HN Explorer

Ask HN: Has The Software Engineering Career Lost a Lot of Respect?

1 points by karakoram ↗ HN
Generally speaking, a career in computer science/SWE was respected and highly regarded by the public before AI.

I understand there was always the "weird" & "nerd" stereotype but it seems like a majority of people don't see SWE in the same light as other "white-collar" careers after AI.

Do you think this field has taken a reputational hit compared to Management, Law, Medicine, Finance, and Engineering?

What are your thoughts? Have you seen or noticed this shift? Thank you.

6 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 25.2 ms ] thread
toomuchtodo
> Generally speaking, a career in computer science/SWE was respected and highly regarded by the public before AI.

When? How so? Please provide examples. I think startup lottery wins and FAANG comp was highly regarded before AI ("kingmakers"), but not the actual craft and practice of software engineering (except perhaps in specific organizations or teams that cultivated an engineering focused culture, which is certainly not the norm, but should be recognized as a net positive).

Sometimes status and comp align, but not always. Doctors are gods of medicine, attorneys gods of the law and legal system. Finance, titans of industry, masters of the universe. Software engineers? Not so much.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-component_theory_of_stra...

PaulHoule
It’s true that other fields, even other kinds of engineering, have a professional licensing requirement. Even so, there are a lot of jobs that lawyers do that can be easily automated and have been for a long time (common contracts) but I would want a real lawyer to represent me if I was the defendant in a criminal trial.
drop_star
Then why do all the departments come to me when they need help with something lol
throwitaway222
Yes, but I don't see Law or Engineering as necessarily safe either. AI will take the domains that require informational triage and computation first.
kingkongjaffa
Tech has never been as respected as finance, law, or medicine.

It didn't really merit the respect.

Traditional licensed engineering is harder, has higher risk, and should have been more respected. Software engineering just had unlimited supply since copying software is free so the unit economics we easy to achieve, copying a bridge has a bill of materials and construction cost and time.

Physical utility that manifest in the real world is undervalued, doctors, nurses, engineers, lawyers, should be more respected, and would be, in a sticks and stones and wetware human reality, early 20th century economy.

Finance and Tech are really over valued due to runaway capitalism, in a virtual and synthetic reality, of capital and debt and virtual webspace post 1980's.

WheelsAtLarge
Yes, since we hear a lot about AI doing the majority of programming for many SWEs, my take is that SWE is more than programming. It takes a lot of expertise to create a successful software application. So, as people begin to use AI to create ever more useful and complex programs, it won’t be a situation where SWEs let AI do all the work. SWE will regain some of its respect. AI is taking some of the shine off many careers, so it’s not just SWEs. Only time will tell which careers will be at the top in the coming years, but those who understand AI and its creation will certainly be respected.