Classic blechg: Careers for people who are not computer scientists
The following post appeared in my old blog circa 2013
I am taking a class on edX.org in Software As A Service, concentrating on Agile development and Ruby On Rails programming. I won't bore my non-tech readers with my adventures in server administration, because I'm fascinated here by a comment my instructor made intended to sell us on what a great job being a developer is. We are number 1 in pay and prestige according to a source he glossed over - doctors are third! Down at the very bottom are lumberjacks (kill trees to provide our wood products) and journalists (expose injustice, oppression and abuse of power), which got a good laugh from the class.
Well, I don't think the entire world is going to become part of the Matrix in my lifetime, and I think there are plenty of non-dev jobs that will exist, as long as we understand the basic needs of our dev overlords:
They need to go to the bathroom and bathe, so we need plumbers to ensure their toilet, shower, sink et al functions, not to mention civil engineers and chemists to get the water out of the lakes and rivers to their mansions. And people to build the mansion in the first place, actually.
They need to eat, so we need farmers to grow and kill their food and drive it in from the exotic climes of Wisconsin, Cambodia and the middle of the ocean. And of course, Colombia. The lab-grown meat, GMO plants and manufactured nutrition beverages will actually be for the non-coding rabble; the upper class is about having a more demanding palate, of course.
And of course, since most of these coding cognoscenti will be educated idiots who can't operate a stove, there will be a massive industry for restaurants and cafes, and employment for staff to serve their masters and - in the oldest customer service tradition - be their emotional punching bags.
As for those doctors and lawyers, they will continue to exist and rake up the big bucks, because when you are gravely ill or facing prison, you will sell your house to avoid that fate, and doctors and lawyers know this. And sometimes a coder will fall ill from lack of sunlight and physical activity, or forget that some laws apply to her or him (and that their clients and customers do have these old fashioned things called rights) and the doctor and lawyer must be called on to assist.
And finally, they need to be amused, whether with music to help them navigate a harsh debugging phase or TV shows/movies at the end of a 70+ hour work week, royalty have always required their jesters and that will not change, either. And though most shows and tunes are in some way computer generated, they will always need that fresh human touch to become magic. And that touch comes from creative people - actors, designers, writers, directors, and composers who all know the best stories come from people who are freaks, outcasts and in any way different. The truck drivers, chefs, plumbers and plantation strongmen who know that as useful as a computer is, the best thing you can do with it to improve your life...is to turn it off.
...after you're done with homework.
Shop Gaiam Yoga
I am taking a class on edX.org in Software As A Service, concentrating on Agile development and Ruby On Rails programming. I won't bore my non-tech readers with my adventures in server administration, because I'm fascinated here by a comment my instructor made intended to sell us on what a great job being a developer is. We are number 1 in pay and prestige according to a source he glossed over - doctors are third! Down at the very bottom are lumberjacks (kill trees to provide our wood products) and journalists (expose injustice, oppression and abuse of power), which got a good laugh from the class.
Well, I don't think the entire world is going to become part of the Matrix in my lifetime, and I think there are plenty of non-dev jobs that will exist, as long as we understand the basic needs of our dev overlords:
They need to go to the bathroom and bathe, so we need plumbers to ensure their toilet, shower, sink et al functions, not to mention civil engineers and chemists to get the water out of the lakes and rivers to their mansions. And people to build the mansion in the first place, actually.
They need to eat, so we need farmers to grow and kill their food and drive it in from the exotic climes of Wisconsin, Cambodia and the middle of the ocean. And of course, Colombia. The lab-grown meat, GMO plants and manufactured nutrition beverages will actually be for the non-coding rabble; the upper class is about having a more demanding palate, of course.
And of course, since most of these coding cognoscenti will be educated idiots who can't operate a stove, there will be a massive industry for restaurants and cafes, and employment for staff to serve their masters and - in the oldest customer service tradition - be their emotional punching bags.
As for those doctors and lawyers, they will continue to exist and rake up the big bucks, because when you are gravely ill or facing prison, you will sell your house to avoid that fate, and doctors and lawyers know this. And sometimes a coder will fall ill from lack of sunlight and physical activity, or forget that some laws apply to her or him (and that their clients and customers do have these old fashioned things called rights) and the doctor and lawyer must be called on to assist.
And finally, they need to be amused, whether with music to help them navigate a harsh debugging phase or TV shows/movies at the end of a 70+ hour work week, royalty have always required their jesters and that will not change, either. And though most shows and tunes are in some way computer generated, they will always need that fresh human touch to become magic. And that touch comes from creative people - actors, designers, writers, directors, and composers who all know the best stories come from people who are freaks, outcasts and in any way different. The truck drivers, chefs, plumbers and plantation strongmen who know that as useful as a computer is, the best thing you can do with it to improve your life...is to turn it off.
...after you're done with homework.
Shop Gaiam Yoga
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