> Programmers are paid surprisingly well given how much work it is to become one People are paid well when what they do is in demand AND few people can (and wa

> Programmers are paid surprisingly well given how much work it is to become one People are paid well when what they do is in demand AND few people can (and want to) actually do it. It's that simple. Not that many people can be decent programmers. There's a matter of cognitive ability: quantitative i.e. IQ, but also probably probably qualitative in that it may take a particular mindset. There's also a matter of interest, which is probably why few women choose that career.