Did you used to be a Software Developer?

I wonder if people in other professions, like, say, brick-masons, often hear from others that they used to be brick-layers too. It's amazing how often we hear people say that they were a Software Developer in a past life, and therefore know how hard, long, etc we will have to work to get a project done.

I've seen some of these people's code, and it's rather disheartening to hear people that couldn't tell a linked-list from a hashtable say they could do your job.

Story time: A co-worker, who is a .Net web developer, went to a family reunion a few months ago and was told by an Aunt, "Oh, you make web pages don't you? My (relative) just recently started making web pages. I bet she could do your job."

News flash: Just because you poured some concrete in your backyard one Saturday afternoon doesn't qualify you to tell a master stone-mason how to craft a stone archway.

But hey, people like that build character, right? :-)