4 ms·

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.

4 ms·

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?

by poikniok 12y ago

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.