Ask HN: How do you suggest we technologists get our industry back?

At least on Hacker News, it's well-known that we (technologists) work in conditions of low autonomy, answer to arrogant non-technical forces, don't get to pick our tools or projects, are often forced to deal with awful legacy complexity that any reasonable person would discard, and generally have pretty miserable working lives. We make half-decent (but not great, especially considering what we have to deal with) money, but often find that some VP/NTWTFK (Non-Technical Who-The-Fuck-Knows) is getting higher salary and ten times as much equity.

It has to end. And we have the talent to stop the world if we want to do so.

I'd like to ask the crowd, to source some new ideas: what do you suggest that we do to win back the autonomy that is rightfully ours? What's the best idea you can come up with for how to restore our industry to decency? How do we get back the autonomy originally associated with software development, when it was an R&D job? How do we professionalize to such an extent that we answer only to our own, as attorneys and physicians do? What do we do to shame (one hopes, out of existence) the phony startups where VP/NTWTFK's outearn programmers by a factor of 10?

Do you have a personal plan to contribute to fixing this? Or am I completely insane for thinking this cause is still worth fighting for?

After careful consideration I've come up with a three step plan to solve all of this -

1) Love yourself, but less. We can't "stop the world if you want to", almost 100% of developers just aren't that special, most struggle to make the same CRUD apps over and over again.

2) If you don't like your job find another one, if you've got the stones create your own job, if you can't do either of those things then find something to look forward to when you clock out.

3) If someone above you undeservedly makes more than you go to www.facebook.com and join the group called "Everyone except Larry Ellison".

Then you'll find peace.

This problem is not confined to the technology industry. Many other skilled professionals such as psychiatrists and teachers are in the same situation.

Making a trade guild is one option, but it may cause one set of useless bureaucrats to be replaced by another. I think it is a good thing that even college dropouts can be successful in the software industry.

One option may be to change the terminology that we use to talk about computer programming. The terminology used to explain technology was designed to sell computers back when computers were foreign, frightening, and expensive. Words like "Enterprise Architecture" were designed to sell millions of dollars worth of computers and make it seem as if someone with little knowledge would never be in over their head in dense logic.

Technological populism got a computer into everybody's pocket, but I think that instead of watering down logic when presenting computers to a nontechnical person, we should take the core of programming and have them look at each aspect slowly and clearly. This will show people that although anybody can understand computers, you yourself do not. Although C is complicated, a topic such as how ascii characters work is understandable by a nontechnical person.

Also, programmers could simply refuse to work with jerks, but if that is not happening during a huge boom, then it will definitely not happen once the industry looses steam.

This is a good article on the topic by Adm. Hyman "I would sink them all" Rickover. http://www.wholeearth.com/issue/2034/article/399/doing.a.job

I work with people like you describe. I'm not saying your plan is not working out for you. But I'm willing to be you are not an enthusiast. You work for a living, and are interested in the things that work brings, not the work itself.

Do you understand how awful it is to work with people who are only trying to do a job, won't take any risks, and are generally satisfied? It absolutely sucks trying to make a difference and getting stuck on a team with casual, 8-5 coders who want to dumb down every project, add limits and impose process because that supports their goals of just keeping a job. And it's not about having 'fun challenges.' I can find enough fun challenges at my home with a few books to waste the entire rest of my life.

"WE technologists","it's well-known that WE","answer to arrogant non-technical forces","forced","miserable working lives","half-decent money","what WE have to deal with","non-technical Who-The-Fuck-Knows","We have the talent to stop the world if WE want to do so","WE do to win back","rightfully ours","restore OUR industry","WE answer only to our own","WE do to SHAME...out of existence","phony startups".

How about you start showing some respect for other people's work?We have something called Diversity, ok?Some people are engineers, some doctors..some make more money than you, some don't.Fair or not, this is how the world works.

You can't just come here and say "WE" in order to make us feel we are on the same boat.Speak for yourself.And your attitude makes me sick.I mean, who do you think you are?the architect of the world(speaking of arrogance)?Who are you to say what's "rightfully yours" and what's not?Your post is so insulting that I won't even bother talking about the rest of it.No wonder you're so frustrated.

One thing is for sure though: I would never work with someone with a personality like yours.And by the looks of it not many people do.