Today, I read an interesting article regarding what not to say to developers who are just getting started. This topic has been on my mind as of late. I totally agree with this sentiment. Developers (and I am including myself in this) can be condescending toward other developers. We criticize other developers’ taste in technologies; we criticize his or her choice in tools, languages, and platforms. My brother-in-law, who has recently started working as a mobile developer, was ostracized by a few developers at his new company because he uses an iPhone. “Why would you use an iPhone? Android is what real developers use,” they chided. Instead of supporting a fellow developer who was just getting started in the field, they insisted on chastising him for the device he chose to use.

I believed that this negative behavior stemmed from arrogance, ignorance, and callousness. After reading the aforementioned article, however, I have switched my line of thought: I now believe this negative behavior stems from a deep insecurity that developers have of being wrong. I believe that we constantly fight to prove our methods (tools, languages, or platforms) are the correct choice. I also believe that this behavior is not necessary and that most developers will eventually grow out of it as though it were a juvenile phase in our adolescence that we will, hopefully, look back upon in embarrassment. I am at the embarrassment stage in my career now. I feel bad for the negative behavior that I exhibited in my development youth. I was not only negative, but borderline belligerent at times. I think this behavior started and manifested itself due to the environment in which I started working. We need to take our environment and who we surround ourselves with into consideration. You eventually become what with which you surround yourself. I am glad that I am starting to surround myself with positivity.