4 ms·

The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding

17 points by jchanimal 9y ago

ravitation 9y ago
> sling JavaScript for their local bank That's a scary phrase. And I think why it's scary is also why "coding" isn't going to be a "blue-collar" job... There's a serious disconnect between what building modern software is and what the author thinks "coding" is.
- michaelchisari 9y ago
  > "coding" isn't going to be a "blue-collar" job It already is. Sure, the higher levels incorporate architecture, engineering, mathematics, etc. But 90% of people in this world who need a coder don't need that. They need someone to build something solid that works. They want an events calendar for Wordpress, a sign-up sheet, a simple 2D game, etc.
  - ravitation 9y ago
    So many things... > They need someone to build something solid that works. That takes more than "slinging some code" around. Enough that it would qualify as not "blue-collar"... And costs more than most might think... > a simple 2D game Pretty sure that's an oxymoron.
    - michaelchisari 9y ago
      > That takes more than "slinging some code" around. Enough that it would qualify as not "blue-collar"... No, it requires solid craftsmanship using tools and methods that are well-established. You may want to check out a woodworking conference and see if you feel the same way about skilled blue collar work afterwards. > Pretty sure that's an oxymoron. I've built 2D games in a weekend, they're as difficult as you want them to be. If a company wants to build a simple promotional web game using Phaser.js, that's a pretty straight-forward task.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    - mto 9y ago
      Yeah but small companies hired the 17 year old neighbor kid to write them some access/visual basic tool or a simple website ever since... And the world's still standing ;). Much of the crap I wrote 20 years back when I was in the position of the neighbor kid is even still up and running...
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    - xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago
      Is Trump the most eloquent politician. Is bieber a musical genius ala Bach. Is mcdonalds fine dining. Not a single field that ever was has amicable correlation in regards to position to talent or knowledge. Yet the ones mentioned own their fields. Likewise it hasn't totally fucked up society either. We will deal with it and compensate where we can. This might even be human nature or the natural evolution off things. As a coder one must see that it's statistically highly unlikely that after millennia of society turning out this way, now is going to be the nexus point in time where we find our figurative salvation. If one cannot take this into account, one should perhaps evaluate their own critical thinking skills.
- nerdponx 9y ago
  Why is it scary? Coding is a skilled trade like any other.
  - ravitation 9y ago
    You're right. What could go wrong just? Just "sling some code" around and and slap together a front-end for managing people's money.
    - nerdponx 9y ago
      You could say the same thing about electrical work, carpentry, welding, and vehicle repair.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
michaelchisari 9y ago
Digital carpentry. I've been saying it for decades now.
- Moshe_Silnorin 9y ago
  I don't agree. To put it bluntly, I think there is a much higher floor for intelligence in even basic programming below which one has negative productivity. I think it is at least in the 90th percentile of intelligence and maybe a little higher. It will never be blue collar work.
  - michaelchisari 9y ago
    I think you underestimate good carpentry.
  - 0xBA5ED 9y ago
    You greatly overestimate the difficulty. The knowledge to write programs for various platforms is commonplace now. There is too much incentive and too many learning resources at our fingertips for it not to be. You'll have to move into AI, cryptography, or template libraries or something if you want to feel special.
dang 9y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13604551 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13604551
jijji 9y ago
i would love to find a blue collar job that pays the $175/hr i make as a software engineer. good luck on that my friend.
- uoaei 9y ago
  There seems to be a big jump between being a "coder" and being a "software engineer." One slaps together basic frontends, the other scrutinizes over architecture and performance.
  - xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago
    The average painter can't construct his own pallette and canvas. The average guitarist don't know shit about building a guitar, amp or pedals, which are electrical engineering and woodwork. We come to accept these, I don't see why this would be any different.
ajm017 9y ago
This is wishful thinking. The whole point of software is to automate the repetitive, predictable, boring parts of any task, allowing people to focus on the more unpredictable, creative aspects of it. Software development is specially prone to go through this dynamic, since it's a task software developers know very well. Simple tasks that can be completed by "just typing" are good candidates for automation.
petraeus 9y ago
Quite the claim without any statistics to back it up, perhaps wired writers are now blue collar workers? What percentage of professional 'coders' earning > $81,000 per year are college grads vs university grads? I'm willing to bet its not going to support this hypothesis.

