This is kinda off Unity topic but I was wondering if any other people out there have problems with developer egos. I’m not pointing fingers at anyone I just wanna hear your opinions.
I admit that I probably have a bit of an ego.
I was just wondering about how other people deal with it or deal with it themselves in work, school or anywhere.
Often when hiring I think I judge more on character now than skills.
You say you’re not pointing fingers, but the very thread is a generalization aimed directly at…
I think the problem is the expectation that the majority of people have out of Developers.
Most people think Developers can do anything and everything especially if other Developers have accomplished something… its expected [by the majority] that any new Developers must follow suit. As a result a lot of Developers feel that they need to work on their skills with that perspective in mind.
So I guess its a snowball effect of what people have come to expect out of us now.
I try really hard not to act like a know-it-all, but I probably come across as one in some cases even if I don’t mean to. I don’t know everything and I try to emphasize that sometimes just so people have a realistic sense of what I’m like, but unfortunately that doesn’t generate a positive effect since people will lose faith in your ability and would rather find another Developer that simply sounds like they have more experience… which further emphasizes the pressure to have an Ego over no Ego at all.
Ego is only a problem if it is unjustified. I wouldn’t trust an engineering manager/lead who didn’t have have a bit of an ego. Artists, ADs… not so much the same. In my experience the better the artist, the less the ego.
Yeah I guess you are right:)
I think it’s hard to be knowledgable and not come off as having a big ego. I guess it’s kinda the nature of the industry.
Very true. I think part of that is that many of the roles people have are very different, and very skilled/specialized. Often, regardless of your role, you will be in the position of explaining or making a argument to someone who may have no clue what you are talking about. My primarily role is tech artist, and often I am “translating” or mediating between art and engineering. Both are extremely knowledgable in their field, but don’t often simply don’t speak the same language. Both sides can easily appear condescending to the other without intending to be.
Ego should not affect anyone, basically it’s in you to maintain your personality and protect you from others.
Of course not. I’m a developer. I never have problems. You’re the one with problems! Why are you getting so defensive!? That’s not a taco! Where’s my weevil?
Its very easy actually, just not for your typical programmer.
I’ve met and worked with ego-driven coders (and designers, and artists, and…), but in my experience they’re not the norm.
I think it comes down to the specialization thing. Everyone who’s good at something should feel confident about being good at it, and feel comfortable arguing within reason for their point of view based on their expertise and so on and so forth. However, you’ve also got to respect the fact that other people are also good at their specializations, and understand that a disagreement doesn’t necessarily mean that anyone is “wrong” - what it probably means is that the problem is complex and the solution requires input from all relevant fields of expertise.
If you can genuinely take that attitude then disagreements stop being about proving that you’re right and start being about cooperating to first of all improve the mutual understanding of the problem, followed by finding a superior solution. They also stop being competitive, and nobody comes off as being driven by their ego.
Follow John Carmack on Twitter if you want to see how it’s done. The guy is one of the sharpest programmers around, but has no qualms about asking technical questions and exposing his lack of knowledge on certain subjects. Now I rarely have the slightest idea what he’s talking about technically, but he comes across as genuinely ego-less.
Even if you’re as good as John Carmack (spoiler alert: you’re not), you have no business being smug about your skills.
My day job involves working with other programmers and I’ve rarely run into the ego thing (maybe just lucky?).
I don’t have any real big ego, no. I know a couple of programmers with giant egos though, but as you get older you find it’s pointless. Gets in the way of learning.
I think ego is often misunderstood though.
Well generally the more you know the less you know and all that, I still rely heavily on everyone around me to get to where I need to go. A lot of junior coders I’ve met, whilst some are talented seem to have a superiority complex.
The most amusing ones are the ones with a superiority complex / massive ego and can’t even hack together 5 lines of code and make it work.
An ego doesn’t write any code just like confidence won’t compile into executable form. If you can write code you can write code. If you can’t then you can’t. There are so many applications that I can’t write. If I have an ego about anything it’s my ability to Google something lol.
I’ve only met a couple people with egos offline but they weren’t very good. There are a couple people I’ve met online that are both good and seem to have a strong ego. One thing about egos I’ve found is that if you attempt to join up in a collaboration, one that is being followed by a community of people, you’ll find that there are only a bunch of inflated egos on the team instead of developers with talent. I’ve yet to join a collaboration that has been otherwise but maybe they just weren’t serious enough.
An Ego doesn’t help I think. I try everyday to reduce mine and avoid ever seeming narcissistic.
Ego problems?! Yeah sometimes I run into that but all I can do is patiently work with them guiding them to the inevitable conclusion that I AM THE BEST!! I am the Code King dammit. Absolute Ruler of Programvania! They are… I dunno really but they sure as hell aren’t me.
As you can see there are no ego problems as long as everyone accepts what I have said.
Egos are useless. It alienates the user(egoist?) from others, essentially making it impossible for people to work together. No man is an island and no one knows everything, so we all need each other to make things happen.
I’ve met a few people who I initially thought were egotistical jerks but as I got to know them better I realized it was social ineptness in dealing with others more than intentional rudeness. I’ve met both really awesome coders and noobie coders who both fall into this category. Makes you appreciate the “well rounded” programmers when you meet them.
I don’t think ego is useless. I think it can become a problem if you’re too stupid to be aware of the pitfalls. Some ego, pride, whatever you want to call it, sets a bar of quality that can aid you. Just don’t let it spill out on the team.