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Tech has always gone through boom and bust cycles. At the end of the day though, it's really hard to write good software and we're only going to see demand go u
by malvosenior 7y ago
Tech has always gone through boom and bust cycles. At the end of the day though, it's really hard to write good software and we're only going to see demand go up over time. There may be some bumps in the road, but there will always be new opportunities. I think programmers are one of the only professions not at risk of automation or disruption as all of that is powered by software which maybe 5%-10% of the population has the ability to write and maintain.
- slfnflctd 7y ago> software which maybe 5%-10% of the population has the ability to write and maintain I sure hope you're right about this. I have no doubts on the rest of what you said, but given enough incentives (both push and pull), there may be a lot more latent ability out there than you think. Especially as the on-ramps from raw talent to real productivity keep improving. From my direct personal experience, I suspect there are a bunch of current Uber and Lyft drivers who could definitely code if they had enough reasons to. A lot of them have better social skills than your average coder, too.
- malvosenior 7y agoI used to think most people had the ability to code but ~20 years of managing development has made me reconsider. Most people just really can't deal very well with abstraction and complexity (not to mention things like recursion). I think a lot of people can write some code, but it won't be good and it will require someone more senior to extend, maintain and scale it. So basically the more people who write code, the more in demand those top 10% of people with natural coding ability will be.