A paean to programming

I agree with Meyer’s point but, to me, the most jarring thing was the juxtaposition between ‘I am doing this to get a well-paid job’ and ‘I don’t actually want to have to work hard though’. Computer Science is far from unique in being a subject where you have to work hard. Replace ‘terminal room’ with ‘library’ and this could be any arts or humanities subject in the same era (or 20 years later, when I was a student) and most of these subjects were not promising high-paid jobs at the end. Law was a notable exception and it had even bigger expectations from students and higher drop-out rates (worse: it required passing Bar exams with a 30% pass rate after the degree to qualify for the entry-level jobs that would lead to the well-paid ones).

Quite a few of my friends when I was an undergrad were reading English, and they worked much longer hours than me. And then most of them went on to get far less well-paid jobs.

I wonder if the student in question considered an apprenticeship in a trade as an alternative. They would probably be absolutely shocked at the amount of work that becoming a plumber, electrician, or chef required.

Paul Dechant complains that he must sit “night after night” in the terminal room instead of devoting his time to more gratifying occupations. […] The part of his letter that worries me more, however, is the question which he asks: “Is this the price I must pay for a decent grade in a major which promises a healthy salary?”

I was writing the other day that I don’t think the price for getting a good job in programming is spending night after night while studying in the terminal room. I think we are unique in how much time we spend all of our lives investing in our trade outside work.

I think there’s a lack of awareness of this amongst people who are looking to get into the field.