MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Re: I'm ill enough to just straight-up diss you for no reason

> > Christ, what's so bad about it?
>
> Software developers always get fucked over:
>
>
> For every good developer there are thousands of shitty developers, so you'll likely
> be surrounded by incompetence
> Developers are expected to put in extra effort but don't get rewarded for it - it's
> usually sales staff or traders or management who get the big bonuses
> It's always the developers who get blamed, even if it was support, QA, operations,
> networking, etc. who fucked up
> Developers are often handed down completely unrealistic schedules by people out of
> touch with reality and expected to meet them
> It's a job you can't easily put down when you leave the office, because you can keep
> doing algorithm design, project planning, etc. mentally even if you aren't at a
> computer
> If someone says you're a talented developer, they may as well be calling you a chump:
> you're good at working your arse off to make other people money
>

I've been a software developer for over 15 years. Some thoughts in no particular order...

1) Be good at your job, but not too good. If you're the guy that "gets shit done" or pulls their ass out of the fire or puts in extra hours when needed, you're going to get worked to death and never promoted. Don't be that guy. Let the new guys, straight out of college, full of caffeine and youthful exuberance do all the heavy lifting and long hours. As long as management likes you personally, and you provide some value as a developer, you usually won't get fired.

2) If you don't like your developer job, get another one. There's tons out there. If there aren't tons where you are, move. Keep trying until you find a job you don't hate. You don't need to love or even like your job. If it pays well and you don't hate it, you're doing good. Also, the average duration at a single company for and IT worker is around 3 years. You should expect to start to feel the itch to find a new job around the 3 year mark.

3) If at all possible, get into some form of government contracting, either at the state or federal level. The contracts can be really unstable, but they normally pay you enough that you can bank a good chunk of it so you can ride out the inevitable government shutdown and congressional sequesters or whatever.

4) Don't let being a developer define you as a person. It's a job that brings in money to pay for the real things you want to do in life. Don't get hung up on prestige and job recognition. None of it matters. At the end of the day, only dollars matter.

5) The most powerful thing you can do is be debt free. Zero debt plus money in the bank equals power. The power to say "fuck you" and quit your job whenever you want. To take a job because you WANT a job, not because you NEED a job. In your early years, work hard to pay off your student loans. If you buy a car, buy a used one and pay cash. Move somewhere where property taxes are low and homes are reasonably priced. Buy a smaller house than you need and make it work. Don't buy a house until you can put down at least 20% and then make extra payments to get it paid off as soon as possible. Be thrifty. Live frugal. Get roommates and share living expenses. Don't piss away money going to the movies, or on expensive cable packages.

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