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Comment by ryandrake | Hacker News Reader

The difference being that you don't necessarily have to take the enormous risk of founding a company in order to become a partner in a law firm.

Is there a similar career path for engineers in any tech company that is the equivalent of "making partner" in a law firm? Genuinely curious.

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That all depends on whether you think a tech company that has the business model of a law firm is still a tech company. Silicon Valley does like hits.

On the other hand, have you asked any newly minted lawyers about their "career path" recently?

I'm not sure if it's the same for lawyers, but with a lot of doctors, they have to buy out the guy that's retiring/buy in to become a partner at a practice.

Sure, make partner in a boutique software consulting firm.

Problem is, boutique implies specialty. In tech, specialties involve short term expertise. Experience works against specialists in our field, whereas in fields like law and medicine, specialization is likely to increase value over a career lifetime. We are up against a far more sinister s-curve in the experience/perceived utility equation.

I would argue that specialization in software is more about delivering solutions and value. I agree that in general technology evolves, but there is clearly a 20+ year lifespan for some technologies. Cobol is still in demand. As a botique software shop you offer a company critical business infrastructure that gives them an edge. 90% of the software in business is developed or customized for the client. As developers we don't necessarily like it because it is not always elegant or optimal but it exists.

And how many Cobol jobs do you see advertised? Close to zero. I am an independent consultant, with 20+ years of experience. Let me tell you, noone who is looking to hire me gives a damn what I did 5 or 10 years ago. The technical problems (and tools used to solve them) 10 years ago were very different than today (even though you and I know that certain principles remain the same). I work pretty hard to remain current/relevant. I often joke that software engineers should be paid like star athletes or actors - their shelf time is limited.

Exactly.

If I'm not mistaken, Jason Fried made DHH partner at 37Signals.

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