Someone I know had some issues with a mailing list script (software) that runs from her website. She was having difficulty getting timely support from the developer. So, I gave her the email of a programmer I’ve worked with and told her to contact him. She was a little reluctant because she was a little concerned that she’d be paying the programmer to learn the language before he can fix the issue.

If this worries you, then you need to know, as long as the programmer is familiar with the language your software is written in, for example PHP, CGI, ASP, Visual Basic; It probably won’t take them that long to grasp a gist of what your program is about and to get to work.

The thing is, are you hiring the programmer with the right skills? If you hire someone who is a whiz in ASP, but knows nothing about PHP and your program is in PHP, then chances are he’s not going to be able to fix it. Most programmers I know, would tell you flat out they can’t fix it. They won’t learn PHP just to fix your program. Programming languages are too large and complex to be able to learn overnight so they can fix something for you. It’s highly improbable.

So how do you hire the right person? If you’re posting your job in a place like elance or RentACoder, they usually have a spot for you to check what your software is written in. The bottom line is, when asking for help, or posting any job, make sure you say what language your program is written in. This serves as a qualifier. Someone who isn’t a bit familiar with the language will be unlikely to bid on your job.

Also, be very specific what you want to be done and what the problem is. Saying something like “The software crashes on me” is totally not helpful. It’s like telling your doctor you’re sick. They need more information than that in order to even begin to help you.

If there are any error messages write it down or grab a screenshot. Tell them exactly how the error is produced. Does it happen after you fill out the form? When you load the page? Click a button? If you can give them a step-by-step run through that’s even better. If you have a screen video recorder, record your screen as you go through the motions to product the problem. The more specific you are, the more help it would be and the faster the programmer can find and fix your problem.

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