131–140 of 276 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Show me the doctor who never uses software to do their jobs.
I think programmers who put their skills to use for such purposes should indeed get better pay.
I think you make several excellent points, and I unexpectedly found myself agreeing with you. I thought $150k was a lot of money, but had never stopped to think about the fact that the other alumni of my school who became doctors are making far more. I think the reason we're seeing this is that programming has been commoditized quite successfully by an industry that saw they needed programmers but that did not know h…
Doctors work absurd hours for years, then many go on to keep working absurd hours.
Doctors who don't run practices don't make the same paychecks, and again, same works for coders. If you don't run a consulting house, don't plan on making 200-500k a year.
My girlfriend's a finance lawyer for a really big firm, she earns about 50% more than me and I image that in a couple of years will probably earn even more. To get this she is required to work any weekend clients need her to (even if it means cancelling a planned holiday), any evening they need her to (pretty much all of them) and she has to read boring stuff constantly. I on the other hand finish work after my 40 ho…
I'd say software consulting is the sweet spot, your effectively hourly rates catch up to finance rates in a few years of productive operation in a hot field. The few months I worked like a finance guy made me realize I do not like money as much as I thought I did.
I think one of the reasons programmers are not paid as much is that by and large, we are seen as interchangeable cogs. There are definitely exceptions, but I think the companies that think this way are large enough to set the market rate. For example, I used to work for a large defense company that probably had more software engineers than every startup in the world combined (we hired 10% of all CS graduates in the c…
If management can't see the difference in value-add between a seasoned hacker and a new CS graduate, they won't pay for it.
This is a fantastic post. It is well written, and I agree with many of the authors points. Far from being angry, I think that the majority of people reading here on HN actually appreciate this type of critical analysis, and I think that it is a shame that it had to be posted on a throwaway account. However, I would like to present some alternative viewpoints for a few of the issues brought up in this post. "As a doct…
I think you make several excellent points, and I unexpectedly found myself agreeing with you. I thought $150k was a lot of money, but had never stopped to think about the fact that the other alumni of my school who became doctors are making far more. I think the reason we're seeing this is that programming has been commoditized quite successfully by an industry that saw they needed programmers but that did not know h…
"but had never stopped to think about the fact that the other alumni of my school who became doctors are making far more." A CS degree, which many programmers don't even have, takes 4 years. There are quite a few 'programming' jobs for which having a CS degree is being overqualified , but let's say that a CS degree is the baseline. To become an MD, with the specialties that pay the amounts mentioned here, one needs t…
I don't know where you can get a good programming job if you don't even have a university degree. You can certainly freelance, but then there are no guarantees.
The more frequently picture is that, to get a really good job (at Google, for example) you frequently need a MSc, and not few software engineers have a PhD too.
HFT programmers earn a lot, so its all about creating value http://j.mp/p6Sl45
Computer programming is one of the very, very few fields where you can make a lot of money doing very little work without having even a GED.
Plenty of programmers make 80-100k/yr, and a great number of lawyers make less than that. How many state-level attorneys make In summary, programmers have other advantages than pay, and still get paid rather well considering the low barrier to entry in that profession. My work situation is pretty plum, and I don't exactly have a formidable resume. I'm grateful. If I were aiming to be a doctor, lawyer, or accountant, I'd still be in school. And in the long term, I'll end up making more than if I pursued one of those paths, I'd wager.
This is a fantastic post. It is well written, and I agree with many of the authors points. Far from being angry, I think that the majority of people reading here on HN actually appreciate this type of critical analysis, and I think that it is a shame that it had to be posted on a throwaway account. However, I would like to present some alternative viewpoints for a few of the issues brought up in this post. "As a doct…
Funnily enough, many political representatives in China are engineers.
One data point: companies that hire programmers seem to work a lot harder at making it a fun/good place to work than companies that hire laywers. Perhaps programming is just more fun?
Right or wrong, a popular perception in the USA is that a lawyer wears nice clothes to work, and likes to unwind with a round of golf, fine scotch, and a cigar. Whereas a programmer is an overgrown teenager, wearing ripped jeans, playing video games, and drinking Red Bull. Of course the lawyer should earn more than that guy.