| "You only see top" - This goes for everything in the world.
I take it you kind of mean that unless you're in the visible top, there's no reason to do it? That's a bleak way of looking at life..
Remember everything is a bell-shaped curve, chances are, you'll be under the fat part of that curve with most of the rest of us.. Only the long tails are seen, the very-bad ones who are on public display (for better or worse) for their terrible decisions, and the very-good ones who are hailed as brilliant super-humans.. I'm having a hard time finding an analogy..
Programming is one of the fields, like carpentry, where you have a venn-diagram situation, two circles with some intersection.. One circle is "Hobby" other circle is "Job".. You'll find people who have programming as a hobby, but drive a bus for living.. You'll find people who have programming as a job, but play tennis as a hobby.. And then finally, you'll find people who have programming as both a hobby and a job.. There is only weak correlation between skill and
in which circle you are..
There is stronger correlation between how much programming you've done, and how good you are.. Now.. For stuff like football, you don't have this situation, sure, there are professional football players, but they're really the long tail.. Most people in the world that play football do not do it as a job, and they don't expect to be part of the "seen top".. They have a good time. For stuff like being a cashier, you'll probably not find many doing it purely as a hobby, entirely for it's own sake, but you will find a lot doing it as a job.. Do you think those people care if they're part of the "seen top" ? They care much less about being the best, and more about being good enough to keep their job. In football, you can only make a living if you're in the visible top..
In casheering, you can make a living if you're not incompetent. In respect to potential enjoyment, software and carpentry is more like football, it can be fun and something you do because you enjoy it.
In respect to job security, software and carpentry are more like being a cashier, you don't have to be specially good, average is sufficient for holding a job. |