When Development Becomes a Trade: Reflections on Identity in Software Careers

It was a throwaway comment. One of those things said in passing that somehow sticks with you longer than it should. A colleague once described development as "just a trade" — no different from plumbing, carpentry, or electrics. And while I’ve always respected the skilled trades, hearing software development reduced to a transaction-based profession unsettled me.

In that moment, a light went on. Or perhaps more accurately, a shadow passed over. Because for the first time in my career, I found myself questioning how I saw my work.

Up until then, I’d always considered software development a craft. A creative and intellectual pursuit that required not just technical acumen but a sense of design, discipline, and empathy. My experience at places like JLT only reinforced that belief. There, we treated software with respect: through process, collaboration, and care. We wrote tests because we valued quality, not because a KPI told us to. We spent time on architecture and documentation because it mattered. It was a profession.

But in the world of contracting, I started to see the "trade" mindset more clearly. Deliverables trumped dialogue. Estimates became binding contracts rather than rough guides. Speed often eclipsed sustainability. And the deeper I went, the more I found myself adapting—reluctantly.

I don’t mean to romanticise the role of a developer. There is a transactional element to any job. But the question that comment raised for me was this: are we cultivating a profession or just servicing a demand?

As a contractor, I’ve come to appreciate both sides. Yes, clients often want results quickly. Yes, there’s a place for pragmatic, no-frills development. But I believe there’s still room for thoughtfulness. Still space for design principles, documentation, and mentorship. Still an audience for well-architected systems.

I now see development as a hybrid. It is a trade in the sense that there are tools to master, patterns to follow, and clients to serve. But it’s also a profession—or at least, it can be—when we treat it that way.

What matters is intention. If we approach each project as a task to be completed as quickly as possible, we’ll build fragile systems and burn out our teams. But if we bring curiosity, discipline, and pride to our work, we elevate it beyond mere trade. We build careers, not just contracts. We lead, rather than follow.

So yes, development can be a trade. But for those of us who care, it can be something much more.