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Comment by krapp | Hacker News Reader

>In today’s world, web developers have it all: money, perks, freedom, respect. But is there value in what we do?

Sorry, no. The author needs to pull his head out of the bubble. In today's world (the actual world), web developers and programmers are given less credence than assembly line workers, and are considered at best a necessary evil in businesses where the actual product, itself, is something other than code. Money? As little as possible. Perks? Perks go to sales. Respect? It's not even considered real work.

Granted, it's not flipping hamburgers but let's not pretend what the author describes is in any way the norm.

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Are you kidding me? I think maybe you need to get out of your bubble and go work a real job for a while. Go work in food service, construction, or retail, which is what most of America is doing.

Then maybe you'll appreciate the marvelous advantages you have as somebody who gets paid pretty damn well to sit in front of a blinky box and think about elegant abstractions.

I've worked in all of those fields. I know exactly how much easier programming is than roofing and sanding boats and unloading trucks. Nevertheless, outside of a select few, most programmers are assembly line workers with better chairs.

Agree. It's why I got out of full-time, on-site programming. If I'm going to be doing it, it's going to be on my terms. And the freelance market has been pretty responsive to that.

I know plenty of people who wouldn't want to touch an office job with a ten-foot pole. It's not like the creature comforts of a nice office environment is the end-all-be-all for every person and their respective inclinations.

Sure, I'll stipulate that some people hate working in a sterile, air-conditioned office.

Do those people also hate individual salaries around 200% of the median household income, full health benefits, generous retirement plans, regular 9-5 hours, and paid vacation time?

Because those are all things programmers have that most employees don't.

The shut-up-and-keep-coding places that treat programmers like line workers are often the same types of poorly managed places that overpromise on deadlines, so 9-5 doesn't exist, refuse to matriculate full-time workers, so benefits don't apply, and don't pay anywhere near 200% of median household income. There are lots of companies that don't fit your model. It often has very little to do with climate-controlled office environments.

I guess you have a shitty job.

I'm not complaining about my job. Just saying that what the author describes doesn't reflect the reality he seems to suggest.

I'd probably code for free if it didn't mean I would eventually starve.

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