Comment by computerex
3 years ago
Well, I think the parent is comparing software engineering to other white collar professions like lawyer.
In my opinion comparing SWE to blue collar work like construction is apples to oranges. Ofc the blue collar work is harder and more demanding physically.
It’s better to think about whether software engineers are being compensated fairly relative to other professions like lawyers.
I think they are given that wages seem to be governed with supply and demand. On one hand I don’t make as much as my sister, who is a doctor. On the other hand, I make enough/comfortable money and don’t have to deal with the liability/responsibilities/obligations of being a doctor or lawyer, and I can work from bed naked should I choose to do so.
You also don’t need to spend years in a very expensive education with tall entry barriers and taking on massive debt. But also, you had the info in doctor fakeries available and still chose software.
I mean - this is YMMV. Typical SV FAANG engineer is from an Ivy League or adjacent competitive school. Often with a masters.
So, yes, you might not have to do the full specialty training and residency but it can still be quite competitive and expensive.
You’re only earning surgeon money when you’ve made staff level at FAANG. Which usually means you’re near the same age as surgeons and there was a lot of risk and grind getting there. If anyone thinks getting to staff at FAANG is trivial - I’d suggest they’ve been very lucky in life and aren’t a representative person of how hard it is.
People who could do either often go into software because of the nearly unlimited earnings cap. Theoretically you could start your own company and be ultra rich. That’s what I see often as the source. Less common with doctors afaict.
This is kind of a meme. I'm not sure what you consider to be "surgeon money", but senior engineers at FAANG nowdays net ~450k/year (annualized). As a single person you can retire at 40 with ~5m in the bank by starting at FAANG at 22 and plateauing at senior (not staff) after 5-6 years. So you're hitting that 450k/year level at, like... 27? Earlier if you're working at a company like Facebook, which promotes aggressively (many people make it to senior in 3-4 years), maybe later if you're at Google (where it's non-trivial getting to Senior in 5 years; many take up to 8, some don't break through at all). At 27 you're just starting your residency, working 100-hour weeks for less than six figures. Lol.
FAANG hires way too many people to hire exclusively (or even primarily) from Ivy League schools. Jointly they employ probably 5% of the software engineers in the country! Master's degrees are likewise totally unnecessary; I almost never see anyone who isn't here on a visa getting a Master's. (PhDs are a different story, but I know people without even undergrad degrees working at FAANG too.)
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I think you meant doctor salaries?
> work from bed naked
Can confirm. Just did an onboarding in my underwear. (Although mostly because I forgot time conversion when on business travel was a thing, because COVID)
Or even more so compared to other office workers like managers and such. Or marketing, accounting and so on. All in all it is not too bad.