There is not a shortage of programmers, there is a shortage of inexpensive programmers.
Doesn't that imply that there is a shortage of programmers worth their salary?
A simple way to "get more people to code"
11–20 of 73 posts
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#12I agree that money is the solution to such problems, however reducing the incentive once enough programmers have entered the workforce would compel people to leave the field and do something else. If it was known that this reduction would come, it's likely that it might not have a positive effect on programmers and many people would not necessarily pursue a career in the field.
Also, one has to take into account that most people will just not cut it as programmers, no matter how much time or even practice they may put in.
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#13"Companies could increase the representation of younger people in programming by paying extra money to programmers below a certain age." With ageism being considered "natural", what about giving incentive for old developers to keep coding instead ?
Just pay extra money to all programmers.
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#14This is a rather forceful and coercive way to solve this (alleged) problem. I'd expect to see lots of mediocre labor pop up as a result.
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#15One of the suggested solutions is for companies to raise wages. As far as I know, these companies already pay high five-figures for new, full-time employees.
try six
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#16After 25+ years of coding and reading other people's code I would submit that the REAL problem is that the people who do code don't do it very well, some are downright stupid. There are a lot of people out there who will never be able to produce anything beyond "Hello World" and some will struggle to get that far. What if we focused early on identifying kids with good problem solving skill and other aptitudes that mi…
I don't agree with your approach at all. You seem to start with an assumption that problem solving skill is innate and cannot be learned, which I strongly dispute.
If you focus early on identifying kids with good skill, you might be pushing kids down the wrong path for them, or you might be excluding a lot of kids who will develop greater skill a little later, or exclude those with great creativity that could be applied to coding with a little tuition.
Creating a group of people who are pre-approved for coding careers seems to me like an awful idea. In fact, I believe that this already exists, and that's where your problem comes from.
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#17I believe the "get more people to code" movement wasn't about "we need more programmers". It was about what Alan Kay might call "digital literacy".
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#18There is not a shortage of programmers, there is a shortage of inexpensive programmers.
true. there is a shortage of inexpensive programmers in the US.
More people coding = more entry level programmers that are cheap (because, ya know, outsourcing overseas is a bit of a hassle, H1B is a mess, etc, etc).
There are probably too many fucking programmers...
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#19There is not a shortage of programmers, there is a shortage of inexpensive programmers.
Doesn't that imply that there is a shortage of programmers worth their salary?
Then...drop their salary? Are these companies being run by four-year-olds? "We lured developers with huge compensation packages because we only want rockstars, but we end up losing money on them!" Which is it? Is it a highly valuable skill that everyone should learn (why doesn't the company owner learn it then?), or is it "sneaky non-unionized-and-colluded-against-by-Google-and-Apple developers aren't "worth" their salary?" Gotta pick one.
Some companies are just not the best use of dev time, and should die if they require it to survive. I feel much better saying that about companies than people.
Re: A simple way to "get more people to code"
#20"Companies could increase the representation of younger people in programming by paying extra money to programmers below a certain age." With ageism being considered "natural", what about giving incentive for old developers to keep coding instead ?
Think a few steps further down these lines and you'll be able to separate the people worrying about "teaching everyone to code" into evil (companies looking for cheap labor) and stupid (people thinking there are problems that need solving where there aren't any and it is "solutions" that breed problems, in this case a surplus of professionals in one area at the expense of other areas and the workers who've needlessly entered this one area.)
Or maybe self-serving and naive/idealistic would be better terms. But you get the idea.
Indeed any consistent argument in favor of motivating people to program would at least mention aging programmers and no such mention is to be found, or at least I never noticed it.