What knowledge and skill must one possess to earn the title of being a programmer.

Question

Right now I’m working on implementing a linked list and sort algorithm from scratch. (Not the programming language). Sure these features are available in most standard libraries but I feel like I should know how to implement them myself. Besides this what sort of algorithms must a fully qualified programmer be able to implement to earn that title?

Answer 1

A year on:
1) Know your IDE/text editor well such as it's keyboard shortcuts and features.
2) Know a range of online tools such as sassmiester, jsbin code validators.
3)Know how to implement different types of algorithms such as branch and bound, dynamic, backtracking and divide and conquer.
4)know both procedural, functional and object oriented programming languages and principles.
5) Know how to implement behavioral, creational and structural design patterns
6) Know how to implement abstract data types such as linked lists, trees, graphs and hash tables
7) Know how to comment and debug code.
8) Should know version control
9) ability to learn complex subjects effectively
10) Understand the OSI model
11) Understand computer Architecture
12) Know how to use the command line
13) Know how to use browser devtools (If youre a web developer)

Answer 2

@John Wells Thats interesting. You’re basically saying’ if one were to master let’s say 10 important algorithms would exceed the normal expectations. However what would a if you’re a professional, how can you compare the qualities of an expert vs that of a novice?

Answer 3

You would want a certificate from somewhere where that certification would tell Hirers that you have a knowledge in the certain Language/languages.

Answer 4

What I'm saying is book knowledge isn't as important as practical knowledge.

Answer 5

In my experience, the title is given to anyone making money programming. Some programmers I've known had little knowledge or skill in algorithms or data structures. They did have knowledge of language and skill in producing working code. But, you try talking about linked lists and they didn't even know the term. I've worked with a lot of people who never took a computer course.