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This has been my experience too. My son is starting college and was planning on studying software development. I’ve started encouraging him to look at other maj

This has been my experience too. My son is starting college and was planning on studying software development. I’ve started encouraging him to look at other majors or consider the trades instead. It doesn’t feel like tech is going to be a good career path going forward.

zigbap22pity 3y ago
I think that's probably because "tech" was never a career path. Just think about the word itself, what does it even really mean? I suppose most people would answer with something about making new technology, but then you've really got your work cut out for you, because damn near any company can make that sort of claim. In my view, tech just means IT but you've got a ping pong table at work and can wear jeans. IT isn't going anywhere and can be a good career path still, but the wild salary increases were clearly driven by speculation, and there was absolutely a lot of hiring of less than qualified people going on, which will probably take another year or two to wash out. If it were my son, I would tell him to do what he likes, and if that's computer stuff then that is still a better than average career path. That being said, I'd make sure they really understand that what they are really probably getting into is IT, i.e. its highly unlikely he will end up working at a startup that is going to make it big and change the world with some hot new invention. The reality is, you are probably going to be working at a bank or something at some point, and that's okay if you didn't get your expectations way out of wack.
10g1k 3y ago
People are doing short certifications for security and immediately earning more than people who racked up $100K debts over 4 year computer science degrees. Everything you need to work in IT (except actual science and engineering roles) can be learned through the Internet and experience, for free. There's no value in a university debt for such.
- irrational 3y ago
  Except, of course, the companies like my own still require a 4 year degree to get hired. It doesn't matter what the degree is in, you just need to have one. I've asked HR if we can get rid of the requirement and have been told no. Sigh.
  - 10g1k 3y ago
    Do the HR people have 4 year degrees?
    - irrational 3y ago
      Absolutely. It is required for all full time employees.
adamesque 3y ago
“Tech” is very broad but it’s still a field where the impact of a single individual’s effort scales disproportionately, because for the most part it’s all 1s and 0s over a wire. That’s fundamentally why tech salaries are high imo.

zigbap22pity 3y ago

I think that's probably because "tech" was never a career path. Just think about the word itself, what does it even really mean? I suppose most people would answer with something about making new technology, but then you've really got your work cut out for you, because damn near any company can make that sort of claim. In my view, tech just means IT but you've got a ping pong table at work and can wear jeans. IT isn't going anywhere and can be a good career path still, but the wild salary increases were clearly driven by speculation, and there was absolutely a lot of hiring of less than qualified people going on, which will probably take another year or two to wash out. If it were my son, I would tell him to do what he likes, and if that's computer stuff then that is still a better than average career path. That being said, I'd make sure they really understand that what they are really probably getting into is IT, i.e. its highly unlikely he will end up working at a startup that is going to make it big and change the world with some hot new invention. The reality is, you are probably going to be working at a bank or something at some point, and that's okay if you didn't get your expectations way out of wack.

10g1k 3y ago

People are doing short certifications for security and immediately earning more than people who racked up $100K debts over 4 year computer science degrees. Everything you need to work in IT (except actual science and engineering roles) can be learned through the Internet and experience, for free. There's no value in a university debt for such.

irrational 3y ago
Except, of course, the companies like my own still require a 4 year degree to get hired. It doesn't matter what the degree is in, you just need to have one. I've asked HR if we can get rid of the requirement and have been told no. Sigh.
- 10g1k 3y ago
  Do the HR people have 4 year degrees?
  - irrational 3y ago
    Absolutely. It is required for all full time employees.

adamesque 3y ago

“Tech” is very broad but it’s still a field where the impact of a single individual’s effort scales disproportionately, because for the most part it’s all 1s and 0s over a wire. That’s fundamentally why tech salaries are high imo.