Software Development is a Trade

I view most software developers as tradespeople. This is an opinion that may earn me a lot of grief but I ask you, the reader, to bear with me for a moment as I make my case. My argument hinges on the following ways that software development resembles a trade rather than a professional pursuit: training, certification, apprenticeship, and fungibility.

Software Developer Training

While many developers now get their initial training from some sort of college or university program, many more are self-taught or get their initial training at technical institutes via courses measured in months or through boot camps which span a matter of weeks. In this regard, software development much more resembles a trade rather than a traditional professional pursuit like law or medicine. Myriad trade schools will impart a basic skill set for a trade in a matter of weeks or months. The software industry has simply done a better job at branding by calling them boot camps or technical institutes. Additionally, while most employers prefer candidates with degrees, few will turn away talented developers who don’t have one. I would hope my local hospital would not hire a doctor who lacks a degree, no matter how talented they may be!

Software Developer Certification

As for certifications, while there are plenty of certifications a developer can earn from various institutions, there are no state-level board exams a developer must pass to earn a license to code. The only proof a hiring manager has of the competency of a candidate is their resume, references, and whatever coding challenge they make the candidate pass. No governmental agency issues a Professional Java Developer license or a Certificate of Competency in C#.

Software Developer Apprenticeship

My third argument for software development being a trade is the role apprenticeship plays in the growth of a developer. Starting at the bottom run, junior developers work on menial tasks with low impact, often under the supervision and guidance of a more senior developer. That senior developer teaches the youngster the ins and outs, tips, tricks, and strategies of development; imparting knowledge that colleges can’t teach. While we don’t refer to these junior developers as apprentices and they aren’t bonded to a master, the pattern of more experienced practitioners teaching the junior ranks looks a lot like what used to happen with smiths and what we see with plumbers, electricians, and carpenters.

Software Developer Fungibility

Finally, developers are fungible. A mid-level Python dev can be replaced with another mid-level Python dev without any major impact, save loss of domain knowledge on the project. Most of us are familiar, or will be, with seeing projects move from the US to Eastern Europe or Asia where the skillsets are the same but the prices are cheaper. In this way, developers are very much like plumbers, framers, electricians, or most of the jobs in the construction industry.