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>Is it time to quit tech? >I have taken some time off work recently to travel and unwind. No. Go fully remote, travel and see out the rest of your career. So

>Is it time to quit tech? >I have taken some time off work recently to travel and unwind. No. Go fully remote, travel and see out the rest of your career. Software dev has about 10 years left as a viable career until it's as common as, and remunerated in line with, store cashier positions. You may as well ride out the crest of the wave.

jchonphoenix 6y ago
This is likely an over exaggeration, but software jobs will go the way of ibanking or law. Still highly paid, but not as lucrative as it is today.
- 908B64B197 6y ago
  Law is especially depressing to look at.
  - unicodepepper 6y ago
    Could you give some more detail? I’m not familiar with the legal landscape.
    - 908B64B197 6y ago
      Strong bi-modal distribution [0] [0] https://danluu.com/bimodal-compensation/ https://danluu.com/bimodal-compensation/
    - ck425 6y ago
      Essentially after the great recession graduates starting flocking to traditional 'secure' careers. For Arts students there weren't many options, so a ton of English, History etc grads moved into law as it was seen as a secure career. This lead to an over supply which skewed salaries into a heavy bimodal distribution. The top lawyers still get the big bucks but for the average lawyer it's not particularly great anymore. In the UK I here £30-35k bandied about outside of London. Not a bad wage by any means but considering the hours and education required it's no longer the secure path to a middle class lifestyle that it was.
- cmdshiftf4 6y ago
  I disagree. Law has significant barriers to entry and even after getting through qualification, your base credentials won't offer much mobility in terms of being able to move around to practice. There aren't, to my knowledge, 12 week bootcamps for law out of which you can start practising in the field. There aren't, to my knowledge, law schools popping up daily in India offering people courses with relatively low entry requirements, from which they can move to the US and start practising as a lawyer. There aren't, to my knowledge, D&I proponents installed into law companies who spend their time fighting against the idea of hiring bars and requirements for the positions within the company. There aren't internal advocates saying to drop the requirement for a law degree for a legal job in the name of boosting diversity visibility. The same can't be said about the overwhelming majority of tech jobs, but then tech workers have done literally nothing in the name of collectively protecting their profession so it's at least partially their own fault.
radicality 6y ago
Can you elaborate on why you think in 10 years it won’t be a viable career or remunerated accordingly? I don’t think we will be needing as many lower-skill positions like building CRUD apps, but I don’t see the hard software engineering jobs becoming as common as a cashier position and driving salaries down.
- iExploder 6y ago
  many people around the globe entering the market via remote work or willing to relocate anywhere + automation, frameworks or pre made template solutions as with every new and lucrative industry, people eventually figure out how to streamline it I wonder whats the next gold rush? astronauts? space colonist/miners? :)
  - cmdshiftf4 6y ago
    Agreed. A couple of expansions: - Tech is seen as the easiest way to the middle class in many emerging economies, notably India and China. Tech orientated third level institutions are an industry of their own in India due to the sheer level of demand for it. - Skilled immigration is one of the most favoured tools of most globalist western governments in their fight to destroy the middle class. - Remote work will continue to grow, the pains associated with async work and time differences will be mitigated against, hence a (more) global labour pool for the same jobs. Why pay an American dev $100k plus benefits when I can readily pay a Chilean dev $20k with fewer, if any, benefits. Tech companies have been clamouring for the above for at least a decade now and we're really starting to see strides being made in it. I should note that the 10 years I mentioned above was an optimistic estimate.

jchonphoenix 6y ago

This is likely an over exaggeration, but software jobs will go the way of ibanking or law. Still highly paid, but not as lucrative as it is today.

908B64B197 6y ago
Law is especially depressing to look at.
- unicodepepper 6y ago
  Could you give some more detail? I’m not familiar with the legal landscape.
  - 908B64B197 6y ago
    Strong bi-modal distribution [0] [0] https://danluu.com/bimodal-compensation/ https://danluu.com/bimodal-compensation/
  - ck425 6y ago
    Essentially after the great recession graduates starting flocking to traditional 'secure' careers. For Arts students there weren't many options, so a ton of English, History etc grads moved into law as it was seen as a secure career. This lead to an over supply which skewed salaries into a heavy bimodal distribution. The top lawyers still get the big bucks but for the average lawyer it's not particularly great anymore. In the UK I here £30-35k bandied about outside of London. Not a bad wage by any means but considering the hours and education required it's no longer the secure path to a middle class lifestyle that it was.
cmdshiftf4 6y ago
I disagree. Law has significant barriers to entry and even after getting through qualification, your base credentials won't offer much mobility in terms of being able to move around to practice. There aren't, to my knowledge, 12 week bootcamps for law out of which you can start practising in the field. There aren't, to my knowledge, law schools popping up daily in India offering people courses with relatively low entry requirements, from which they can move to the US and start practising as a lawyer. There aren't, to my knowledge, D&I proponents installed into law companies who spend their time fighting against the idea of hiring bars and requirements for the positions within the company. There aren't internal advocates saying to drop the requirement for a law degree for a legal job in the name of boosting diversity visibility. The same can't be said about the overwhelming majority of tech jobs, but then tech workers have done literally nothing in the name of collectively protecting their profession so it's at least partially their own fault.

radicality 6y ago

Can you elaborate on why you think in 10 years it won’t be a viable career or remunerated accordingly? I don’t think we will be needing as many lower-skill positions like building CRUD apps, but I don’t see the hard software engineering jobs becoming as common as a cashier position and driving salaries down.

iExploder 6y ago
many people around the globe entering the market via remote work or willing to relocate anywhere + automation, frameworks or pre made template solutions as with every new and lucrative industry, people eventually figure out how to streamline it I wonder whats the next gold rush? astronauts? space colonist/miners? :)
- cmdshiftf4 6y ago
  Agreed. A couple of expansions: - Tech is seen as the easiest way to the middle class in many emerging economies, notably India and China. Tech orientated third level institutions are an industry of their own in India due to the sheer level of demand for it. - Skilled immigration is one of the most favoured tools of most globalist western governments in their fight to destroy the middle class. - Remote work will continue to grow, the pains associated with async work and time differences will be mitigated against, hence a (more) global labour pool for the same jobs. Why pay an American dev $100k plus benefits when I can readily pay a Chilean dev $20k with fewer, if any, benefits. Tech companies have been clamouring for the above for at least a decade now and we're really starting to see strides being made in it. I should note that the 10 years I mentioned above was an optimistic estimate.