5 ms·

How so? Programming is unprecedented in it's power for upwards class mobility. We're just scratching the surface. But it's the only thing we have that: a) does

by amasad 8y ago

How so? Programming is unprecedented in it's power for upwards class mobility. We're just scratching the surface. But it's the only thing we have that: a) doesn't require a lot of resources to make a meaningful contributions (access to a computer and the internet) that could land you a really good job. b) it's probably the only industry that doesn't requires formal education. Case in point, only one person at my company has a CS degree, and that's me.

Boulth 8y ago
> it's probably the only industry that doesn't requires formal education. I think this is because large majority of tasks do not require formal education (proverbial CRUDs etc.). And that's OK. For the record I've got a master degree in CS but I can't remember last time I had to utilize that knowledge. Hobby projects? Sure. But not daily work. Great article by the way! I was also on the side of "it's hard to do PRs and github as resume is a bad idea" but it turns out that it's surprisingly easy to start and the experience of working with people that have similar interests is really fun!
sdoering 8y ago
On the other hand, if you have two shitty jobs to make ends meet, how to program and contribute to OSS after that? There are cases. But most probably are survivorship bias. I would bet, most current IT professionals have a at least lower middle class background. If I take a look at my company, that at last rings true. Not sure about the US, though.
- sodafountan 8y ago
  Quit one job and live below your means. I don't quite understand why people seem to think success doesn't require sacrifice anymore. You can either sacrifice your time and money for a more streamlined education and get a college degree or you can sacrifice a lot of your time and take a risk to self-educate. There's really no middle ground and both strategies can land you a job if you're good, but becoming good always requires effort and some sacrifice.
rectang 8y ago
Can you think of yourself as "fortunate"? People admire and respect those who acknowledge that things worked out well for them, that success isn't inevitable, and that there are many other talented people don't succeed for any number of reasons.
- amasad 8y ago
  Read my other post. Be grateful. https://amasad.me/grateful https://amasad.me/grateful
  - rectang 8y ago
    I enjoyed reading both posts very much! Thank you for writing them. The line about "survivorship bias" also jumped out at me as out of place. It's probably a phrasing thing, but I think granting that survivorship bias could be a factor, even as you assert that it is not a dominant factor, would have made the piece stronger. The way it was phrased seemed to deny the possibility, causing me to raise an eyebrow in skepticism, but that doesn't seem to be what you believe. I absolutely agree with your central thesis that open source can provide a ladder for the underprivileged. At the same time, it's also undeniable that some people are constrained from contributing to open source due to economic and social circumstances, and I don't think those two ideas conflict. Does that make sense?

by amasad 8y ago

Boulth 8y ago

> it's probably the only industry that doesn't requires formal education. I think this is because large majority of tasks do not require formal education (proverbial CRUDs etc.). And that's OK. For the record I've got a master degree in CS but I can't remember last time I had to utilize that knowledge. Hobby projects? Sure. But not daily work. Great article by the way! I was also on the side of "it's hard to do PRs and github as resume is a bad idea" but it turns out that it's surprisingly easy to start and the experience of working with people that have similar interests is really fun!

sdoering 8y ago

On the other hand, if you have two shitty jobs to make ends meet, how to program and contribute to OSS after that? There are cases. But most probably are survivorship bias. I would bet, most current IT professionals have a at least lower middle class background. If I take a look at my company, that at last rings true. Not sure about the US, though.

sodafountan 8y ago
Quit one job and live below your means. I don't quite understand why people seem to think success doesn't require sacrifice anymore. You can either sacrifice your time and money for a more streamlined education and get a college degree or you can sacrifice a lot of your time and take a risk to self-educate. There's really no middle ground and both strategies can land you a job if you're good, but becoming good always requires effort and some sacrifice.

rectang 8y ago

Can you think of yourself as "fortunate"? People admire and respect those who acknowledge that things worked out well for them, that success isn't inevitable, and that there are many other talented people don't succeed for any number of reasons.

amasad 8y ago
Read my other post. Be grateful. https://amasad.me/grateful https://amasad.me/grateful
- rectang 8y ago
  I enjoyed reading both posts very much! Thank you for writing them. The line about "survivorship bias" also jumped out at me as out of place. It's probably a phrasing thing, but I think granting that survivorship bias could be a factor, even as you assert that it is not a dominant factor, would have made the piece stronger. The way it was phrased seemed to deny the possibility, causing me to raise an eyebrow in skepticism, but that doesn't seem to be what you believe. I absolutely agree with your central thesis that open source can provide a ladder for the underprivileged. At the same time, it's also undeniable that some people are constrained from contributing to open source due to economic and social circumstances, and I don't think those two ideas conflict. Does that make sense?