Most mechanics in naija will tell u they got into the profession because
of financial inability to pursue a higher goal. e.g like getting tertiary education or due

to lack of jobs - few do it for the love of the work.
A mechanic may be versed in fixing many brands of cars or specialize in a particular brand
, so we have peugeot mechanics, honda mechanics, mercedes mechanics etc.
Though the mechanic business is looked down on by better-of people it can be more

financially rewarding than an office job.
The mechanic can be very knowledgeable about the design and make-up of a car, to the extent

that he can detect a fault by the sound of the engine.
But despite the mechanics usefulness , the well-to do's prefer taking their cars to 'other

mechanics of esteem" . i.e those who put together their buggy.So we see patronage at such
places like 'the honda place , and so " . Maybe this is all about perception but the car

owner cares about his car and he wants it to be in the hands of people who know more about

the car ,and such people would likely be those who built it.
Even underneath , most people patronize road side mechanics because - they can't afford the

high price of a particular brands garage.if they had their way , no mechanic [ road side] or

unqualified mechanic will touch their car.

How does apply to programming?.
unlike the road side mechanic, some programmers come into the profession - not as a last

resort, but out of love of creating computer-based solutions and problem solving.
but their slowing turning themselves into 'mechanics' instead of engineers , while the road

side mechanic can be easy to tell by appearance and so and [ obvious signs of high

illiteracy] the mechanistic-programmer may not be so easy to tell worst is that enthusiast
hoping to be knowledgeable are gaining mechanic training.

e.g
A mechanic prides himself in the brands of cars he can repair.
An automobil engineer doesnt prides himself in understanding the theory behind the
automobil.
A mechanistic programmer is all about how many programming languages or the latest

programming language he can use.
the non-mechanistic programmer , is all about the theory of computing.

the mechanic has to learn the latest technology to stay competitive.
in naija it don't matter , most of his customer drive old cars that's okay.
the mechanistic-programmer has to learn the latest language to stay employable.
the non-mechanistic programmer has to master the latest/or invent the next theory that

will make it's predecessors obsolete.

the mechanic begins by learing how to use tools and spanners,
graduates to other mechanistic functions . its all about the 'how-to' rarely the 'why' or

'how-come'.
the mechanistic programmer is all about learning syntaxes. various language syntaxes, and

different libraries.
As choice customers don't give their cars to road side mechanics,
it typical that pricey customers want more than mechanistic-programmers to handle their

software development.

Automobile engineers are designing the next cars the next mechanic will have to repair
non-mechanistic programmers will design the next programming language the next
mechanically oriented programmer will have to learn.

but in all it seems , against choice or leaning of will, employers are the highest
creators of mechanistic programmers. The define what technology their employee learns and
load him with work that keeps him bound to mechanistic -learning so that he never has the

time to advance in learning.
So while the pay may be good and one is specializing, a change in underlying technology

could get one obsolete and one's skills dead. e.g like , cobol programmers are rarely
in demand.

Interesting article which makes a few good points.

But i can tell you that their are more jobs and better prospects for mechanical programmers . Non mechanical programmers mainly work in research and developement and even if they create new theories and stuff it might not make it to the main stream. i mean it was a guy that created .Net and another guy that created Java. but there are thousands of other guys working on some mundane languagues which will be used only in the confines of their lab

so the question is. which is better .

A lab rat working on some theories that might work or not.
A white collar programmer working in a blue chip with a fat pay check

Well i leave you to decide

I think there should be a distinction here in this topic. While you make it easier to relate most of us with different types of programmers using the Analogy of a mechanic, you have not drawn a line between a Software Engineer, Software Architect and a Programmer. I'm sure thats why someone in this forum thinks of one of these as a "Lab Rat" working on theories that may not work.

Each and every one of these(Software Engr,Programmer, ) has his/her duty to perform to create the great software we see around today(and one person can be all). The coder (i.e. the Mechanistic Programmer) happens to be one party.

Ask yourself this question: When a Company in the U.S outsources a process in Program Development to India (or Nigeria), who writes the codes? Better still, who directs the coder? The guy in the U.S or the Other guy? ('He who pays the Piper dictates the Tune').

Also, try to look at a Software Application (Program) as the outcome of a System, and not just an event. That is to say it involves the generation of Algorithms,Flow charts and Precise goals associated with aspects of the Finished Software Product. That doesn't sound Mechanistic at all.

So, In my opinion, the Nigerian developer should strive to get things done in an orderly fashion,less mechanistically, so we can have more professionals* in our Software community.

*P.S: I refer to Professional as a state of Mind.

This concept is nice but suffers from a fatal flaw.

You assume that it is easy to seperate theoretical from practical programming

You then go ahead to claim that the 'mechanics' keep ugrading their knowledge and using the latest langauges.

The fact that computer science is an emerging field with a rapidly changing body of knowledge is PRECISELY why there is little distinction between the theoretical and practical aspects of the field.

Hardcore researchers that work on new algorithms are much closer to mathematicians than programmers- anyone who has studied computer science to an advanced level knows that pure analytical comp. sci is little more than a highl specialised branch of mathematics.

Ideally, computer science should be a profession like accountancy or medicine. However those are ancient professions with an established, vast body of knowledge, with which accreditation is easily achieved and verified. Things change in programming so fast that nonsense is routinely made of attempts to formalise the professional structure of the field.

The equivalent of a roadside mechanic in computing will NOT appear until computing becomes so standardised that a relatively uneducated person can trivially repair software by following a few consistent rules. Any programmer knows software dev is NOWHERE near this level.

Computer engineering is still in its infancy as things change so fast that whatever process flow methodologies you invent are rapidly made irrelevant as progress is made. Check your history books- all major professions passsed through this stage, even medicine.

dark man zero is right, we are all trying to establish principles that are ever changing so the analogy of the mecho is slightly flawed. I.T(the field in general) is still in it`s infancy so there is not much we can do abt the rapid changes in technologies and it is also unfair to blame the employers because you must remember the computer program is just a means to an end for them. They believe that the latest languages or environments are the safest and best.