This is a highly debatably topic, but I think its quite valid and besides I enjoy a bit of shit stirring!
Firstly lets go with a definition of 'hardest' to put this into context. By hardest, I mean to include the stress, the hours, the bang for buck factor and the respect factor.
Your typical software engineer often does not get the level of respect they deserve. Often they are thought of as mere 'IT workers' or 'programmers'. If this was true, they no way would this be classified as hard. IT support is just like normal janitorial work, albeit of a technical nature. Something goes wrong and they clean it up ready to use again. Programmers just code what designs they are given. Software engineers have to take an problem, and convert it into a solution. This was never easy for even normal engineers, but for SEs its just even worse. This is due to the ignorance of people who think that adding a bit of functionality is easy. Sure its easy to tack on a feature, but software is like metal work... You really need to MOULD everything to make sure things don't start falling off.
So No.1 - software is finicky. Its actually worse then people in someway.
People don't do what you tell them to do. Software does EXACTLY what you tell it to do, not what you WANT it to do. So if it stuffs up, its actually YOUR fault.
No.2. The technology field accelerates far faster than any other field. Medicine has only evolved so far in thousands of years, but the IT field has gone in leaps and bounds in only a few decades. To avoid becoming redundant as a SE, you need to be always on top of your game and this means knowing all the latest techs and practises.
No.3. You are Quality's bitch. Since more and more important tasks are handled by computers, what you do will affect thousands, maybe millions of people. So everything has to be as close to perfect as you can make it. Otherwise you will feel the burn from those same thousands of people who'll strap you onto a burning pyre.
No.4. You are boring. Well you're not really, but society is cruel. Doctors are sexy (especially Addison Shepherd from Grey's Anatomy...hubba hubba), lawyers are sexy (even if they are pure scum), but when was the last time a software engineer interesting from a media perspective. I know a SE who says hes a grape grower (or anything other than an SE) when someone asks what he does.
Anyway theres more I could say, but I'll reserve that for another day.
2 comments:
Ahh look on the bright side, your at the forefront of an industry which is only going to grow in importance and profile, and as such you'll benefit.
Your talents will become more highly sought after, public opinion will change, already in Australia we have too many solicitors so an industry like that is going to shrink abit from its currently 'huge' profile it enjoyed from 2000 - 2004, especially with changes in litigation laws and capping on limits, and quite frankly who would want to be a doctor in the public system these days?
If the profession is considered sexy, good on them, cause outside of that they are on a hiding to nothing in everything else they do.
I guess thats one thing you always have to remember, at least if something goes wrong in what you do in your job, its unlikely to take a life do you can always rebuild from that.
Anyway enough ramblings!
I wouldn't say that #4 is restricted to Software Engineers so much as the general engineering profession. As a collective, the stereotype seems to be boozing, sports-mad, boring unattractive introverted (and possibly autistic) number crunchers. I'm sure I'm missing other characteristics, but these are what come to mind.
As for #3, quality and safety controls are probably just as stringent in other fields of engineering, particularly in the mining, mechanical, civil, chemical, aeronautical ... as there are real physical risks of catastrophic failures like planes falling out of skies, bridges not able to withstand environmental conditions (the Tacoma Narrows Bridge comes to mind) and the recent mine collapses.
#2 - how about genetics? robotics? quantum physics? It's hard to quantify, as we don't have a full picture on what is going on elsewhere.
But most importantly, you forgot to mention Dr Preston Burke from Grey's Anatomy :P
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