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It's the "plus the right skills" part that makes it not actually an equalizer. No one is born with the skills to write amazing software. It takes a lot of hard

by yosito 6y ago

It's the "plus the right skills" part that makes it not actually an equalizer. No one is born with the skills to write amazing software. It takes a lot of hard work to learn those skills, and in order to do that hard work you need to have the available time and resources both to study/practice and to meet your material needs (and the material needs of anyone who depends on you) in the meantime. Not to mention that it's not just the skill of programming, there are a hundred other prerequisite skills that can't be taken for granted either, a big one of which is language skills. If English isn't your first language, you're starting way behind.

tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
Yes, you need free time, and either having English skills, learning English skills, or knowing another language that has good documentation is important. But it's still a far shot from needing a tens of millions of dollars to build a factory, or even tens of thousands to buy some basic equipment for some smaller business that doesn't have the potential to get anywhere nearly as big.
bluecalm 6y ago
It's still more accessible than anything else. You need a computer with an internet connection and time. That's it. English is the easiest language to learn as well. Not because of its structure or vocabulary mind you but because it's very easy to get constant exposure to it in all forms - entertainment, education, science publications. The best thing about programming is that you don't need an invitation to an exclusive club. No degree, no connections, no expensive licenses. You can put stuff out there for the whole world to see and it costs <100$ to have a functioning website with payment integration. You need talent and dedication to recognize and solve problems people consider important. It's maybe the last mostly meritocratic fields left. We are lucky to have it, it might not be for very long.

by yosito 6y ago

tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago

Yes, you need free time, and either having English skills, learning English skills, or knowing another language that has good documentation is important. But it's still a far shot from needing a tens of millions of dollars to build a factory, or even tens of thousands to buy some basic equipment for some smaller business that doesn't have the potential to get anywhere nearly as big.

bluecalm 6y ago

It's still more accessible than anything else. You need a computer with an internet connection and time. That's it. English is the easiest language to learn as well. Not because of its structure or vocabulary mind you but because it's very easy to get constant exposure to it in all forms - entertainment, education, science publications. The best thing about programming is that you don't need an invitation to an exclusive club. No degree, no connections, no expensive licenses. You can put stuff out there for the whole world to see and it costs <100$ to have a functioning website with payment integration. You need talent and dedication to recognize and solve problems people consider important. It's maybe the last mostly meritocratic fields left. We are lucky to have it, it might not be for very long.