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This. I feel fortunate that I didn't start out in tech - I didn't become a programmer until I was 30. I'd been working since I was 15 or so, so I'd had about 15
by danielvaughn 3y ago
This. I feel fortunate that I didn't start out in tech - I didn't become a programmer until I was 30. I'd been working since I was 15 or so, so I'd had about 15 years of experience in various industries.
I think a lot of devs who go into comp-sci and land into tech right after college have very little understanding of how hard life can be outside of tech. This isn't an easy industry, but goddamn it's so much better than the vast majority of other options out there.
- rjbwork 3y agoYup. When I get frustrated I just take a deep breath and then remember how relatively easy and well compensated this career is compared to just about anything else - for me, anyway.
- sanderjd 3y agoI think this hints at another truth though: If you switch your metric to up-weight happiness and down-weight material rewards, it moves down the rankings IMO. Believe it or not, I know some people who essentially never get frustrated by their work, while making a decent wage. In some of these cases, they also don't have the "is what I'm doing useless or even actively harmful" ennui that is prevalent in the software industry. I try to remind myself that some of my pay is compensation is for frequent frustration.
- LarsDu88 3y agoI worked in biology before going into tech. Dear lord its so much easier to scale your labor in tech. I have manually genetically engineered multiple types of organisms. It's insanely tedious. To the extent that if I ever went back, I would probably immediately focus on roboticizing most of the work.
- waynesonfire 3y ago> it's so much better than the vast majority of other options out there. The journey towards enlightenment or personal growth is highly individualized and subjective, making comparisons with others is not only unhelpful but also irrelevant.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- kayodelycaon 3y agoBetter in terms of effort to money.
- danielvaughn 3y agoCertain kinds of comparisons can be unhelpful. Others can be illuminating, often instilling a sense of gratitude and humility.
- ravenstine 3y agoReminds me of the recurring conversation on HN about how people should stop driving cars and just walk everywhere. It's like, yeah, in an ideal world, all 8+ billion humans could pick up craft coffee as they stroll 5 minutes to their big tech employer who doesn't actually care when they show up. There's legitimate criticisms for how cities have been designed, but going further by vilifying car owners in the present and suggesting everyone could just walk or ride a bike to work is a level of being out of touch that only Silicon Valley types could achieve. Even politicians aren't as brazen with such silliness. As if the rest of the world can choose where their employer is located, how far their groceries are, or how much child support they have. Just be a tech bro, bro.