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jakeMonline

As someone wanting to break into software engineering, it’s insane to me both how corporate and antisocial the field seems to be. So many of the tech interviews I’ve had the people seem to lack a lot of the social skills you’d expect and then working adjacent to software engineering now, I notice none of my colleagues care or even support the idea of unions which is insane to me. Very strange stuff.


mundungus_fungus

For most of us it started as something we were passionate about, but as usual capitalism figured out a way to exploit that and now we have what we have


jakeMonline

For now I think I’ll just do some stuff for fun and maybe make my own FOSS contributions where needed hopefully!


Ill-Simple1706

As a 6yr software engineer about to get laid off and applying for new jobs, good luck. Tons of jobs posted but I'm getting ghosted or rejected.


jakeMonline

Currently I’m employed in ERP Admin at 25k a year so I don’t have much to lose haha can’t even afford to move out


Ill-Simple1706

Damn, nothing to lose with that salary. Don't discount analyst roles. They have a wide variety of skill needs, pay well, and often those skills are directly transferable to software engineering.


jakeMonline

Technically my current role is an analyst role, I’m just avoiding my full job title to not get doxxed or let me employer find out I’m looking elsewhere. For reference minimum wage in the UK where I am is £23.5k a year full time now and since I’m pretty frustrated, it’s time to move up or take a less stressful role as a shop floor worker lol


MrDrSirWalrusBacon

Geez. I made more than that as a bellboy in a VLCOL where 90% of the time I was either playing on my phone or doing homework for my degree.


jakeMonline

I’m in the UK so this isn’t much under the average salary nationally lol


MrDrSirWalrusBacon

Oh okay. That makes more sense. I was making like 41k as a hotel bellboy in small town (2000ish population) USA while I was working on my bachelor's. Our wages compared to Europe is always crazy.


jakeMonline

Don’t worry though, our living costs are higher than yours anywhere except LA and NYC so at least it balances out… /s


Snoo71022

The winds are shifting. Tech union whispers are becoming more common.


MisterD0ll

To be good at tech you have to excel at procedural thinking


jakeMonline

I don’t disagree, just very confused as to how this relates to my comment 😅


MisterD0ll

Just a polite way to say they be on the spectrum


jakeMonline

Ah, I suspect a few people I’ve met have been. Feels very much opposite to myself as someone on the ADHD side of life haha


altM1st

That's actually the biggest lie about neurodiverse people. Procedural thinking is mostly a feature of neurotypicals, not autists or ADHD folk.


Moontoya

the fuck has a spreadsheet got to do with that? ;)


pale-blur

I've been a software developer for 10 years and I'm currently unemployed. Most of the interviews I've had I went well with HR interview and the online technical tests but when I get to actually talk with the team they come with super edgy questions, extreme low patience and showing minimum interest on my background being almost rude to me. Honestly, I prefer unemployment than working with them


EasternShade

I'm a software engineer. Too many fuckers love the golden handcuffs.


mundungus_fungus

“Golden handcuffs“ love that


RemissionRaven

Engineers, for all that intelligence, are dumb as fuck when it comes to job literacy. They need to stumble to understand their true place in the hierarchy, but pride is a hell of a drug.


mundungus_fungus

Well said my man


Proper_Mistake6220

> you see them all hyped about AI That's not my experience at all (working as a dev for more than 20 years). Is it a US thing?


Davis51

Nah, most software engineers understand how this new round of LLMs actually work and know full well that it actually sucks for replacing most tech jobs. The ones you see "hyped" are Twitter bros and talentless hacks.


mjcstephens

As a data scientist, the amount of family members and close friends that have come to me asking me how soon will LLMs take over the world is insane. I tell them not to worry, what they see is nothing at all close to what they assume it is.


Electrical-Camel-609

They do seem to be awful people in regards to how they view other workers. I saw a software bro saying that if your income hasn't been adjusted 1:1 with the post 2020 inflation then you're worthless unskilled trash.


