How to Become a Highly Paid Corporate Programmer [Paperback]

Paul H. Harkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Written for those gifted coders and programmers who get wrapped up in how complex their code is and forget the basics of how to be successful in a corporate culture, this guide will help put these programmers on the fast track to promotions and raises. Programmers fresh out of technical school are shown how to make the transition into a corporate setting by managing the interview process, learning from the programmers already in the workplace, and learning the business side of programming. Seasoned programmers are provided with tips on how to please supervisors, how to maximize their worth in corporations, and how to develop mentoring relationships. Advice on moving out of the corporate world and becoming an entrepreneur either in the consulting arena, in writing package software, or in founding a software development company is also provided.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul H. Harkins is the president and chief technology officer of Harkins Audit Software, Inc. and is an active corporate programmer. He was a senior systems engineer at IBM for 21 years and a principal in Apparel Business Systems, Inc., a software development firm, where he was responsible for product development and international support. He lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Mc Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158347045X
• ISBN-13: 978-1583470459
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,086,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Culture > Careers

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How to become a corp. programmer - 20 years ago, April 15, 2006

By 

J. Beck "br4v3_s1r_r0b1n" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Become a Highly Paid Corporate Programmer (Paperback)

I'm almost angry at how bad this book is. Most of the advice is dated from mainframe days, and the rest is just wrong and following it will get you fired. Chapters tend to be short (3-4 pages) and consist mostly of stories from his friends, which aren't always developed past the telling of the story.

There are a few good takeaways. Mainly, if you're going to be a corporate programmer, it's important that you know the company's business processes, instead of just focusing on building technical skills. Make your boss look good. For everything else, using common sense is a better guide than following the advice in this book.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inside Scoop on the Business World, April 3, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Become a Highly Paid Corporate Programmer (Paperback)

An awful lot of the best programmers I've ever met are true geniuses. Unfortunately the genius aspect only goes so far as to programming. Many of then have "discovered" that late in high school or early in college they know more than their professors and quite school to get a programming job that pays a lot more than flipping burgers.

What they don't understand is that programming something is just the tip of the iceberg. They now have to compete in the regular business world. The salesman calling on a prospect wants to take a teckie along with him to help explain the details. The long haired high school drop out wearing Army fatigues and a few earrings who doesn't know how to put a sentence together isn't going to be a help.

Here is an analysis of the business world written for programmers. The book has four sections:

1. Starting a Successful programming Career
2. Thriving in a Competitive Environment
3. Mastering the Corporate Culture
4. Beyond Programming.

In this last section, there are a few chapters on starting your own business. By no means is this a complete how to on starting the next Microsoft, but it is at least a few hard cold facts.

This book just may help you break out of the mold in which you find yourself.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Corporate Programming Made Lucrative, March 28, 2004

By 

Jim Scherrer (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Become a Highly Paid Corporate Programmer (Paperback)

I'm the CEO of Scherrer Resources, Inc. developers of the popular Web Ally CRM software (www.WebAlly.com) and I wish all our staff had read this book years ago. Why? Because I continue to tell our staff that I am not the person who hires them; they work for the customer... listen to the customer and you will have a lucrative programming career. Paul Harkins, the author, understands this and puts it into perspective in this concise, easy to read manual on becomming a highly paid corporate programmer. I've seen my share of bad code, yet improving the code doesn't always make the customer happy. It's the logical convergence of good coding and meeting the need that makes for success; and Paul's book makes it clear and provides case studies that drive home the message. Our developers will read this and our next versions of Sales Ally, Advisor's Ally, Broker's Ally and Web Ally will come to market with better functionality, improved user interface and Paul's special mix of tips and tricks on how to meet customer needs. The "Harkins Trace" is wending its way to market and ten years from now we'll all look back and wonder how corporate consulting programmers would have been able to dig through such mountains of spagetti code without the Harkins Audit Software product. Move over Peter Norton, here comes Paul Harkins! Paul has built a set of programmers utilities in the same fashion that Peter Norton got his reputation for PC utilities. The only difference is that Norton built for end users and Paul is building for professional programmers. Maybe it shouldn't be "move over" Peter Norton, maybe it should be that they team up, and as a dynamic duo they continue the pace of improving the use of computing devices with their special blend of experience, knowledge and mentoring.