Software industry

"How's your first programming job out of college?"

"There are systematic failures at every level of management, but it's fun when I'm coding."

I recently talked with a friend about getting a "Senior" job title at work. He thinks if you've been working at a place for a certain number of years, you should automatically get promoted to a senior position. But I disagree. I think you need to have the right skills and experience, not just time spent in a role.

Our chat started because he wants to promote someone in our team who's been a web developer for three years. He thinks just because this person has been in the role for three years, they should be called a "Senior Web Developer." But I think you should have proof that you've made a big impact or achieved certain goals before getting a senior title.

Am I wrong? What do you think?

One of the most fascinating themes I track in the world of AI is how generative AI is rapidly disrupting knowledge worker jobs we regarded as quite safe even one year ago.

Software engineering is the latest to experience this disruption, and a deep dive from (sadly paywalled) touches on how rapidly the change has already come for coding roles.

I've summarized the key things that stood out to me as well as included additional context below!

Why is this important?

• All early-career white-collar jobs may face disruption by generative AI: software engineering is just one field that's seeing super fast changes.

• The speed is what's astonishing: in a survey by Stack Overflow, 70% of developers already use or plan to use AI copilot tools for coding. GitHub's Copilot is less than one year old, as is ChatGPT. The pace of AI disruption is unlike that of the calculator, spreadsheet, telephone and more.

• And companies have already transformed their hiring: technology roles increasingly steer more senior, and junior engineers are increasingly likely to be the first ones laid off. We're already seeing Gen AI's impact, along with macroeconomic forces, show up in how companies hire.

AI may also change the nature of early career work:

• Most early-career programmers handle simpler tasks: these tasks could largely be tackled by off-the-shelf AI platforms like GitHub copilot now.

• This is creating a gap for junior engineers: they're not wanted to mundane tasks as much, and companies want the ones who can step in and do work above the grade of AI. An entire group of junior engineers may be caught between a rock and a hard place.

• Engineers seem to agree copilots are getting better: GPT-4 and GitHub are both stellar tools for doing basics or even thinking through problems, many say. I polled a few friends in the tech industry and many concur.

What do skeptics say?

• Experienced developers agree that AI can't take over the hard stuff: designing solutions to complex problems, grokking complex libraries of code, and more.

• Companies embracing AI copilots are warning of the dangers of AI-written code: AI code could be buggy, wrong, lead to bad practices, and more. The WSJ previously wrote about how many CTOs are skeptical about fully trusting AI-written code.

• We may still overestimate the pace of technological change, the writer notes. In particular, the writer calls out how regulation and other forces could generate substantial friction to speedy disruption -- much like how past tech innovations have played out.

P.S. If you like this kind of analysis, I write that tracks the biggest issues and implications of generative AI tech. It's sent once a week and helps you stay up-to-date in the time it takes to have your Sunday morning coffee.

Hello everyone, I recently graduated from college and am currently working as an FPGA RTL engineer with a year of experience at a startup in India. I have worked on IP integration and camera. Although the work seems okay, I am a bit disappointed with the work culture, flexibility, and compensation within the hardware industry in general. Therefore, I am confused and contemplating switching to software (I am considering AI and embedded as options right now). Thus, I wanted some clarity about the following topics with respect to India as well as outside India from more experienced folks in the hardware and software industry:

1. How is the compensation/salary growth in both industries as the career progresses, and does the divide between software and hardware compensations stay the same or increase as one progresses in the career (can you answer this for entry-, mid-, senior-, and management-level roles)?

2. Are software jobs more flexible than hardware design jobs, and what is the current/upcoming trend in both industries regarding WFH?

3. In general, work load in hardware companies seems to be higher, and work culture seems to be poorer compared to the software industry. How true is this?

4. The software industry seems to have a huge advantage in terms of community and tool support as compared to hardware folks, I personally am experiencing it, but is this really true, and if not, can you suggest some tools and websites that might help in RTL design?

5. Job security in hardware seems to be higher than in the software industry due to a steeper learning curve and a lack of skilled people. Is this true?

6. Will the end of Moore's law have an impact on jobs and salaries in the semiconductor design industry?

7. Tech giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, etc. now have hardware design departments; do employees in the hardware departments of these companies enjoy similar levels of good culture/salary/perks as their software counterparts and are these companies worth it to join for hardware roles?

