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My experience has been that most people work a lot less and get paid a lot less. Some obviously work more, but in general I’d say programming is a job where you

My experience has been that most people work a lot less and get paid a lot less. Some obviously work more, but in general I’d say programming is a job where you spend most of your time working and little of your time idle. Many entry level jobs have workers spending significant time doing nothing. Salaries and work expectations are built around that. I’d agree it is a privilege to be able to hold a job that works you harder and pays you harder, because I feel most people are not satisfied doing jobs that have them frequently idle, and would choose something with a work-level similar to programming

root_axis 8y ago
> I’d say programming is a job where you spend most of your time working and little of your time idle I have to vehemently disagree with this. I have observed that most programmers work something like 3-6 hours a day and the rest of that time is spent browsing reddit/hn or playing ping-pong or some other distraction. Also, every single place I've worked that pays engineers well also has a culture where engineers take 1-2 hour lunches regularly, not to mention full time or part time work-from-home schedules and unlimited bathroom breaks. Of course, at every organization there are those workhorse developers who drink Soylent and coffee instead of breaking for lunch and leave after the whole office is empty, but they are relatively rare. > Many entry level jobs have workers spending significant time doing nothing. Do you have any examples? I'd argue that your average waiter works harder than your average programmer. Programming jobs require much more specialized expertise but the work itself is about as easy as it gets; and it's also much more forgiving compared to just about every other profession. Certainly, if you're "spending significant time doing nothing" while working at a restaurant, you will be fired very quickly.
- bendbro 8y ago
  I was thinking less along the lines of service industry, and more along the lines of white collar office work. Most of my friends in these roles “work” long hours but actually change very little. This is mirrored by some surveys and reporting I have read about regarding “the rise of bullshit jobs.” One out of the four software companies I have worked at definitely falls into what you have mentioned, so I suspect my view is colored by the others I have worked at, one of which is renowned for “overworking” their programmers.

root_axis 8y ago

> I’d say programming is a job where you spend most of your time working and little of your time idle I have to vehemently disagree with this. I have observed that most programmers work something like 3-6 hours a day and the rest of that time is spent browsing reddit/hn or playing ping-pong or some other distraction. Also, every single place I've worked that pays engineers well also has a culture where engineers take 1-2 hour lunches regularly, not to mention full time or part time work-from-home schedules and unlimited bathroom breaks. Of course, at every organization there are those workhorse developers who drink Soylent and coffee instead of breaking for lunch and leave after the whole office is empty, but they are relatively rare. > Many entry level jobs have workers spending significant time doing nothing. Do you have any examples? I'd argue that your average waiter works harder than your average programmer. Programming jobs require much more specialized expertise but the work itself is about as easy as it gets; and it's also much more forgiving compared to just about every other profession. Certainly, if you're "spending significant time doing nothing" while working at a restaurant, you will be fired very quickly.

bendbro 8y ago
I was thinking less along the lines of service industry, and more along the lines of white collar office work. Most of my friends in these roles “work” long hours but actually change very little. This is mirrored by some surveys and reporting I have read about regarding “the rise of bullshit jobs.” One out of the four software companies I have worked at definitely falls into what you have mentioned, so I suspect my view is colored by the others I have worked at, one of which is renowned for “overworking” their programmers.