5 ms·

a way of demonstrating that I know something It's the expectation that you need to demonstrate it at all, is the problem. How many lawyers sue people for fun s

by gaius 9y ago

a way of demonstrating that I know something It's the expectation that you need to demonstrate it at all, is the problem. How many lawyers sue people for fun so they can blog about it, how many doctors do surgery at home and stream "live cutting"? We have created a treadmill that we can't step off

Consultant32452 9y ago
I think this is largely a myth. I don't have any of my work in a public space. In my area I'm in the top 5% of the salary range. Maybe this is more prominent in silicon valley? I've personally never even been asked for any kind of portfolio.
intro-b 9y ago
to be fair, the bimodality in the population of lawyers/doctors is an "are you in or out" system that comes from the generally outdated and arduous graduate credentials for these careers administered by bureaucratic boards. medical school, law school, and so on, are all extremely costly investments of time and capital for a shot at attaining that professional certification, and there's generally little recourse if you continually fail. "software developer," as a label, doesn't signal that kind of credentialing (although something like advanced degree might), so our labor to differentiate ourselves goes elsewhere. i don't want to imply that this isn't a problem for our profession, but the amount of "wow we software engineers have it so difficult" sentiment in this thread seems high
- gaius 9y ago
  "software developer," as a label, doesn't signal that kind of credentialing (although something like advanced degree might) A degree from a well-known school and a few years at one or more prestigious companies is an equivalent. Let's imagine a hypothetical developer who graduated from MIT then spent 3 years at Google. He or she would be as "credentialled" in the sense of the piece of paper opening doors as someone who'd gone the law school route and passed the Bar. That person will pass every resume-screen and get invited to an interview for the rest of their careers with just those two names listed.

by gaius 9y ago

Consultant32452 9y ago

I think this is largely a myth. I don't have any of my work in a public space. In my area I'm in the top 5% of the salary range. Maybe this is more prominent in silicon valley? I've personally never even been asked for any kind of portfolio.

intro-b 9y ago

to be fair, the bimodality in the population of lawyers/doctors is an "are you in or out" system that comes from the generally outdated and arduous graduate credentials for these careers administered by bureaucratic boards. medical school, law school, and so on, are all extremely costly investments of time and capital for a shot at attaining that professional certification, and there's generally little recourse if you continually fail. "software developer," as a label, doesn't signal that kind of credentialing (although something like advanced degree might), so our labor to differentiate ourselves goes elsewhere. i don't want to imply that this isn't a problem for our profession, but the amount of "wow we software engineers have it so difficult" sentiment in this thread seems high

gaius 9y ago
"software developer," as a label, doesn't signal that kind of credentialing (although something like advanced degree might) A degree from a well-known school and a few years at one or more prestigious companies is an equivalent. Let's imagine a hypothetical developer who graduated from MIT then spent 3 years at Google. He or she would be as "credentialled" in the sense of the piece of paper opening doors as someone who'd gone the law school route and passed the Bar. That person will pass every resume-screen and get invited to an interview for the rest of their careers with just those two names listed.