Most programming projects involve working in a team, and a significant amount of time is spent communicating with others on one's team. Relatively few programming projects involve the construction of a brand-new application. Most projects tend to involve the maintenance of an existing application. By maintenance, we mean fixing bugs, adding new features, improving the user interface, etc. Consequently, programmers must be able to read and modify someone else's existing code, and produce readable code of their own.
Programming is a common entry point for people starting out in the computer science field.
While it is possible to stay in this area for an entire career, many move on to either management or systems analysis positions. Skills Required Clearly, some programming experience is necessary. The amount of programming courses needed depends heavily on the actual job. Some companies require a degree in a computer-oriented field, but others are willing to train people who they deem to be good prospects. Communication skills, teamwork abilities, problems solving skills and algorithm development skills are extremely important, and tend to be much more important in hiring for an entry-level position than raw programming skills.