[stevenelliottjr]

This is an interesting read for me. I am 33 years old and work as the CTO of a large fund in NYC. I started off as a coder and then got promoted all the way up to the glorious rank of CTO, which really means the guy with the most responsibility and doesn't get to code as much anymore :(

I agree with this article in many ways but I don't think you can separate out the two characters in such a black and white fashion. Where I work, there is no such thing as "bad coders" because the standard for hiring is so tight. Everyone here really knows their stuff (including me!) but I do agree what separates people apart is their communication skills. I was one of the few people that was not afraid to talk to management and express my opinion on certain things. Most of the other programmers just deferred to me and I was almost always the representative of the coders to management. I work with some really smart people, genius-level guys, but most of them are extremely introverted. The ONLY difference, from what I can see, is that I am almost exactly the opposite. I am an extrovert through-and-through but also love nerd-type things. Someone that can bridge the gap between the technical and non-technical worlds is a worth a lot to an organization.

    def toot_own_horn(self):
        pass