[detaro]

FWIW, I think "the culture" of software is overstated. There's a wide range of companies doing software, with very different approaches and cultures, it's just that some parts get a lot more publicity and attention. Hard to say without knowing what exactly you are referring to.

Similarly, hard to comment on options to jump elsewhere without details. I'd generally argue that there are likely adjacent alternatives, but of course you might find those equally unacceptable.

[phendrenad2]

This. You sometimes have to reroll the dice a few times before you find a place with a good culture.

Personally I've found that I'm most comfortable at a place where people have a deep discipline they have specialized into. Companies doing robotics or genomics or machine learning are great. There's more respect for software engineers. Companies doing an "app" or a "SaaS" aren't my favorite. You meet a lot of perpetual beginner "experts" who warp the culture into a respect being based on who can cargo cult fastest.

[PaulHoule]

You have organizations that see themselves as "software" companies that have their own set of problems.

Many others see themselves as "libraries", "geospatial analysts", "insurance companies" and share the issue that being a programmer slots you into a certain place in the social hierarchy. You might be happy as a clam in that kind of place assuming you can accept that there is a ceiling you'll never get past as a programmer.

[detaro]

Yes, that too. The "software department" can be a handful people somewhere, doing the software part of a product that's a small part of the overall company. Very different than a company that only builds one large software/service product.