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Donald Thompson's avatar

Everywhere I look, it’s doom and gloom. Reading nothing but negativity has started affecting my worldview and my life.

I am less than a year away from completing my undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Data Science. A year ago, everyone congratulated me on my hard work and wise decision-making. Over the last six months, though, all I’ve heard is how I’ve wasted my time, how there are no jobs, and how a college degree is supposedly worthless.

I’ve been told multiple times that tech is dead and I should become a plumber because “the trades are the new master’s degree.” Well, you know what? I don’t want to be a plumber, and I am tired of the negativity.

I’m not pursuing a career in tech for the paycheck. Anyone who chooses a career solely for the dollar amount is setting themselves up for a life of misery. I’m on this journey because it aligns with my interests and passions.

To the best of my knowledge, few career options out there guarantee a $500k salary, let alone make it achievable. My family can live a fulfilling, happy life on $60k a year, anything beyond that is just gravy.

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Chris Adams's avatar

I am a 55 year old individual contributor: not the boss where I work but a “lead.” I like what I do and I get paid well even though I am not in FAANG. I would not trade jobs with my boss for 5x of my salary. I look at my job as a kind of furniture maker or other builder and I have side projects that teach me things. Yes there are salary caps in tech. I code on vacation for fun: I doubt anyone does project management for fun.if you are into it, software engineering can be a great career, or at least better than the others. Not everything is what it’s cracked up to be. I read an interview with Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and he said that he was so bored playing the same songs every day for 40 years. I thought I wanted to be a rockstar but I don’t think I would’ve wanted that lifestyle.

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