8. How much impact, both positive and negative, will AI have on hardware and software jobs in general?
   Lastly, which are the most in-demand and critical roles in the ASIC industry: RTL designer, verification, physical design, DFT, validation or something else? Can someone also clarify about the work pressure, salaries and flexibilities in these roles?
   I am really confused about both industries. I have worked a bit in both HDLs and traditional programming languages like C++, MATLAB, Python, etc. I hope this post will give me some much-needed clarity. Thanks in advance for your help!

PS: I just wanted to know whether the issues I am facing right now are specific to my company or the hardware industry in general before deciding to move on to software. I couldn't find relevant recent posts covering these topics in detail, hence posting this here.

So I am a 12th PCM+Cs student will be appearing for boards in 2024. From the beginning of 9th I decided to pursue career in Tech. I am really into coding and development like beside Learning programming language I am doing professional certification courses in Devops engineering, Data Science and some development courses like React Native which are provided by IBM, Meta, Google, etc from now. But seeing current Job market I am really very unsure about my future in this because this industry became so much saturated not only in India but in most of the countries. I wanted to purse career specifically in embedded software engineering and IOT related stuffs but there are very few companies actually hiring for this and am also not sure how much relevant is this for a fresher unless he is from IIT Or any other big tier 1 colleges...

So I wanted to know like how will the industry look like after 5 years as from a very lower middle class family I really can't take much risk , I know some will say purse AI, ML or related fields it will be in huge demand by that time but As per me it will be too saturated just like Mern stack because of bootcamps and every local colleges providing specialization in it., Also some will say Skills matters most but the things considering today their is huge chunck of skilled engineers unemployed, I have connections and talked with many students who has really above industry level skills as a fresher but not even getting calls for interview, getting hired is like. Even I am sure there are many people in this Subreddit who have excellent skills but still struggling to find jobs. ..

فيه واحد صاحبي هو جونيور ديفيلوبر بيقولي انه شغال 9 ساعات، لا 9 ساعات حرفيا مفيش فيهم في النص راحة، والشغل من الشركة وبياخد ساعة مواصلات رايح وزيهم راجع بيقولي انه بيصحى يروح الشغل ويرجع لو هيأكل وينام علشان يصحى تاني يوم يروح فأنا كنت عايز اعرف هو الموضوع ده طبيعي للناس إللي شغالة في السوفت وير في مصر والكلام ده طبيعي في الشركات الصغيرة واللي تحت بير السلم؟؟

Given the fabulous amount of salaries being offered in the Software development industry, I find the lack of British nationals working in it very noticeable. I have had colleagues from Italy, Poland, India, Spain and Greece in bigger proportion. I have had like 2 British colleagues in my 4 years of working here. What could be the reason to this? Are the students not being motivated towards science in general?

Reference for salaries : levels.fyi

i am gonna keep this short because this topic can be a book. anyway, i feel when you talk about todays financial struggles there will be atleast one person doing well in software that downplays you as a lazy bum, an idiot etc for having financial issues since getting into software will solve your issues instantly and they wonder WHY NOT JUST DO THAT ?.

the thing is not everyone can make it work. it takes a special person to tolerate being in front of a screen for so long for years, also not everyone has the patience for coding to begin with, and basically there are a lot of people that just hate it and becoming a dev will lead to serious depression. also its just super depressing that there really is only a handful of careers that have decent pay,

like we are forced to choose from maybe 11 career paths to just be able pay rent.

Hello everyone, I recently graduated from college and am currently working as an FPGA RTL engineer with a year of experience at a startup in India. I have worked on IP integration and camera. Although the work seems okay, I am a bit disappointed with the work culture, flexibility, and compensation within the hardware industry in general. Therefore, I am confused and contemplating switching to software (I am considering AI and embedded as options right now). Thus, I wanted some clarity about the following topics with respect to India as well as outside India from more experienced folks in the hardware and software industry:

1. How is the compensation/salary growth in both industries as the career progresses, and does the divide between software and hardware compensations stay the same or increase as one progresses in the career (can you answer this for entry-, mid-, senior-, and management-level roles)?

