XPerts Online

The pace of change in the technology industry has made it nearly impossible to specialize in much or become an expert in anything.

An expert programmer is no longer someone who is really knowledgeable or experienced. All too often, an expert programmer is the person who is adept at using a variety of reference tools and documentation to find out how to achieve their goals. This is my secret sauce. I am really good at looking at a problem, figuring out approximately what is wrong, and being able to quickly find the solution. To the uninitiated, it looks like sheer magic. To others, they say, " wow, Asif figured that out in only 30 minutes! " when they had been struggling with it all day. My real talent is knowing how to rapidly research and turn my findings into usable information.

Most of the really good programmers I have met are the same way -- they know a little of everything. They have tons of experiences that inform their " guiding light " when they look for answers. They have a natural talent, but overall, if you were to grill them on anything outside a narrow area (say, the System. Threading namespace), there is a really good chance that they will know where to get the answer from but not actually know the answer.

 Asif Khursheed

Software Developer (SII)