Quote Originally Posted by wild_bill
I haven't heard anybody mention business knowledge. Business knowledge harder to learn than a programming language by far, because you can't google it, and no one at microsoft is doing web casts about it. It just takes years of projects under your belt. So if somebody is coding really fast it may because they haven't thought of all the requirements for their program.
On the other hand, business knowledge is often not the least bit necessary.

I have worked as a contractor/consultant in the following industries:

Insurance
Banking
Adversting
Automotive
Education
Casino

I did not have then, nor do I have now, the least bit of understanding of how any of these business operate and what their business rules are.

I worked with a staff member who wrote up specs for me. My instructions were to make screens that do thus and so, and that is exactly what I did. More often than not I had no idea what any of what I was doing meant, but it worked, and pleased my clients, so I got paid, and therefore, was happy!

As it is now, I'm working in the Health Care industry and about 75 to 80% of the time, I'm completely lost with respect to business rules, but, I know how to write code, and I'm working with a very good B.A.

Quite frankly, the business side of things bores me to beyond tears and any day I can avoid learning anything whosoever business related about the industry I'm working in is a good day.

I don't know how business people do it. If I actually had to learn the business side of the house, I honestly believe I would look for a nice, tall bridge from which to fling myself.