[pmiller2]

I describe what I do in different ways, depending on who I'm talking to and how I feel about work. Sometimes, when I'm feeling good about things, I say "I make the internet," or "I tell computers what to do, and they do it." Other times, I say stuff like "I let a computer tell me I'm a fucking idiot for 8 hours a day," or, "I tell computers what to do, and they do it." :P

The truth is really somewhere in between the two extremes.

Another thing I often say is that most of the real hard problems in software development these days are social problems. What I mean by that is that you have to account for the characteristics and limitations of not only yourself, but the users of the software, the rest of your team, and your organization as a whole, when writing code or designing systems. In other words, don't get in over your head, make it usable, document what you've done, think about the consequences of what you're about to do (and write that down), and many other things. This is inherently a humble perspective, because, if you notice, you are the smallest thing that needs to be considered in all this.