Programming and Salary

How many people do you know have a mobile phone, tablet and / or computer? All? 9 out of 10? If I thought so, at least in my case it is so. Everywhere there are hundreds and hundreds of electronic devices that work thanks to programming. This is just to make clear the importance of this profession today, which does not seem to diminish in the medium term and everyone knows that software experts make a lot of money because software is eating the world.

In my city a policeman earns on average 84% of what an entry level programmer earns, which is indicative of the position on the salary scale for this activity. But of course, we’re just talking about very good to excellent programmers. Good programmers usually add up to six figures on their salary and everyone knows why: ask anyone in virtually any place, and they will tell you that good engineers are terribly difficult to find.

Now the dark side of things: Demand has soared, supply has stagnated, prices have increased “Basic economy”. At present it is quite common to know that computer programming can be done from anywhere in the world, companies usually hire programmers in countries where wages are lower. It is estimated that this current trend will limit the growth of computer programmers in the United States, and employment is projected to decline by 8 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to the BLS. But that is good or bad? The answer is: everything is relative.

Companies distributed with employees scattered around the world are becoming more normal and acceptable. Without going that far, we can even claim that technology may well be destroying jobs faster than it creates them. That has boosted courses of this nature available online around the world, and standard development tools available to everyone. However, more and more programmers are seen “mediocre” (without offense) or in other words that have come to this field attracted more by economic interest than by a true passion.

This is fairly simple to explain, if we consider, according to the latest data shown by the Oxfam (Oxford Committee for Famine Relief), the richest 1% of the world’s population has more wealth than the rest of the world. In other words, when you are poor (like most of the world) on a scale of importance, money is higher than passion. So things, we are reaching an era where finding people with interest and talent for programming is rare, while programmers willing to work thousands of hours without necessarily being good at what they do, with minimal training and little exposure to the Technology (in other words: without many options in your life) for irrational wages, are increasing. “So much technology, so little talent-Vernor Vinge.”

In short, if what attracts you to software engineering is a good paycheck, you should be willing to master the subject and be really good at what you do.