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> but they will probably earn less as they won't ever be domain experts I disagree. I've rarely seen any programmers that are domain experts, most of those do

> but they will probably earn less as they won't ever be domain experts I disagree. I've rarely seen any programmers that are domain experts, most of those domain experts are actually hired in a consultancy role. As they work through the projects programmers can become very familiar to a specific domain but in general that's not their job and they will be treated as such. They will be consulted on implementation but less likely, if at all, on strategy. Which is what I would expect from a domain expert i.e. a consultant. The highest paid programmers move jobs most often the lowest paid don't that'll tell you what becoming a domain expert means for a programmer.

dasil003 4y ago
While it's true that in practice most programmers are bricklayers (especially given the growth of the industry leading to a young-skewing population), that doesn't invalidate the GP's thesis that domain expertise is a good lever for compensation growth. The biggest mistakes and greatest successes of my programming career have always been related to the breadth of my understanding of the product domain and UX that I was operating in. The other thing I find curious in your comment is the implication that strategy is usually set by domain experts who tend to be consultants. This very much runs counter to my experience, where consultants are brought in for specific jobs or problems where an outside perspective is needed, but generally those things are scope-boxed or time-boxed tangents to the business. The big strategy is generally set by leaders and influencers within the company via a mix of formal and informal venues. These individuals will have the most knowledge of the context specific to that business and how it competes in the marketplace. Consultants, by contrast, can develop a cross-cutting knowledge of industry, which can be a valuable data point well worth paying for, but a company who relies on consultants as the primary driver of strategy is rudderless and probably in decline.
- Dave3of5 4y ago
  You are probably thinking of management or business consultants like McKinsey and the like. A lot of companies will hire a consultant as a permanent member of staff when they are working in a specialist domain note they may be called something different like solution architect or suchlike but they are acting as consultant. I've been in several that had these types. I think the only companies that didn't were companies in industries that didn't need any specific domain experience example here are one that did: * Oil and Gas (Flow metering) * Network Timing and Sync testing * Health and Care (Worked in Care and had several) * Practice Management Ones that didn't * Data analysis * Data warehousing

dasil003 4y ago

While it's true that in practice most programmers are bricklayers (especially given the growth of the industry leading to a young-skewing population), that doesn't invalidate the GP's thesis that domain expertise is a good lever for compensation growth. The biggest mistakes and greatest successes of my programming career have always been related to the breadth of my understanding of the product domain and UX that I was operating in. The other thing I find curious in your comment is the implication that strategy is usually set by domain experts who tend to be consultants. This very much runs counter to my experience, where consultants are brought in for specific jobs or problems where an outside perspective is needed, but generally those things are scope-boxed or time-boxed tangents to the business. The big strategy is generally set by leaders and influencers within the company via a mix of formal and informal venues. These individuals will have the most knowledge of the context specific to that business and how it competes in the marketplace. Consultants, by contrast, can develop a cross-cutting knowledge of industry, which can be a valuable data point well worth paying for, but a company who relies on consultants as the primary driver of strategy is rudderless and probably in decline.

Dave3of5 4y ago
You are probably thinking of management or business consultants like McKinsey and the like. A lot of companies will hire a consultant as a permanent member of staff when they are working in a specialist domain note they may be called something different like solution architect or suchlike but they are acting as consultant. I've been in several that had these types. I think the only companies that didn't were companies in industries that didn't need any specific domain experience example here are one that did: * Oil and Gas (Flow metering) * Network Timing and Sync testing * Health and Care (Worked in Care and had several) * Practice Management Ones that didn't * Data analysis * Data warehousing