapacitated by concerns of a bankruptcy. ISTJ’s may then further increase their attention on the details of the situation that is causing them stress. This sometimes results in accusations by those around them that the ISTJ is becoming over-demanding, irritable, inflexible, and impatient with others.

Fearing the breakdown of a trustworthy system and dreading becoming an outcast, the ISTJ may feel like energy is being drained from their bodies. Fatigue will set in and it will be exacerbated by a loss of sleep and of appetite. Depleted of their resources, ISTJ’s will be unable to meet many of their obligations or fulfill their duties to their work and to others. Not being able to fulfill this basic need, the ISTJ becomes further stressed and almost incapacitated by listlessness —making it all the more difficult be responsive to others.

Careers

This lists represent careers and jobs people of your type tend to enjoy doing. The job requirements are similar to the personality tendencies of your personality type. It is important to remember that this is not a list of all the jobs possible. And it is very important to remember that people can, and frequently do, fill jobs that are dissimilar to their personality… this happens all the time…and sometimes works out quite well.

management
accounting
auditing
efficiency expert
engineer
geologist
bank examiners
organization development
electricians
dentists
pharmacist
school principals
school bus drivers
file clerk
stock broker
legal secretary
computer operator
computer programmer
technical writer
chief information officer
police officer
real estate agent

As you can see from the results of the test computer programmer fits my personality type. Becoming a computer programming would possibly be able to fill most of my interests and skills. Obviously a programmer deals with the technical side of the computer. This will fill my interest in computers and allow me to make a living while helping advance the very technology I love. Programming is something that does not change on a day to day basis. Technology changes every day but the theory and practice behind how to compute with a computer does not change much. I enjoy being able to write code few people can understand but those that do understand can appreciate the work being done. Programming is not just a skill it is also an “art”. Programming gives me the opportunity to develop complex solutions to various problems. The idea of creating an algorithm is appealing to me. Programming also allows me to create a very wide array of applications from business software to games. The creative possibly with programming is virtually endless within the limits of a computer. In my mind programming is something that I will never be able to master but the process of keeping up with the industry presents a challenge that will always have me on my toes. Programming also provides me with the opportunity to become very wealthy and manage my own business. I have a very strong entrepreneurial spirit and love to market my own creations. With a good knowledge in programming I will be able to create my own products with very low overhead and than market them myself. Programmers also make a decent amount of money so I will be able to manage my own portfolio which is another interest of mine. Having enough personal capital to make small investments is something I will be able to do if I become a programmer. Though programming brings along a lot of challenges and possible stress I feel programming can be one of the most rewarding careers. For me becoming a programmer is more than just being a programmer because it will allow me to pursue all my main interests while working!

PART TWO: Information about the career.

I do not need to look over the handbook since I have done enough research into the computer programming field to answer the questions.

* Summary of the nature of the work
o Programmers write code which tells the computer what to do. Programmers might also take part in the design of the project. Programmers might take part in every step of the project. They might have to meet with clients to find out what their problem is and then develop a solution. For the most part though a programmer does in fact write the actual code for the project but like I had mentioned it isn’t uncommon for a programmer to handle other aspects of a project.
* Working conditions
o The overall physical working conditions for a programmer are nice. Programmers do not have to take much physical risk and get to work in doors. The psychological working conditions for a programmer might be very different though. Some programmers have to work very long hours and take on stressful tasks. Programming can lead to many health issues steaming mainly from the stress a programmer might have to deal with when developing an application within a short timeframe but this is not the case for all programmers since some are able to work normal hours and leave their work at the office when they go home.
* Training required and other qualifications.
o This is pretty much split when it comes to training. Some programmers have absolutely no training and others have their bachelor’s degree or higher. Very few are in between though. It is recommended that programmers seek out a bachelor’s degree or higher since some employers require a bachelor’s degree and also the theoretical knowledge a bachelor’s degree can provide is very useful. The most common BA for a programmer is computer science but other degrees can hold just as much value (such as software engineering and mathematics).
* Job Outlook
o The job outlook for a computer programmer is expected to decline slightly in the coming years BUT for a software engineer (pretty much a programmer) the job outlook is expected to be higher than the national average. Playing a role in the current market is the economy which is forcing older programmers that would like to retire to keep working. This will affect the number of job openings along with the economical stress on businesses which is causing them to cut jobs.
* Earnings.
o The starting salary for a computer programmer is a little under 50k. The medium for all programmers is about 75k and that figure could easily rise into the 6 figure range once experience and special skills are acquired.