True. I wonder if he realizes that he just made an argument for professionalization (or, worse, unionization) of software engineers. My guess is that he'd not

True. I wonder if he realizes that he just made an argument for professionalization (or, worse, unionization) of software engineers. My guess is that he'd not like that can of worms. But it's open. Doing typical corporate programming, the stuff that any CommodityJavaDrone can do, is for losers. I'm not sure that managing that kind of work (which is the only way to make money in that world) is less loser-like. Right now, the less-savvy (or cornered) programmers do what their bosses ask them to do. The savvy programmers chase high-quality experience, read esoteric papers on company time, and only seriously work on the 10% of in-company projects that will help their careers. This arrangement is anarchic but there are always enough people who are cornered (family/financial pressures) and can be pushed into taking the less-savvy path and doing what they're told. And the personal-brand-definers have more fun and may get promoted faster early on, or get to strike out as consultants, but they're unlikely to get seriously rich (500k+) as they would if, you know, programmers were actually paid what they're worth. So the VCs and corporate executives and (to a lesser degree) software managers still make out like bandits. What if that changed, though? What if programmers collectively realized that we had allowed ourselves to be commoditized and were overcompeting and losing all over the place? Since I've been grappling with this issue for years, here's some further reading from my blog: [1] What’s a mid-career software engineer actually worth? Try $779,000 per year as a lower bound. ( http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/whats-a-mid-career-software-engineer-actually-worth-try-779000-per-year-as-a-lower-bound/ http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/whats-a-mid-c... ) [2] Why programmers can't make any money: dimensionality and the Eternal Haskell Tax. ( http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/why-programmers-cant-make-any-money-dimensionality-and-the-eternal-haskell-tax/ http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/why-programme... ) [3] Programmer autonomy is a $1 trillion issue. ( http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/programmer-autonomy-is-a-1-trillion-issue/ http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/programmer-au... ) [4] How the Other Half Works: An Adventure in the Low Status of Software Engineers. ( http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/how-the-other-half-works-an-adventure-in-the-low-status-of-software-engineers/ http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/how-the-other... )