2. Are software jobs more flexible than hardware design jobs, and what is the current/upcoming trend in both industries regarding WFH?

3. In general, work load in hardware companies seems to be higher, and work culture seems to be poorer compared to the software industry. How true is this?

4. The software industry seems to have a huge advantage in terms of community and tool support as compared to hardware folks, I personally am experiencing it, but is this really true, and if not, can you suggest some tools and websites that might help in RTL design?

5. Job security in hardware seems to be higher than in the software industry due to a steeper learning curve and a lack of skilled people. Is this true?

6. Will the end of Moore's law have an impact on jobs and salaries in the semiconductor design industry?

7. Tech giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, etc. now have hardware design departments; do employees in the hardware departments of these companies enjoy similar levels of good culture/salary/perks as their software counterparts and are these companies worth it to join for hardware roles?

8. How much impact, both positive and negative, will AI have on hardware and software jobs in general?

9. FPGA vs ASIC, which domain will help better in increasing the understanding about how chips work for solving critical hardware problems?

10. Lastly, which are the most in-demand and critical roles in the ASIC industry: RTL designer, verification, physical design, DFT, validation or something else? Can someone also clarify about the work pressure, salaries and flexibilities in these roles?

I am really confused about both industries. I have worked a bit in both HDLs and traditional programming languages like C++, MATLAB, Python, etc. I hope this post will give me some much-needed clarity. Thanks in advance for your help!

PS: I just wanted to know whether the issues I am facing right now are specific to my company or the hardware industry in general before deciding to move on to software. I couldn't find relevant recent posts covering these topics in detail, hence posting this here.

Some context: I am gay myself, I live in Sri Lanka, I'm educated up to masters level, and yes, I'm out to my close friends and family and on my social profiles. I'm a working in the software industry in Sri Lanka, and I have no problem with my job as a senior SE for now 5 years and counting. I love what I do and I'm good at it. Although, I feel I've built a career thus far despite being gay in an industry where negative perceptions and bias against gay people (or even someone appearing to be stereotypically gay, like not masculine enough) are the default.

And truth be told, this has lead me to depression, loneliness and deep anxiety. Even to the extent of seeking professional help and I'm on antidepressants 365 days of the year. I've worked at over 5 companies so far in my career and I've performed well in the job itself, but the company cultures I've worked at so far have been homophobic and I have been discriminated against because of my sexuality countless times. There's name-calling behind my back, which are the usual gay slurs in sinhala. Although more problematic is when guys at any office would often mistake an effort by me to "make professional friends (platonic)" to flirting, and this misunderstanding/bias causes tension within teams. At times its quite clear to me that they play office politics by using the appraisal system with an agenda to "get the gay guy out of the team". It's just hate, there's no two ways about it.

As they are often homophobic and see me in a negative way I feel I have to work extra hard to prove myself (twice the work to get half of recognition that others straight peers get), and I feel I always have to watch my back/stay on edge. It is certainly not a "friendly" work environment for me where I can feel safe and be myself and perform to my best.

My question: Considering all this, I was wondering is this kind of homophobia and discrimination the norm at all software companies in SL? I've noticed some companies (international ones in SL mostly) that even change their company logos to a rainbow during pride month and have pages on their websites saying they stand for diversity, but is this just marketing/branding or is it really an accepting and inclusive culture where I could be myself? Are there literally zero companies where a gay person can feel safe in SL?

Recently saw a viral post about fake candidates in Hyderabad.Is it background verification weak or consultancy are so strong?? Especially in corona time this happened extensively.. still y companies continuing ? Best example is i know 2 persons forget fake experience they didn't even pass BTech. But now earning 80000+ in wipro.. will they be caught or ok with it.. Whats ur opinion

AMA is planned for tomorrow, Saturday, 19th August 2023.

But feel free to start posting and upvoting questions that you want me to answer.

I will spend 4-5 hours throughout the day tomorrow to answer as many questions as possible.

It would be great, if you can post some info about yourself while asking questions! It will help me give advice specific to your interests and also makes it interesting for me.

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Hi. I am Nitin.

I am working in the software/gaming industry for the last 15 years.

