Getting Credit for Programming Accomplishments? 148
An anonymous reader writes "I am a college student new to corporate culture. For the last few weeks, I have been working on a very large project: revamping our customer service website with tons of new tutorials and information. Recently, I got an e-mail forwarded from my supervisor of improvements that HIS supervisor requested. I am fine with compliments and complaints about my work. However, I realized in the e-mail that my supervisor took credit for the development of this content. I have been under his direct supervision in this whole process; much of the new content was his idea that I ended up implementing. Is it out of line to request that in the future I get mentioned for my work?"
Well... (Score:5, Informative)
Out of line? Maybe... it depends on your corporate culture. I would never make the suggestion at my current employer, but YMMV.
Generally, though, it doesn't make any sense to do so. Even if you're successful in getting your supervisor to mention you, his supervisor is more than likely going to response with "Who?" or "That's nice..." or something equivalent.
In my relatively short career, I've learned to appreciate recognition when it comes by, but to never expect it.
Re:Pretty normal (Score:5, Informative)
Good points here (Score:3, Informative)
I am the original asker. I know it's hard to trust ACs but I speak the truth :)
I want to clarify this has nothing to do with programming, it's adding tutorials etc. to a website. The programming thing must have been added by editors.
Many have mentioned how he would take the heat if something bad happened under his supervision. I have definitely seen him do this and can recognize the tradeoff a lot better now. I see what you all mean, my recognition is eventual promotion/raise from my direct supervisor, not some guy who's seen me twice reading my name in an e-mail. However, 7 bucks an hour for this work seems kinda small but that's another story :)
Re:Although Pretty Normal He Can Change It (Score:2, Informative)
I'm the asker, I know it's hard to trust ACs but I speak the truth (see my other response below).
To clarify, he just told me "make tutorials for x, y, and z program." I then went on to go through the process, take screenshots, and carefully explain everything just in case the user was very new at this. I agree that it's not worth it to ask for the credit, I got some really good answers in this discussion that helped me see the bigger picture. I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't merely translating a Word doc into html or something similar.
India & $10 an hour (Score:2, Informative)
There must be talented web developers over there, but I have never run across any of them in any project I've been associated with.
Instead we've gotten back code that included ( unapproved ) javascript libraries with CC non-commercial licenses ( did I mention they were working on corporate tools ), sometimes with all the licensing and identifying comments removed... but method names and file names unchanged.
600K CSS files with class names like 'myClass', and multiple - stacked - browser hacks. Php with references like 'myVar' , 'var1' and 'foo'.
Companies learn, but they have to learn the hard way. Hiring two contractors to rewrite an app so we can have a prayer of maintaining was a bitter pill, but now I get to say what gets outsourced and to whom
Oh, and so I'm not completely OT - I'd say bite your tongue. If he's a decent guy, you will get credit - even if not in every email. If he's not, do your time, fluff the resume and move on. If you are looking to be a developer, you will almost certainly end up moving a few times before you find your niche anyway.
I'm ( finally ) very happy where I am now, but it took a few times to find the right language, the right environment, and the right people.
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