Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by const_cast 336 days ago
I believe what they mean is that software devs are the lowest of the low of the totem pole for making software. We, manually, put together the software. We're the lowest level part of the chain. In that way, we're the factory workers of software.
2 comments
globular-toast 336 days ago
I'm sorry you feel that way about software. I suppose if your bedrock is JavaScript or Python and you've been bashing out CRUD apps it might seem that way.

We've actually been automating away our job since the beginning of software. Compilers have been thing for like 80 years now. We've had auto-complete, static analysis, automated testing tools etc. for decades. What about the poor assembly programmers? What about the people who were bit banging serial protocols for a living?

link
const_cast 336 days ago
Yes, we have automated away most of our job, however we are still the bottom of the totem pole.

For example, Amazon warehouse are also mostly automated. Still, workers who move boxes around and scan barcodes are the bottom of the totem pole of the operation. They're the people manually making Amazon work. You can't get any lower, otherwise then you'd become a machine.

> What about the poor assembly programmers? What about the people who were bit banging serial protocols for a living?

Those jobs are mostly obsolesced, so the totem pole has "moved up", but we're still at the bottom.

You have to ask the question, who is manually making the product and putting it together piece by piece? For factories, it's assembly line workers. For McDonald's, it's the burger flippers and the board worker. For software, it's us.

We have a misconception that since we are educated and relatively well-paid we are not like that. In terms of our business function, what we actually do for products and companies, our roles are of the same type. That's not a bad thing - this can serve as a gentle reminder to curb any delusions of grandeur.

link
hackable_sand 336 days ago
I get it now.

Good luck then.

Can't say I have much sympathy for American devs after what they've done with the place.

link