4 ms·

Meh. I think India makes a lot of great programmers. I've worked with too many good guys (and gals) to know that the country is capable of making talent. But,

Meh. I think India makes a lot of great programmers. I've worked with too many good guys (and gals) to know that the country is capable of making talent. But, I think that it also produces a lot of mediocre ones, too, but that might be because programming is perceived as a respectable "default" profession for smart but rudderless people. In the US, those people go into law, or try out medicine, but coding is seen as deeply unsexy. This stigma is unfortunate but I believe it also acts as a filter as well. Of the people that exit CS programs with a degree in hand, perhaps a higher percentage might be of the caliber that goes on to do great impactful things.

shantanubala 15y ago
There's also a fundamental difference in the way we (at least try) to teach our kids. We "strive" to have kids who are creative, energetic, and capable of critical thinking. We may not succeed, but that's our goal. In India, successfully raising kids is almost always a matter of income. There's just a much greater gap in socio-economic status for most Indian families that "creativity" and "critical thinking" aren't really as useful as a salary. In the US, nobody strives for a job that doesn't require some level of creativity or critical thinking. In India, it doesn't matter to many people, because food on the table is more important.
- jiggy2011 15y ago
  So basically they are lower in Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This leads me to think that the 2nd generation of Indian programmers will be better since they will grow up with a middle class lifestyle.
  - geekzgalore 15y ago
    It may not be really true. Indians are a "greedy" lot, always looking for ways to improve their lifestyle. So, the 2nd generation Indian programmer will be looking to work lesser than his (or her) parents and make more money.. and the software industry will always have slots for people who just understand instructions and not think.

shantanubala 15y ago

There's also a fundamental difference in the way we (at least try) to teach our kids. We "strive" to have kids who are creative, energetic, and capable of critical thinking. We may not succeed, but that's our goal. In India, successfully raising kids is almost always a matter of income. There's just a much greater gap in socio-economic status for most Indian families that "creativity" and "critical thinking" aren't really as useful as a salary. In the US, nobody strives for a job that doesn't require some level of creativity or critical thinking. In India, it doesn't matter to many people, because food on the table is more important.

jiggy2011 15y ago
So basically they are lower in Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This leads me to think that the 2nd generation of Indian programmers will be better since they will grow up with a middle class lifestyle.
- geekzgalore 15y ago
  It may not be really true. Indians are a "greedy" lot, always looking for ways to improve their lifestyle. So, the 2nd generation Indian programmer will be looking to work lesser than his (or her) parents and make more money.. and the software industry will always have slots for people who just understand instructions and not think.