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A lazy and mediocre software developer gets paid more than a world class concert pianist who obsessively practices 10 hours a day. The world doesn't need piani
by protastus 6y ago
A lazy and mediocre software developer gets paid more than a world class concert pianist who obsessively practices 10 hours a day.
The world doesn't need pianists like it needs software engineers. This demand was also different 200 years ago.
This is basic economics that not enough people seem to understand when they choose a job. Or maybe they do understand but want to ignore the problem early in their careers.
As a student in my 20s, my love for mathematics exceeded my love of engineering. I studied both and was good at both, but never went far beyond undergrad level mathematics due to job opportunities.
Sometimes in life we need to clearly separate what to do as an amateur (for the love) and as a professional (for the money). Sometimes the interests align, and if they do, good for you! But it's important to be honest with yourself about goals and planning.
- vinger 6y agoAnd sometimes we need to check our facts before we make ill informed decisions. A world class pianist makes 25 to 75k per show. Far more than any developer lazy or not. A concert pianist makes 50k a year. Getting a seat is the hard part. And someone majoring in math can go as far as someone majoring in engineering. Your college doesn't teach how to code, you need to do that on your own.
- protastus 6y ago> A world class pianist makes 25 to 75k per show. Far more than any developer lazy or not. Even if we picked such an outlier, the bookings would be sparse. A mediocre SWE in the Bay Area has a paycheck every 2 weeks over the course of decades. > And someone majoring in math can go as far as someone majoring in engineering The choice in my personal story was about becoming a professional mathematician, not majoring in math and then getting a job in engineering. The latter in fact is what I did.