The Changing Face of Software Development 173
CowboyRobot sends this excerpt from Dr. Dobb's:
"Ten years of surveys show an influx of younger developers, more women, and personality profiles at odds with traditional stereotypes. Software development is an art and a science that is not attainable for just anyone. It takes a special type of person to write code. Developers are detail-oriented, very literal, and intelligent. Logic is paramount, and they share a passion for their craft that rises above the desire to make more money. They are also typically married, middle-aged, have children, and most likely a mortgage. In one of a series of surveys that we've performed every six months since 2001 (interviewing each time more than 1400 developers worldwide), we find the typical developer is a married, middle-aged male, who has two to three children. Males have dominated the profession for as long we've been tracking this; and during that time, they have accounted for anywhere from 84% to 94% of the workforce. The number of male developers is currently close to the low, at 86%, which might indicate more females are taking up programming."
Females? (Score:5, Insightful)
Can we stop saying "females" when we mean "women". We're not Ferengi.
Dr Dobbs? (Score:2, Insightful)
Total garbage magazine now. I equate it to something like "People" magazine and "US" magazine. Poor writing and fluff. Last I looked they loved kissing Microsoft's a$$ as well. Back in the day when grownups used to run it, it was the shizzle.
Introverts (Score:5, Insightful)
I wonder how much of that is simply due to the stigma associated with the word "introvert."
I'm an introvert. Far to the introvert side on the Meyers-Briggs test: 18/20 if memory serves. When I tell acquaintances this, they're shocked. "Oh no!" they exclaim, "You're not like that at all!"
What that suggests to me is that mainstream society has a very poor understanding [carlkingdom.com] of what an introvert is. Extraverts don't understand introverts -- and they don't have to, since about 70% of the general population is extraverted -- so there's part of the problem. Because of the stereotype (or, as I say, "stigma"), asking people to self-identify as introverts is a fool's errand. No one wants to be *that.*
So "moderate extravert" could very well mean "introvert who does not know the technical definition and does not accept the stereotype."
Re:Females? (Score:5, Insightful)
Can we stop saying "females" when we mean "women". We're not Ferengi.
Do you find it offensive? I remember being in a college class back in the 80s where our feminist professor informed us that the word "lady" was offensive. Personally, I follow George Carlin's view...words are not offensive. I swear people as so thin skinned these days.
The view from a Middle Aged White Male IT Worker (Score:5, Insightful)
Or, perhaps we middle-aged men are leaving the profession as a guaranteed living in the field is no longer a given.
Yesterday, I received an email from an offshore "provider" who offers services at $10/hr. Most of us can't raise a family, pay a mortgage, let alone survive at that rate. The rate I have been billed out was $120-$160/hr. If people are just looking at the bottom per/hour line vs what a local agency or provider can give them for the added cost, it's pretty hard to compete.
The new IT "normal" is that IT departments are manned by "disposable or transit" workers. This is not how we "grew up" in the industry - we were valued for what we brought not only to a "project" but to the company as a whole. Companies felt their employees were assets - there was a sense of "belonging" that made people proud to for their employer. Now, it's just a paycheck.
While not exactly relics - those of us who have been around for a while are:
1) Migrating into management roles.
2) Becoming consultants (either independent or with an agency that pays benefits)
3) Running our own companies.
Younger individuals, with not as many responsibilities are moving into the developer ranks and cutting their teeth there. And, women, well many are finding that this field needn't be male dominated. Many see having this knowledge as a stepping stone to moving into project management or pre-sales. Rather smart, if you ask me.
Re:Females? (Score:5, Insightful)
Employers do not care about "professional level". What they want is cheap.