Ask HN: How did programming become a respectable profession in Silicon Valley

[wongwf82]

Hi from Sydney. Based on my observations and some rough research, it appears that programmers in US (esp. Silicon Valley) command at least 30% more salary compared to Sydney Australia for similar roles and years of experience.

Also, many startups in the accelerators and incubators here have zero tech co-founder or outsourced programming (usually overseas). Having spoken to them it appears they don't value/respect what the programmer brings to the table since their idea is king.

I understand that the main factor may be demand and supply. But there is also shortage in Australia for good programmers too, so it makes me wonder if the problem is cultural. So just trying to understand my world from your perspective.

[pfarrell]

Are you sure you are looking at the right companies? I recently moved to San Francisco to be part of the concentration of people and businesses who use technology to drive their products. It's not just marketing, but a very real thing. There is certain shift in attitude where, generally speaking, no one needs convincing that tech is important. I was able to find this in my hometown, in the American Midwest. There were fewer people who "got it", but we had companies that had the same "west coast attitude".

Make sure you work for a company where software is the thing they sell. The farther you are from the money, the more you are perceived as a cost center. If you are a programmer, find a job with a SaaS company that is making money. Even if it's not the proverbial "startup", you will see this shift in attitude. You won't look back.

[nostrademons]

I think a lot is also the existence of role models, companies that were founded by engineers and grew up to become world-changing. Silicon Valley has Hewlett Packard, Shockley Semiconductor, Fairchild, Intel, Apple, eBay, Google, etc. all founded by engineers. When you think "world-changing company" here, you think of a couple of guys in a garage tinkering with technology. Meanwhile everybody knows a few "idea guys" who have to go out and beg to find an engineer.

Basically, if you do anything well enough you make it respectable. The difference between Silicon Valley and Sydney may be that we have a long history of engineers who go out and change the world, while it sounds like in Sydney there's a long history of idea & money men who hire people to change the world.