I have been very fortunate to lead many teams of developers, product managers, analysts, data scientists, UI/UX designers, game designers, and QA engineers. My last designation was VP Product / VP Data Science in the gaming industry.

Happy to answer questions on any of these topics:

1. Software Engineering

2. Gaming Industry

3. MBA

4. Product Management

5. Data Science / ML / AI

6. UI/UX design

My LinkedIn profile (incase you are interested):

============================

Ask me anything :)

I am a senior software dev and if you're a book learner like me, you have likely read, or are at least familiar with all the "classics":

• Clean Code

• Code Complete

• Pragmatic Programmer

• Design Patterns

• Refactoring

• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

• Art of Computing

• Mythical Man Month

• Working Effectively with Legacy Code

• Compilers (the dragon book)

• Domain Driven Design

• Language specific books (Effective Java, C# in Depth, the C Programming Language, etc.)

If you look up "best books to read as a software engineer", you will get a list that looks like the above list. Most of these were written 20 years ago or more! The last true game changing book to be published in my opinion was Designing Data Intensive Applications, which was back in 2015.

Are there any recently published books (say, last 5 or so years) that you believe are extremely important in an experienced developers arsenal?

I am currently taking ECE270 right now and really enjoying it. I heard ECE337 and 437 are two of the best classes offered in Purdue and is really good for job placement. I originally wanted to do software because of the demand and was planning to choose only software selectives. But the job market for SWE is so saturated and is extremely difficult to get an entry level position. So I wonder if doing software still a good idea and what’s the best career path for compe, which is easier to get an entry level job? What selectives should I choose? Also, I plan to get a master degree.

Many here are new to software industry.

Here's quick history.

Since 2000, there have been 4 economic factors that affected the software industry job market.

2000ish Dot com bust

2008 crash

2020 pandemic

2022 recession

Since 2000, there have been numerous tech innovations that drove significant INCREASE in software industry jobs and SALARIES.

Web 1.0

Web 2.0

Socials

Mobile

Streaming

Cloud

Crypto

Web 3.0 beta tbd

and so on.

Software is eating the world. Literally.

Farming, John Deere farming and equipment cloud services

Kitchen, cloud kitchens, lol.

Food delivery, uber, door dash, etc.

Groceries, instacart, amazon fresh, etc.

and so on.

Apple, Msft, Amzn are TRILLION dollar tech companies.

Anyone that bet on software industry jobs in 2000, at height of dot com bust, WON big time. If you just bet on a toy browser programming language in 2000, called javascript, you WON big time.

No matter what happens now, the software industry will keep growing. There will be more and more demand for good, experienced software engineers.

Rant.

There are lots of unemployed people. There is a huge group of people who are unhappy in their current job. There is also a long list of vacancies in LinkedIn. Some even 3 months old. Not yet filled. And yet, the gap remains largely unfilled.

Why don’t companies change the way they recruit. Either they don’t know what kind of person they want or they want to boast the tough process their style, their egos.

I mean there should be some overlap between what’s been asked and what’s been offered on the job. When the entire universe relies on search why do you want me to prove that I am Alexander of programming? I just don’t get why plotting the walks of a knight on a chess board is really going to benefit anyone in the long term. I just don’t.

Ask me how I solved a real life problem I will explain , but please oh please do me a favour and stop asking questions that are unrelated to the fucking job at the end.

Have you ever wondered why music production software seems to be so expensive?

This was the original inspiration for my research project by the name of the title of this post that since matured into investigating the general phenomenon of pricing of non-tangible, non-rivalrous, digital software goods from a practical standpoint.

I posted a survey on the topic over 2 years ago that got a grand total of 553 responses across all channels. Thus, I thought to post the result here as a thank you now that I am finally fully done with touring science competitions and doing additional research, all of which was made possible by your answers here.

I also interviewed 12 representatives of music production software companies that ranged from small startups to industry leaders. If you are curious about the economic phenomenon of digital goods and their pricing or the music production software industry and how to research something like it or just want to see my journey from writing an extended essay for the IB to traveling all the way to Bulgaria through Otaniemi and Leiden, Netherlands as a result, check out the project page here on my website:

And once again, thank you to all those who answered the survey way back!