[qlk1123]

Same here, but why exactly?

In my country, SW engineer is one of the best careers in terms of income, and I bet it is similar in most of the other countries. Why do we deserve that much buzz/fame/respect/income if the work we are doing is NOT making the society better?

These thoughts just haunt me from time to time.

[bscphil]

> Why do we deserve that much buzz/fame/respect/income if the work we are doing is NOT making the society better?

I understand that you're asking a theoretical question, not a practical one, but in practical terms the answer is fairly simple. Our economy is not built to (indeed, is built not to) reward individuals in line with what they contribute to society. An entirely different set of incentives are what structure our economy, and therefore the jobs and lives of most people.

In some sense, David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs is all about the widespread awareness (and denial) of this phenomenon, and what caused it. I wouldn't say it's a perfect book but it's the best one I've read on the subject.

[narag]

That's obvious. It's a work that by definition reach many others automatically and acts faster than humans, with less human intervention so it saves work. Anything that saves time/money and has this multiplication effect will generate tons of cash. No wonder we catch a part of it.

Edit: in other simpler words, it's useful and scales fine.