yeah, software development can land you a very nice job or a terrible job. But I tend to believe that for each article you read about software devs being pushed to the limits at some company (typically a gaming house), there are 10s or 100s of other developers/sysadmins working very comfortable if not slacky jobs. I also have a job where I can show up pretty much anytime before 11 so long as I don't hold up meetings. Long lunch? Fine. Errand or appt to head to? Fine. Just get your work done, be honest about earning your salary, and don't hold up the rest of the team or a client.
And what's great is that most of our jobs don't put peoples lives at risk, or endanger children, or the like. Granted there is a such thing as safety-first software for medical equipment, weapons, etc, but it's not the norm. I have a friend who is a social worker and deals with enormous job related stress. I couldn't handle it. My stress pales in comparison to what he has to deal with on a daily basis. My worst case for slacking is that budgets and deadlines are missed and if it continues, I lose my job. If he slacks off, children could get hurt or worse, and he could go to prison. Yikes. The trade off is that he has a huge potential for personal satisfaction by positively impacting someones life and changing the world one person at a time.
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Once again, GOD I WISH I COULD WRITE CODE!!!!
Grump.
And what's great is that most of our jobs don't put peoples lives at risk, or endanger children, or the like. Granted there is a such thing as safety-first software for medical equipment, weapons, etc, but it's not the norm. I have a friend who is a social worker and deals with enormous job related stress. I couldn't handle it. My stress pales in comparison to what he has to deal with on a daily basis. My worst case for slacking is that budgets and deadlines are missed and if it continues, I lose my job. If he slacks off, children could get hurt or worse, and he could go to prison. Yikes. The trade off is that he has a huge potential for personal satisfaction by positively impacting someones life and changing the world one person at a time.
I call it "every day"...
-bill