Yes, but focus on maths, correctness, robustness and other things rather simply slinging code.
Ask HN: Would you enter Software Engineering again if starting from zero today?
11–16 of 16 posts
Re: Ask HN: Would you enter Software Engineering again if starting from zero today?
#12I'm not sure. Why?
1) our profession is not respected and has no social status
2) pay is generally not that great compared to other professions (e.g. law)
3) you work for managers or clients who have no clue of how hard this job is and how long everything takes / how complex it is
4) your peers do not know how to negotiate and undercut themselves which results in a losing race to the bottom for everyone
5) young profession without unions
Re: Ask HN: Would you enter Software Engineering again if starting from zero today?
#13If I had to start over I’d study mathematics and economics as my primary fields, and programming as a deep skill.
Then I could just find ways to make money easily and also understand math at a much deeper which is something I believe has kept me from getting further faster.
Re: Ask HN: Would you enter Software Engineering again if starting from zero today?
#14I'm not sure. Why? 1) our profession is not respected and has no social status 2) pay is generally not that great compared to other professions (e.g. law) 3) you work for managers or clients who have no clue of how hard this job is and how long everything takes / how complex it is 4) your peers do not know how to negotiate and undercut themselves which results in a losing race to the bottom for everyone 5) young prof…
> our profession is not respected and has no social status
I'm going to disagree. I'm also going to assume there's a bit of hyperbole here. While the profession doesn't carry the same clout as a doctor or lawyer, people will generally think you are intelligent and educated when you tell them you are a software developer. Also if you work at a well-known company, and especially if you work on a well-known project, people will look up to you.
The profession itself is mid-tier, but there are plenty of opportunities within the field to have a high status position.
Re: Ask HN: Would you enter Software Engineering again if starting from zero today?
#15I'd probably look at going into business as a major with tech as a minor (opposite of what I did). I'm not sure it would make any difference though. It seems I just suck at everything.
Re: Ask HN: Would you enter Software Engineering again if starting from zero today?
#16I don't think anyone - including cutting edge AI researchers - knows enough to answer that question fully. If AI perfects its current abilities which is basically "intelligent autocomplete" then being a software developer will continue much as before except with less drudgery. Things like remembering how to write a linked list won't be useful skills anymore. The focus will switch to architecture rather than writing a…
> Things like remembering how to write a linked list won't be useful skills anymore. The focus will switch to architecture rather than writing algorithms. Designing and testing systems rather than rewriting the same sort and search algorithms over and over in slightly different contexts.
This is already the case with libraries. Who implements a sort method outside of an interview?