This is such a defeatist attitude of "oh pretty people are just different and they get all these things they don't deserve" that comes up on these threads const

This is such a defeatist attitude of "oh pretty people are just different and they get all these things they don't deserve" that comes up on these threads constantly. Especially if you exclude students, the vast majority of folks reading this have more than enough time and money to eat well, work out 5 or 6 times a week, and buy nice-fitting, well-made clothes. From a professional standpoint, that's all you need to do. Very, very few people are incapable of doing the above on software engineer salaries. People that make a lot less and have less free time manage to do it, you can too. Height and bone structure are about the only two "attractiveness" things not within your control, so control them. I am not conventionally attractive, I wasn't popular in high school, I had a beer belly in my 20's and rarely had dates. Eventually I got my head out of my ass and started eating right, started working out, spent a little bit of money on my clothes and just all around gave a damn. The difference was staggering, both personally and professionally. It's amazing the different a good haircut, a fresh shave (or maintained beard), and a reasonable body fat percentage can make.