Spoiler alert: the "ninja developer" doesn't exist!

Spoiler alert: the "ninja developer" doesn't exist!

If you work in IT, you might have already come across a certain company looking for a "rockstar developer." You know, those ads you see in job listings and announcements that demand an enormous number of extraordinary skills in just a few lines of text.

At nexten.io, we see them too. Today, we've decided to sound the alarm and review this phenomenon that penalizes developers and companies alike.

Dispelling the myth of the rockstar developer

Let's be honest: "ninja" developers who crank out dozens of lines of code per minute, jumping from one project to another without so much as a breather and who come up with deliverables that no one understands, are extremely rare. Computer hacks by nature, they've acquired their knowledge through many years of development and have an uncanny ability to adapt. Yes, they exist, but let's face it: a company that posts an ad like this is shooting itself in the foot.

Let's talk about these ads: between companies looking for a rockstar intern and those offering the salary of a junior partner, the difference is easy to see. As we sometimes notice on social networks and other job boards, a mess has been created around the phenomenon, and the situation has gotten out of hand. Companies then seized this notion to give themselves a "cool" look. The "rockstar" developer, sometimes referred to a "ninja" or "guru," becomes the rare pearl sought by all. That's where it gets annoying. Remember: these are RARE! In the end, announcements like this certainly didn't serve the interest of companies and developers. 

The boomerang effect

First, because "Alone we go faster, together we go further." Instead of focusing on creating a close-knit team of developers with high potential, we leave all the knowledge and technology of a company in the hands of one person. That's what we call "living dangerously."

Imagine the impact on developers looking for work who stumble across this kind of ad? They're likely to steer clear! In addition to the fear of running into people who know nothing about code and have requirements that are close to voodooism, it's also sure to anguish developers themselves. If "not all heroes wear a cape," then why ask a developer to wear a superhero costume every day of the year?

The real rockstar developer is...

When we're searching for a rockstar developer, we should talk about a professional who is seasoned in development techniques, keeps up to date with new trends, and makes sure to stay up to date with languages—and more broadly with the IT sector. What you're really after is simply a developer who takes pleasure in his or her job and who doesn't hesitate to keep learning on the side.

This is the real potential of a candidate or employee: a willingness to continue to learn from a personal as well as professional point of view. Having a professional of this caliber on your team is already a big score. So, let's cut out all the meaningless marketing terms, and let's come back to the essential: the human aspect. 

We can't stress it enough: developers don't work miracles. Just like developers can't turn water into wine, they can't dream up an outlandish solution every day with a super-tight delivery like James Bond. To all the companies reading this: you've been warned! To the developers this time: on nexten.io, these ads simply don't exist, I promise. Come have a look—whether you're looking for a new job, or simply a better one.