3 ms·

> So, lawyer vs programmer, which one is the chump? The paralegal working 80 hours a week is a chump, no doubt. Many lawyers want money and status, and get dis

by gizmo 17y ago

> So, lawyer vs programmer, which one is the chump? The paralegal working 80 hours a week is a chump, no doubt. Many lawyers want money and status, and get disillusioned once they realize not everybody is going to make partner. Most of them didn't enjoy law school much either. So they invest most of their adult waking hours in the law, only to realize at their 32nd birthday that they might not make it. So I think they outchump us.

nzmsv 17y ago
Hmm... I think not being a chump requires the ability to stop and reflect on the situation. We are in an industry obsessed with "ninjas" and "rockstars". The same author who wrote this article bashing long hours has articles about how grades and good knowledge of math are all-important on his site. But these long hours and near-perfect grades really are just a way to compete. So we are in this cutthroat competition. Understanding math you are unlikely to use in real work is a status marker. So are grades. Are they just that? No, just like a shiny BMW is also a good car. But competition in any well-paid career eventually becomes unsustainable (or close to it). Doctors and lawyers are already there, but their fields had more time to get to that point.
- Tamerlin 17y ago
  "But these long hours and near-perfect grades really are just a way to compete." The only thing that the long hours are competing for is favor from managers who don't have the faintest idea as to what a competent programmer does. I've said it before, but it bears repeating due to context -- the best managers would get rid of the workaholics, and yet most managers reward them.
  - arethuza 17y ago
    My own pet theory is that bugs are far more likely to be created late at night than at any other time.
    - Tamerlin 17y ago
      There's probably enough bad code out there, and plenty of sweatshops, so the data's already there for the analyzing :) The catch is, who's going to do it? The ones who are creating the bugs are too busy creating the bugs, and the folks who just get their job done and go on with their lives probably don't care. :)

by gizmo 17y ago

nzmsv 17y ago

Hmm... I think not being a chump requires the ability to stop and reflect on the situation. We are in an industry obsessed with "ninjas" and "rockstars". The same author who wrote this article bashing long hours has articles about how grades and good knowledge of math are all-important on his site. But these long hours and near-perfect grades really are just a way to compete. So we are in this cutthroat competition. Understanding math you are unlikely to use in real work is a status marker. So are grades. Are they just that? No, just like a shiny BMW is also a good car. But competition in any well-paid career eventually becomes unsustainable (or close to it). Doctors and lawyers are already there, but their fields had more time to get to that point.

Tamerlin 17y ago
"But these long hours and near-perfect grades really are just a way to compete." The only thing that the long hours are competing for is favor from managers who don't have the faintest idea as to what a competent programmer does. I've said it before, but it bears repeating due to context -- the best managers would get rid of the workaholics, and yet most managers reward them.
- arethuza 17y ago
  My own pet theory is that bugs are far more likely to be created late at night than at any other time.
  - Tamerlin 17y ago
    There's probably enough bad code out there, and plenty of sweatshops, so the data's already there for the analyzing :) The catch is, who's going to do it? The ones who are creating the bugs are too busy creating the bugs, and the folks who just get their job done and go on with their lives probably don't care. :)