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Agreed, though I actually think that this happens earlier in the decision tree. A lot of people with the talent to be top software developers never enter the f

by geebee 12y ago

Agreed, though I actually think that this happens earlier in the decision tree. A lot of people with the talent to be top software developers never enter the field in the first place, as part of a rational market response to pay, career prospects, and working conditions (keep in mind, we're talking about an academically talented and hard working group of people here). I don't think it's open offices per se (though they aren't exactly improving the appeal of software dev jobs), so much as the employment conditions that lead to imposing open offices on a class of worker that so clearly benefits from a quiet, focused environment.

poikniok 12y ago
Out of curiosity, what exactly are the other fields that top people would enter? Are you thinking of finance, law, or medicine, or something else?
- geebee 12y ago
  All of the above and more. I do want to be sure I don't come off as claiming that there's no good reason to be a developer, I just don't think that the claims that there is a puzzling shortage of developers hold up when you consider the other options available. If it's hard to hire software developers, that's because the people talented enough to do the job are engaged in a rational, market based decision to do something else instead. One good place to start is here: http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-b... And compare salaries in high cost regions, rather than comparing national salaries. For instance, a dental hygienist in San Francisco earns, at the median, $112,970, a registered nurse in SF earns $127,670, and a Software Developer in San Francisco earns $114,400. So a software developer in SF, ground zero for the worker shortage, earns a bit more than a dental hygienist, and considerably less than a registered nurse. The median Lawyer in SF (not necessarily a good job, I'll admit) is quite a bit higher, and of course Physicians earn far more. I think that if you look through the data, it's pretty clear that software developers are paid decent but not remarkable salaries. And I'm not complaining about good salaries for nurses and dental hygienists, that's absolutely great by me. I just think we need to stop acting like there's some great mystery behind why people with choice (i.e., whose career options aren't limited by where and how they can get a work visa to the US) aren't going into software development.

by geebee 12y ago

poikniok 12y ago

Out of curiosity, what exactly are the other fields that top people would enter? Are you thinking of finance, law, or medicine, or something else?

geebee 12y ago
All of the above and more. I do want to be sure I don't come off as claiming that there's no good reason to be a developer, I just don't think that the claims that there is a puzzling shortage of developers hold up when you consider the other options available. If it's hard to hire software developers, that's because the people talented enough to do the job are engaged in a rational, market based decision to do something else instead. One good place to start is here: http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-b... And compare salaries in high cost regions, rather than comparing national salaries. For instance, a dental hygienist in San Francisco earns, at the median, $112,970, a registered nurse in SF earns $127,670, and a Software Developer in San Francisco earns $114,400. So a software developer in SF, ground zero for the worker shortage, earns a bit more than a dental hygienist, and considerably less than a registered nurse. The median Lawyer in SF (not necessarily a good job, I'll admit) is quite a bit higher, and of course Physicians earn far more. I think that if you look through the data, it's pretty clear that software developers are paid decent but not remarkable salaries. And I'm not complaining about good salaries for nurses and dental hygienists, that's absolutely great by me. I just think we need to stop acting like there's some great mystery behind why people with choice (i.e., whose career options aren't limited by where and how they can get a work visa to the US) aren't going into software development.