# What do you programmers do all day...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-programmers-do-all-day/586433>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 22, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-programmers-do-all-day/586433 "2011-06-22T14:53:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-programmers-do-all-day/586433/21 "2011-06-23T01:45:40Z")

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With all due respect to **bump** , **Shagnasty** and **Athena** , I found [this](http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1996-02-23) to be eerily accurate,

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**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-programmers-do-all-day/586433/22 "2011-06-24T16:49:10Z")

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Thanks for the responses, everybody. Of course I expected replies like the first couple, but it’s nice to see the serious ones too. Although I’m not a programmer, I know how that break does let your brain work on a problem while you’re thinking about other things.

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**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-programmers-do-all-day/586433/23 "2011-06-24T18:44:47Z")

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Aside from a fair amount of time spent here, obviously, I’m also a roving troubleshooter. I frequently get phone calls and IMs for help with coding and systems issues from other programmers and testers, so I go sit with them and help them work through whatever’s breaking. I do general coaching as well; one of my major edges is that I come up to speed on new systems very quickly, and then can help others.

I’m also on the hook for management and business questions about some of our systems–“Is possible?” stuff, mostly. Even if _isn’t_ possible, I have sort of a reputation for coming up with other ways off the cuff to accomplish the same thing.

Essentially, when I’m not coding–or thinking about coding, which is its own sort of work, as **bump** pointed out–but still working, I’m usually solving problems.

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