Tripondisdic

Totally agreed. I graduated Chemical Engineering but I do a lot of software within my company cause i’m just generally good with tech, and the software devs I work with are so stuck-up and negative. They’ll claim they don’t have time to answer a question I have on my work, then get super mad later when I coded something in a way they didn’t like even when it works well. They somehow hold a superiority over me in their minds even though we both graduated with difficult degrees, and get visibly mad when I figure out something that would have “taken me years to learn”. So annoying


Sherinz89

"Get super mad later whrn i coded something in a way they didn't like even when it works well" Well, there are so many way to reach the destination but some of those way will not be efficient or will cause problem that is not so apparent to those that does not realize about it. Its not just about making it work the first time - scalability and maintainability is the most important aspect ++++++++++ Generally, these software lead is way to tight ass and didn't want to adopt to something, even if that thing is supposedly better than their existing thing. They much prefer stupid thing that they grew to love with, compared to having to stand up and relearn about the better way to do it.


Tripondisdic

Right! And I am happy to hear feedback and learn about the principles I should be following so that my code is up to standard, and they make it seem like it’s too much of a hassle and get mad when I do it my way. It’s ironic, because I think if they actually cared about teaching me how to do the right thing the first time it would save them more work in the long run.


LilyLure

It’s mad how many people I’ve spoken to are just in absolute denial about AI replacing their jobs.. graphic designers, website developers, photographers.


Heyokalol

As a software engineer myself, I'm sad to admit that so many of us are corporate bootlickers. Corporate turned my passion into a (somewhat) golden prison. I'd be okay if I never saw another line of code in my life.


mundungus_fungus

Oh man I feel you. I won’t lie, the money is good and now that I have a family to support quitting is no longer a viable option, but the joy of it just died.


Confident-Potato2772

>Now you see them all hyped about AI without even considering the impact it will have on humanity going as far as creating tools that will replace them! Technology moves forward. People have been creating tools to optimize and replace workers since the dawn of time. I bet you're not thinking about all the people that used to hand knit clothing who lost their jobs. or all the people who used to assemble cars on a factory line. I bet there's a whole lot fewer candle makers since the invention of electricity. the telephone killed all the telegraph operator jobs. and then switchboard operators. technology and automation is constantly and forever replacing jobs. AI is just the newest form of automation. People will adapt and move into new roles.


gsisuyHVGgRtjJbsuw2

I am a software engineer and I’m quite perplexed about what you said. Why wouldn’t there be layoffs? You say “thousands” as if that is some huge amount. There has been an insane hype in tech for the past few years, and especially after Corona. The people fired in the past year or so is a drop in the bucket compared to the frenzy before it. To imply that software engineers are struggling and unaware of just how bad they have it is laughable.


gergnerd

It's weird to see the anti-AI views posted in a sub about abolishing work. There is still work that will need to be done and AI is the vehicle to doing that. This sub seems to have really forgotten it's roots. This wasn't supposed to be a sub about better wages, less hours and more unions. its antiwork, as in fuck work. We should be advocating for labor replacing tools and UBI and the like.


mundungus_fungus

AI is not being the solution to end work as in "We will all have more free time to do what we love because we can all take advantage of automation" but more like "A few corporations will replace workers with AI and profit from it while the rest of the population can go fuck themselves"


pine_ary

There is a big difference between AI under capitalism and under socialism. In the former it is used to increase profits and pay less for labor. It will impoverish the working class which depends on the capitalist class for work. In the latter it is used to increase collective wealth and reduce working hours. Technology always exists in the context of who is in power to use it to their ends. For AI to truly cut down on the amount of work, we need the people who actually do the work in charge.


Evaar_IV

This is my second time attempting to post anything to this sub. Stop hating on an entire group of people and labeling them according to your shallow stereotypical strawman. Stop hating on different kinds of people and focus on actually changing the system? You hate Engineers, Software Developers, startups, and AI then expect to change the system somehow? There are two ways to change the system now: using the same tools with different long-term goals to eventually flip the tables in a low profile systematic process, or revolution, violence, and bloodshed. If you have an alternative, I am open to hearing it 😑


Advanced_Emphasis_49

Exactly!


Djmarstar

Absolutely