While I will say that open source programmer are very skilled in coding, I find that open source tends to produce products that are only partly complete (some would call it the hard stuff, others would call it the fun stuff). When developing commercial software we always have to address all the details (user interface, correctness and deployment).

I would prefer to find developers that understand the need for producing a professional products that work correctly, looks good, install easily and has professional documentation. I think that the ability and willingness to work through the later stages of the product implemenation. While these stages are less glamorous, they too require skill that not all programmers possess. Open source projects tend to produce products that work well but with less emphasis on the “finition”. If you believe the 80/20 rule, I find that many open source products implement the first 80% very well, but procrastinate on the last 20%. I am, thus, concerned that open source developer lack the discipline necessary to add the last layer of polish to commercial products as it is not always part of the open source culture (And yes, it is not always part of the closed source culture either).

That may be a good criterion for a systems admin, but not a programmer. True, many developers spend time on networking and operating systems, and are good at it.. but to say that is a quality of a good programmer is false association.

Someone can answer: ¡why modify it when it works!
Even when it stinks…

Nice post. I agree.

I program for 5 days a week, I like it and I invest plenty of time in becoming a better programmer every day. But life, and even just this profession, has too many other interesting things to offer to also do it for a hobby.

Having said that, this may have something to do with age and experience. Although I never stop learning, I don’t have much to examine or proof in terms of my programming ability. There’s plenty of useful stuff I can still learn, but as far as pure programming is concerned, I think I’ve got that nailed. I *know* I’ll be able to learn language X in a few days (okay, a totally different paradigm will take a bit longer), just as I know it will take years of intensive use to be really proficient in any language. But I’m not doing it just for fun.

I’m deeply passionate about software development, but not as a hobby.

And BTW, I’ve known plenty of programmers who do lots of coding as a hobby, and who are absolutely crap programmers who don’t give a damn about their “craft” and produce horrible code. They like hacking stuff together on a computer, which is fine and some of the stuff they hack is even pretty awesome, but it makes them about as qualified to be a professional programmer as I am qualified to be a plumber or a carpenter just because I sometimes fix stuff around the house.

Most amateurs will remain amateurs, no matter how passionate they are about their hobby. Building stuff in your spare time doesn’t make you a programmer, never mind a good one.

Btw, having a github repo is also a sign of a less horrible programmer