The meta of software development is vague. Software development and the job aspects can be completely independent - and tightly coupled. So, really, the meta o

The meta of software development is vague. Software development and the job aspects can be completely independent - and tightly coupled. So, really, the meta of software development as it pertains to your job would likely be more about the meta of your organization. You could try to scale up those ideas to a whole career and across all organizations but it's gonna be hard. What works in one place won't work in another - but if you know how to recognize the meta within each organization, you can find a meta that you think you'll do well in, and then try to work at places that follow that meta. But - honestly - I've found that hard as many organizations aren't very upfront with how they actually operate. We've all likely found that being really good at software development doesn't end up getting you a reward at your place of employment. You can be exceptionally good at something - the best - but still lose frequently. True of games as it is with life. It could be because the place you're working at is very team oriented - your team does well, you all get rewarded. It could be purely that your manager dictates it and won't recognize you. It could be that you're in an organization that doesn't value software engineers at all. It could be that you're good at the software development but haven't engaged on the more social aspects and that's what's key to getting rewards. I've had talks where the reason I wasn't getting rewarded is because I seemed too carefree about things - they wanted someone who seemed stressed out and really concerned all the time. Is that really related to software development in itself? I don't think so. There's a fuckton of reasons that aren't related to software development in itself that dictate why you won't progress. And I think that varies a lot between organizations/teams. Therefore, I'd say there is no big meta for a career in software development. I'd say there is a meta for work in different organizations. (As I don't see a lot of these things as specific to software development but specific to just general work culture)