Seems like I keep getting more inquiries on picking programming as a career choice from the young'uns as I get older.
The most common question I have heard is “Are the prospects good for IT right now?”. Now I would like to cringe and show the other person my middle finger but being well versed in the arts of social jiu jitsu I hold my firm as I tell them(usually) why would they even ask me that if its their passion.
But I digress. Lets move on to the mudda.
Pros of being a programmer
- Pretty sweet salary. Can live off comfortably even while working part time.
- You can ideally find work anywhere in the world if you’re good enough.
- The world is your digital oyster! Hack around IOT stuff, make a webapp to plan your schedule. Having an in-depth technical knowledge about IT stuff helps a lot nowadays.
- Much more easier to become a programmer. Tons of (free)resources are available online.
Cons of being a programmer
- Its unhealthy. Sitting in front of a computer every day for the rest of your life will eventually fuck up your back/arms/eyes etc.
- The community which is friendly, is too PC. Make of that what you will.
- Not a lot of good rolemodels in the industry.
- You will need to invest a lot of time on a semi-regular basis just to catch up with the new stuff being created by the community.
Note: All this won’t apply if you don’t like programming.
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If the code above is enough to send you running for the hills, programming is a bad career choice.
I am no expert on this topic. I am giving my wisdom on whatever experience I have gathered in the last five years. It will be interesting to see my thoughts on this topic about 2-4 years from now.