Before we get going on the 52-week challenge of becoming a pragmatic programmer, it might be helpful to do a self-assessment to judge where you are today.

Scale:

0 – Strongly Disagree

1 – Disagree

2 – Neutral

3 – Agree

4 – Strongly Agree

Rate yourself on the following statements:

1. I am an early adopter and love trying new things.
2. I am a fast adapter. When given something new I grasp it quickly and am able to integrate it with the rest of my knowledge.
3. I am inquisitive.  I tend to ask lots of questions about how to do things or why they work the way they do.
4. I am a critical thinker. I seek to get the facts and not just accept a statement as truth.
5. I am realistic.  I understand that there is no such thing as an ideal day.  Often things are harder and take longer than expected.
6. I am a Jack of all trades.  I strive to keep abreast of new developments and a broad range of technologies and methodologies even though on my current project I may be a specialist.
7. I see programming as a craft and I care about doing my craft well.
8. I think about my work and think about ways to improve.

 Rate your overall level as a pragmatic programmer on a scale of 1-10 (1 being Journeyman and 10 being Master)

Let the journey begin.