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I read a bit of this and sort of just glazed over The fact is that people have never been that impressed by job titles, at least not in my lifetime No one's e

I read a bit of this and sort of just glazed over The fact is that people have never been that impressed by job titles, at least not in my lifetime No one's ever been like "oh wow you're a software engineer? That's so incredible" Mostly if they're impressed, it's because it pays well and they assume I'm pretty rich I'm not. I do really well compared to my peers, yes, but ultimately I'm still living the same kind of middle class lifestyle my parents had while my Dad worked at a tool store and my Mom worked part time at nonprofits

jfinnery 1y ago
Working in software doesn't confer social status and never has. Money, maybe, but not status. Lawyers' wages are badly depressed, supposedly, yet "I'm a lawyer" instantly confers better social status than "I'm a software developer" or even "I work at Google". Doctor, professor, those are jobs that come with a little or large bump in social status. "I'm a software developer" is like "I'm an accountant"—neutral at best.
- glimshe 1y ago
  I'm a "computer scientist" does a bit better than "software engineer" if you want to sound smarter. The distinction doesn't matter for most people.
deleted 1y ago
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almosthere 1y ago
The article is about how the entire paradigm may flip- software engineer is a low class person, locksmiths and fabricators are the new software engineers.
- bluefirebrand 1y ago
  My point is there's a difference between "economic class" and "social class" Software Engineers are still, pretty generally, viewed as a low social class despite being a pretty solid economic class The idea that the paradigm may flip is only really about economic class. A locksmith may make more money than software engineers soon, but they will still be low social class That likely won't change
  - burnt-resistor 1y ago
    PSA: Kids, become a doctor not a lawyer, dentist, or an engineer. If you want to be rich, become a real estate broker. If you hate socializing, become an anesthesiologist or a perfusionist.
m463 1y ago
(I know this isn't quite what the article is getting at) Job titles are important to some people, not to others. I think it's usually insider vs outsider. To an outsider, "I'm a doctor" sounds impressive/interesting, but less so to someone in the medical profession. and then, I'm reminded of the sr71 story... https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blackbird-speed-check-story https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blac...
nunez 1y ago
There was definitely a time when saying that you worked at Google as an engineer confered massive social status. That's the whole reason why the movie The Internship exists!

jfinnery 1y ago

Working in software doesn't confer social status and never has. Money, maybe, but not status. Lawyers' wages are badly depressed, supposedly, yet "I'm a lawyer" instantly confers better social status than "I'm a software developer" or even "I work at Google". Doctor, professor, those are jobs that come with a little or large bump in social status. "I'm a software developer" is like "I'm an accountant"—neutral at best.

glimshe 1y ago
I'm a "computer scientist" does a bit better than "software engineer" if you want to sound smarter. The distinction doesn't matter for most people.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

almosthere 1y ago

The article is about how the entire paradigm may flip- software engineer is a low class person, locksmiths and fabricators are the new software engineers.

bluefirebrand 1y ago
My point is there's a difference between "economic class" and "social class" Software Engineers are still, pretty generally, viewed as a low social class despite being a pretty solid economic class The idea that the paradigm may flip is only really about economic class. A locksmith may make more money than software engineers soon, but they will still be low social class That likely won't change
- burnt-resistor 1y ago
  PSA: Kids, become a doctor not a lawyer, dentist, or an engineer. If you want to be rich, become a real estate broker. If you hate socializing, become an anesthesiologist or a perfusionist.

m463 1y ago

(I know this isn't quite what the article is getting at) Job titles are important to some people, not to others. I think it's usually insider vs outsider. To an outsider, "I'm a doctor" sounds impressive/interesting, but less so to someone in the medical profession. and then, I'm reminded of the sr71 story... https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blackbird-speed-check-story https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blac...

nunez 1y ago

There was definitely a time when saying that you worked at Google as an engineer confered massive social status. That's the whole reason why the movie The Internship exists!