“The rhetoric was, if you just learned to code, work hard and get a computer science degree, you can get six figures for your starting salary,” Ms. Mishra, now 21, recalls hearing as she grew up in San Ramon, Calif.
This has never ever been true for any job, especially at 21 years old.
I mean maybe there’s a rare trade that gives you the bick bucks from the get go, but even law practice and finance takes a lot of unpaid work to finally get properly paid.
Additionally, just “knowing how to code” has never been an actual ticket to success.
Software engineers are hired to solve problems, not write code. If you can write code but can’t solve problems and create innovative solutions you’re no better than a monkey.
It was true around the .com boom, and the advice might have been good for a few years, but like everything else: following yesterday’s trends will get you lost in a crowd of the clueless and under-informed.
This has never ever been true for any job, especially at 21 years old.
I mean maybe there’s a rare trade that gives you the bick bucks from the get go, but even law practice and finance takes a lot of unpaid work to finally get properly paid.
In the late 1990s our MSCE graduates were starting at $70K which is easily in six figure territory today when adjusted for inflation.
Six figures is far from what it used to be.
Additionally, just “knowing how to code” has never been an actual ticket to success.
Software engineers are hired to solve problems, not write code. If you can write code but can’t solve problems and create innovative solutions you’re no better than a monkey.
Code monkey! https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExb2pyeHJqbmxhbmxkMWYyeTU4Y2p2ZmR6Z2N3cmE0cGp1NDE1azlyMCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/k5cnWfaRTPgze/giphy.gif
Might not have been true, but has definitely been the narrative pedalled to young people for years.
There is always some career that kids get pushed into with a promise of “jobs in demand” and “guaranteed salary”.
It was true around the .com boom, and the advice might have been good for a few years, but like everything else: following yesterday’s trends will get you lost in a crowd of the clueless and under-informed.
Yep… I didn’t mean they weren’t lied to… But you’re right, they were lied to.