3 ms·

I've had this thought before. What's software development if not a trade? I don't want to say that work gets dumbed down, but one hundred years ago a store cler

I've had this thought before. What's software development if not a trade? I don't want to say that work gets dumbed down, but one hundred years ago a store clerk was a solidly middle-class job, now it's not. Maybe a more relevant example. My grandfather was an accountant. What he did for most of his career, bookkeepers do now. What he did at the end of his career was basically law and banking. The electronic spreadsheet took care the gruntwork he used to do

the_cat_kittles 10y ago
absolutely. but even today there are master craftsmen, as respected as ever. i think software developers will see the same thing- lots of jobs will become menial, but the best will still be highly sought after.
hackuser 10y ago
What's the difference between a system administrator and a plumber? I don't mean it as the first line in a joke.
- flukus 10y ago
  The plumber can't execute change-washer.sh and have his job done in 1 second. The plumber can't use "down time" to proactively solve future issues. A sysadmin does have a higher level of abstraction available to them.
  - dozzie 10y ago
    > The plumber can't use "down time" to proactively solve future issues. Oh, but he surely can, replacing a valve that is known for going to break in near future for instance, or putting a different one with additional safety features. > A sysadmin does have a higher level of abstraction available to them. Mainly because sysadmin works with immaterial things (software) (and some of sysadmins also work with hardware). Sysadmins really have similarities with plumbers.
    - flukus 10y ago
      > Oh, but he surely can, replacing a valve that is known for going to break in near future for instance, or putting a different one with additional safety features. Doing that change will cause downtime. The sysadmin can write a script to make the change and avoid the downtime.
- thehardsphere 10y ago
  One of them has a license.

the_cat_kittles 10y ago

absolutely. but even today there are master craftsmen, as respected as ever. i think software developers will see the same thing- lots of jobs will become menial, but the best will still be highly sought after.

hackuser 10y ago

What's the difference between a system administrator and a plumber? I don't mean it as the first line in a joke.

flukus 10y ago
The plumber can't execute change-washer.sh and have his job done in 1 second. The plumber can't use "down time" to proactively solve future issues. A sysadmin does have a higher level of abstraction available to them.
- dozzie 10y ago
  > The plumber can't use "down time" to proactively solve future issues. Oh, but he surely can, replacing a valve that is known for going to break in near future for instance, or putting a different one with additional safety features. > A sysadmin does have a higher level of abstraction available to them. Mainly because sysadmin works with immaterial things (software) (and some of sysadmins also work with hardware). Sysadmins really have similarities with plumbers.
  - flukus 10y ago
    > Oh, but he surely can, replacing a valve that is known for going to break in near future for instance, or putting a different one with additional safety features. Doing that change will cause downtime. The sysadmin can write a script to make the change and avoid the downtime.
thehardsphere 10y ago
One of them has a license.