I have a friend in law school who is always bugging me about web programming issues. It seems she has a genuine desire to do a web start up some day — after law school.
She nags me with questions about the “best” web language, or how she can get started. The other day, she wanted to know if it was possible to view the source code of a major database driven website. Of course, the answer was no.
So I gave her a few tips about the industry. Mainly, I de-emphasized the importance of knowing how to program and stressed she should focus on finding a good idea to hire others to implement for her. In short, focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. The conversation went something like this:
her: Should I have been a programmer?
me: Programming isn’t that great if you don’t like it.
her: But how do you start up a site if you have to rely on dirty programmers? 😛
me: But how do you start up a company if you have to rely on scum bag lawyers?
My point was that we all have something to bring to the table. 🙂
Programmers aren’t the ones making millions. In fact, programmers are just another cog in the business wheel. The business minded entrepreneurs are the ones with the success. Some just happen to be programmers.