No, if you can programme, there are oodles of highly paid jobs in tech
I've seen a bright kid from Italy act very despondent. He was convinced there was no way to have a decent career in his country. I gave him a pep talk but it did make me wonder:
- are we in a temporary bubble of high salaries?
- how long-lived is the technical career? I see people get progressively despondent in their 40s and 50s. Unlike other fields, I don't think we treat our elders with respect.
- tech is notoriously inward looking (a toll on the mind). we also have ridiculously sedentary jobs (a toll on the body)
I am so addicted/madly in love with computers that I can't see myself doing anything else. But I am practical about stuff like housing costs and retirement. I see a very real possibility that the economics of tech will turn around and salaries will take a hit. Already, I've hit a salary wall (around 130K), which doesn't take you that far in expensive parts of the world. My MBA friends seem to be doing a bit better now - what is worrying me is that they get better/get paid better with age. Lets see how long I last ...
Btw, under 35 here.
There's no guarantee. I worry about the same thing.
> I don't think we treat our elders with respect
This is why software is an extremely immature discipline.
* We don't want to use discipline because it hurts our 'flow' (JS semicolon debacle)
* We don't learn from the past ("coupling's not real!")
* We don't respect our elders...unless, of course, you're famous (e.g. Carmack)
I love building things, but the sentiment (at least on HN) is disgustingly populist at times. It's like the whole industry tries to make itself mediocre.
I know many many people who after getting their CS degrees had to move away. In fact I know way more people who moved than stayed or went back to their hometown.