IMHO you don't have to be perfect 24/7 to be a professional. For me, professionalism is more related to credibility than anything (i.e. Do you trust a surgeon to conduct medical operations on your body? Do you trust a structural engineer to build the apartment building you will live in?). In other fields, there are licenses and tests to evaluate the minimum level of skills, while software engineers don't have to take bar exam. I think this is why many developers suffer from imposter syndrome, and often push themselves to the edge. You are constantly improving yourself and making sure your codebase is clean, but it has little implication to clients' trust. Because there is no "construction manual" for software engineers, the only way to gain trust from clients is through communication. Tell them what you can do and what you can't do, and I cannot agree more with your professor: you should not lie as a professional. I am sure your rules will help many developers, but at the end of the day, all it takes to become a professional is the minimum skills and honesty.
I am a self-taught developer from Argentina currently living in Spain. I am passionate about improving my technical skills and helping others do the same.
I agree with you, the rules are just a guide, I don't believe that you should be perfect. But I believe that you should be honest and hold yourself to a higher standard, bring your A game. Which is not what I was doing in the begining, still I was being paid. Again is not about the results but about our actions and dispositions in relation to the work we produce. At least that is what I tried to say ahah
IMHO you don't have to be perfect 24/7 to be a professional. For me, professionalism is more related to credibility than anything (i.e. Do you trust a surgeon to conduct medical operations on your body? Do you trust a structural engineer to build the apartment building you will live in?). In other fields, there are licenses and tests to evaluate the minimum level of skills, while software engineers don't have to take bar exam. I think this is why many developers suffer from imposter syndrome, and often push themselves to the edge. You are constantly improving yourself and making sure your codebase is clean, but it has little implication to clients' trust. Because there is no "construction manual" for software engineers, the only way to gain trust from clients is through communication. Tell them what you can do and what you can't do, and I cannot agree more with your professor: you should not lie as a professional. I am sure your rules will help many developers, but at the end of the day, all it takes to become a professional is the minimum skills and honesty.
I agree with you, the rules are just a guide, I don't believe that you should be perfect. But I believe that you should be honest and hold yourself to a higher standard, bring your A game. Which is not what I was doing in the begining, still I was being paid. Again is not about the results but about our actions and dispositions in relation to the work we produce. At least that is what I tried to say ahah
"but at the end of the day, all it takes to become a professional is the minimum skills and honesty."
I would add communication to this as well. Communicating is so important.