What happened to all the non-programmers? • Hacker News Board

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#121

Post by jnbiche » Thu, Mar 05, 2015, 5:32 PM UTC

usaar333 wrote: post #56

jnbiche wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even with those fancy 6 figure salaries... And I hate to break to it you Google and Facebook employees, but your salary ain't that great when you factor in cost-of-living. There are many, many thousands of devs across America making much more than you once you account for cost-of-living (and you should). But between the proven wage suppression, ageism, and now this passing meme that somehow making $100,000 in the m…

This really depends on where you are in life. Cost of living calculations tend to not work well with individual preferences and situations. In this case, it depends on how much living space desired. Generally speaking, the premium a single programmer makes for living in the Silicon Valley makes it worth being there. If said programmer is happy living with roommates, all the more so. However, the premium must be highe…

> However, the premium must be higher for someone with dependents due to the desire to have more living space

It has virtually nothing to do living space and everything to do with schools. To live in an area with decent schools, you pay a huge rent for even small homes or apartments.

But I give you credit, you're the only one who responded who even considered the cost of dependents, which makes a massive difference.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#122

Post by zaccus » Thu, Mar 05, 2015, 6:27 PM UTC

mattnewport wrote: post #68

ripb wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK it's basically if you work for wages and/or in low skilled or manual labour.

Working for wages is not enough to qualify: doctor, university professor, airline pilot, solicitor... All traditionally firmly middle class professions despite working for a living.

Traditionally, middle class has always meant that you own your own business.

A hot dog vendor who owns their own cart is middle class. A doctor who works for a hospital is not. It has nothing to do with income or prestige.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#123

Post by mattnewport » Thu, Mar 05, 2015, 9:14 PM UTC

zaccus wrote: post #122

mattnewport wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working for wages is not enough to qualify: doctor, university professor, airline pilot, solicitor... All traditionally firmly middle class professions despite working for a living.

Traditionally, middle class has always meant that you own your own business. A hot dog vendor who owns their own cart is middle class. A doctor who works for a hospital is not. It has nothing to do with income or prestige.

We're talking about the UK here, I've never heard that definition in the UK and any definition of middle class that excludes doctors in the UK seems way out of line with how the term is generally used in my experience.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#124

Post by simoncion » Sun, Mar 08, 2015, 1:10 AM UTC

randomdata wrote: post #77

simoncion wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible that austenallred can't relate well to farmers. It's also possible that he's like me in that he lived in a small town that had very few (or no) farmers. I've lived in The Sticks, surrounded by farmers.[0] I've also lived in small towns that contain no more than a couple of farmers. I'm not claiming that every small town lacks farmers, but I do know that some of them do. [0] It's hard to say that you're…

austenallred stated it was a farming community, but you are right that not all small communities are farming communities.

Oh, geez. Some times I forget how to read. Sorry. :(

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#125

Post by simoncion » Sun, Mar 08, 2015, 1:13 AM UTC

austenallred wrote: post #80

simoncion wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible that austenallred can't relate well to farmers. It's also possible that he's like me in that he lived in a small town that had very few (or no) farmers. I've lived in The Sticks, surrounded by farmers.[0] I've also lived in small towns that contain no more than a couple of farmers. I'm not claiming that every small town lacks farmers, but I do know that some of them do. [0] It's hard to say that you're…

It was definitely a farming community; almost the entire town either farmed alfalfa for the biggest farm in town (my father-in-law's, incidentally), or had very small dairy farms. You either had a very small farm/ranch, herded sheep, or were a "sprinkler boy." It was/is definitely on the "dying" side of the innovation curve, though somehow those types hold on seemingly indefinitely on almost nothing (which I certainl…

At times, I forget how to read. Sorry about that.

The phenomenon of zombie towns is one that mystifies me.