Are You More Developer or Designer?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Are You More Developer or Designer?
Image: PeopleImages / E+ / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Most jobs have a way of drawing people of certain personality types. Every job demands a makeup. Some jobs need people who are social, type-A and good at seeing the big picture. Other jobs require introverts with skills in narrow, technical areas and the ability to shut out all other considerations while at work on a single task. Most jobs fall someplace between those two, and it's not a one-for-one gradient. Knowing where you fall on this imperfectly defined spectrum is difficult, but essential when it comes to choosing a career path.

In software development, there are two roles with similar poles, sitting on that same spectrum. Designers are creative people who conceptualize a product, be it an app, a video game or a software as a service suite. Designers aren't always technical people, even if they know a thing or two about computers; they are big picture people who think in terms of the needs for the products they design. 

On the other hand, you have developers, also called programmers. Developers don't need the sensitivity of the designer because knowing what the users want the product for isn't the job of the developer. The developer's job is just to make the piece of the software for which they are responsible. Put it all together, and you have the high tech world we have all around us! Take this quiz, and we'll tell you if you're more designer or developer!

When tasked with painting a room, what's the first question you ask?
Who is going to use this room?
What will this room be used for?
What color makes it easiest to see and act in this room?
Where can I get the brushes, rollers and paint?

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How do you initiate conversation, with the aim of making a new friend?
Just talk to them like they're a human being.
Find a reason to talk, even if it is superficial.
Find a point of commonality and go from there.
Awkwardly stand there until they strike up a conversation.

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What kinds of books do you read for pleasure?
Biographies
Novels
Self-Help books
Graphic novels

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When do you feel most relaxed?
When I feel I understand and am understood
When I feel like everyone is on the same page
When my team understands my wishes
When the parameters of my tasks are clear

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With what would you begin a lesson on bicycle riding?
A side by side demo
An explainer
A tricycle
Training wheels

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When making an argument about a subject in which the facts are up for debate, how do you frame your arguments?
In moral terms
In equitable terms
In rational terms
In legalistic, letter of the law terms

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At what card game are you most skilled?
5 Card Draw Poker
Texas Hold 'Em Poker
Blackjack
Magic: The Gathering

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What is the most essential thing you do in the morning to get ready for your day?
Eat
Shower
Brush my teeth
Get dressed

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Which of these inventions was the most important to human history?
The telephone
The pen
The wire
The computer

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Who do you consider your role model?
Someone who mentored me, after college
A college professor of mine
An industry leader I've never met
A fictional character

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Where do you feel most at home?
At work, on bank holidays
At work, when the team is really humming
On my way home from a job well done
At my desk, buried in work

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In which sort of government job do you think you'd flourish?
Governor
Judge
Prosecutor
Government Accountability Office

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What do you like to do when you have a day off from work?
Work
Unplug completely
Plot my return, and go for a run
Relax in front of a screen

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What sort of problem causes you the least anxiety?
Going over budget
Going over time
Disagreements
Being yelled at

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How do you feel when you walk into a party, realizing you know no one?
Totally fine
Anxious to get mixing
Slightly put off
Very out of place

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Which of these jobs is more or less the ceiling of your professional ambitions?
CEO Chief Executive Officer
COO Chief Operational Officer
CFO Chief Financial Officer
CIO Chief Information Officer

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What kind of cop specialty would interest you the most?
Homicide detective
Booking sergeant
SWAT
Cybercrimes Division

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Which of these kinds of art do you feel you "get"?
Abstract expressionism
Impressionism
Surrealism
Comic book illustration

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What music do you like to listen to while you work?
None
Ambient
Rock and roll
Dance/Techno

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How do you prefer to organize your work space?
I prefer a messy desk, but a standing one.
I like a multi-level desk, loosely organized.
A lot of file cabinets, fairly organized
Neat cubical

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What percentage of your colleagues (everyone you see at work) do you know by name?
100%
75%
50%
30%

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How many face-to-face interactions do you have per day, while on the job?
12
16
6
2

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How closely is your degree related to your job?
It has nothing to do with my profession.
It's a few degrees off from the direction my career took in the end.
It's in the ballpark.
It was for exactly what I do.

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What kind of popular culture do you prefer to consume?
Live music concerts
Great movies
Popular novels
Franchises, like "Game of Thrones" or "The Avengers"

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What genre was the last movie you watched?
Drama
Comedy
Documentary
Action/Adventure

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What strategy do you have for taking care of your health?
It's mostly down to my diet.
I take a lot of supplements and run.
I take my vitamins and bike to work.
I got to the gym in fits.

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If you were to have kids, how would you go about organizing their education?
No screens, no distractions, but let them do what the like in terms of sports, instruments, etc.
Give them the best tutors for all their options and let them make up their minds.
Ensure they have the best technical aids for their work.
Two hours of violin every day! Stand over them while they do their homework! Crack the whip!

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Of the following companies, which would excite you the most, as a prospective employer?
Beyond Meat
Google
Amazon
Cisco Systems

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How would you first go about teaching a child to fish?
Hook one myself and let them play the fish
Set up a floating target and have the child try to cast to it
Show the child what's under the water, using a camera or sonar
Talk through all the steps and let them try

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Which of these is closest to describing your actual job?
COO
Social Media Manager
IT Support
Infrastructure Engineer

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You Got: