151–160 of 276 posts
Once the fruits of someone else's labor is a concern, you've lost. Stay interested and keep working hard. We're people who build things. Our fortune is a natural one -- not money and not even respect. It's that we are getting paid to learn new things every single day.
True. But if I'm building something for someone else I'd damned well better be getting paid for it.
I'm partial to some of this, but since others here have covered other problems with your argument, I'll limit myself to one of your points that hasn't been dealt with. You say: Is it good for the country that Silicon Valley, arguably the best-performing sector of the economy, has next to no influence in politics Next to no influence in politics? Seriously? All the major software companies (GOOG, MSFT, APPL) spend eno…
I work in DC. Outside of telecom, tech is very under-represented and is ineffective at manipulating the levers of power. It is getting better, but to put Google's 12 people into perspective, the AMA has over 200 DC lobbying staff.
You have to earn respect no matter what profession your in. Zuckerberg is a Coder. Sergey and Larry, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, etc.
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…
> How many lawyers are partners in a big law firm out of the total number of lawyers? How many of these top management consultants clear $500,000? Even with doctors, to be solidly in the above $200,000 layer, you pretty much need your own practice established and smoothly running (with nurses, staff, and everything) -- not every M.D. out there has that, and the effort required to get there is equivalent to the effort…
There are many people who sling code who make as much as a doctor or partner at a law firm. More than a few people on HN fit that description, actually. A partner at a law firm is a businessman first and an individual producer of lawyering second. He has people to do that for him. Many - but not all - ways to do extraordinarily well as a programmer involve becoming a businessman first and a code slinger forty-second.…
That's right. The top "programmers" are entrepreneurs. Or in New York, they're portfolio managers. So it should be obvious that anyone who wants to make lots of money as a programmer should join a start-up or a trading firm.
There are many people who sling code who make as much as a doctor or partner at a law firm. More than a few people on HN fit that description, actually. A partner at a law firm is a businessman first and an individual producer of lawyering second. He has people to do that for him. Many - but not all - ways to do extraordinarily well as a programmer involve becoming a businessman first and a code slinger forty-second.…
My girlfriend and her circle of friends loved Social
Network. If I had reputational stock I'd be IPOing
right now.
The relationship Cost/Benefit ratio works remarkably similarly with a business ipo actually. If you're headed in that direction, I strongly recommend performing in-depth due diligence particularly around the areas of money-management, child-rearing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> How many lawyers are partners in a big law firm out of the total number of lawyers? How many of these top management consultants clear $500,000? Even with doctors, to be solidly in the above $200,000 layer, you pretty much need your own practice established and smoothly running (with nurses, staff, and everything) -- not every M.D. out there has that, and the effort required to get there is equivalent to the effort…
Also guys, doctors are saving lives everyday. I would say as a programmer I do not have a that direct an impact on someone's life. I agree a doctor has to setup their own practice before they make that much money. They also go through a lot of school for a very long time. Comparing a programmer and doctor is not the same in my opinion.
And that school is very expensive. Also, many highly-paid positions carry the risk of getting sued by the patient's side for having made a silly mistake (can happen to anyone) or even for things that were unavoidable but which the patient's side believes otherwise.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least in the U.S., there is no effective pressure by the profession to keep the number of practicing lawyers low.
Ah, you're right. Though while it doesn't put a hard limit on the number of lawyers, it does limit the number somewhat by the requirement that you have to attend 3 years of an accredited university and then pass the bar exam.