I think you illustrated the reality of software engineering, not the perception. The perception is that all these startup entrepreneurs and software engineers a

I think you illustrated the reality of software engineering, not the perception. The perception is that all these startup entrepreneurs and software engineers are ninjas and rockstars. Software Engineers are curing cancer and ending terrorism with big data, all while becoming millionaires over night. I believe the reason this question is asked, is not because of the stark reality of software engineering, but because of the perception.