17 points by jchanimal 9y ago

> sling JavaScript for their local bank That's a scary phrase. And I think why it's scary is also why "coding" isn't going to be a "blue-collar" job... There's a serious disconnect between what building modern software is and what the author thinks "coding" is.

michaelchisari 9y ago
> "coding" isn't going to be a "blue-collar" job It already is. Sure, the higher levels incorporate architecture, engineering, mathematics, etc. But 90% of people in this world who need a coder don't need that. They need someone to build something solid that works. They want an events calendar for Wordpress, a sign-up sheet, a simple 2D game, etc.
- ravitation 9y ago
  So many things... > They need someone to build something solid that works. That takes more than "slinging some code" around. Enough that it would qualify as not "blue-collar"... And costs more than most might think... > a simple 2D game Pretty sure that's an oxymoron.
  - michaelchisari 9y ago
    > That takes more than "slinging some code" around. Enough that it would qualify as not "blue-collar"... No, it requires solid craftsmanship using tools and methods that are well-established. You may want to check out a woodworking conference and see if you feel the same way about skilled blue collar work afterwards. > Pretty sure that's an oxymoron. I've built 2D games in a weekend, they're as difficult as you want them to be. If a company wants to build a simple promotional web game using Phaser.js, that's a pretty straight-forward task.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - mto 9y ago
    Yeah but small companies hired the 17 year old neighbor kid to write them some access/visual basic tool or a simple website ever since... And the world's still standing ;). Much of the crap I wrote 20 years back when I was in the position of the neighbor kid is even still up and running...
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago
    Is Trump the most eloquent politician. Is bieber a musical genius ala Bach. Is mcdonalds fine dining. Not a single field that ever was has amicable correlation in regards to position to talent or knowledge. Yet the ones mentioned own their fields. Likewise it hasn't totally fucked up society either. We will deal with it and compensate where we can. This might even be human nature or the natural evolution off things. As a coder one must see that it's statistically highly unlikely that after millennia of society turning out this way, now is going to be the nexus point in time where we find our figurative salvation. If one cannot take this into account, one should perhaps evaluate their own critical thinking skills.
nerdponx 9y ago
Why is it scary? Coding is a skilled trade like any other.
- ravitation 9y ago
  You're right. What could go wrong just? Just "sling some code" around and and slap together a front-end for managing people's money.
  - nerdponx 9y ago
    You could say the same thing about electrical work, carpentry, welding, and vehicle repair.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]

michaelchisari 9y ago

Digital carpentry. I've been saying it for decades now.

Moshe_Silnorin 9y ago
I don't agree. To put it bluntly, I think there is a much higher floor for intelligence in even basic programming below which one has negative productivity. I think it is at least in the 90th percentile of intelligence and maybe a little higher. It will never be blue collar work.
- michaelchisari 9y ago
  I think you underestimate good carpentry.
- 0xBA5ED 9y ago
  You greatly overestimate the difficulty. The knowledge to write programs for various platforms is commonplace now. There is too much incentive and too many learning resources at our fingertips for it not to be. You'll have to move into AI, cryptography, or template libraries or something if you want to feel special.

dang 9y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13604551 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13604551

jijji 9y ago

i would love to find a blue collar job that pays the $175/hr i make as a software engineer. good luck on that my friend.

uoaei 9y ago
There seems to be a big jump between being a "coder" and being a "software engineer." One slaps together basic frontends, the other scrutinizes over architecture and performance.
- xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago
  The average painter can't construct his own pallette and canvas. The average guitarist don't know shit about building a guitar, amp or pedals, which are electrical engineering and woodwork. We come to accept these, I don't see why this would be any different.

ajm017 9y ago

This is wishful thinking. The whole point of software is to automate the repetitive, predictable, boring parts of any task, allowing people to focus on the more unpredictable, creative aspects of it. Software development is specially prone to go through this dynamic, since it's a task software developers know very well. Simple tasks that can be completed by "just typing" are good candidates for automation.

petraeus 9y ago

Quite the claim without any statistics to back it up, perhaps wired writers are now blue collar workers? What percentage of professional 'coders' earning > $81,000 per year are college grads vs university grads? I'm willing to bet its not going to support this hypothesis.