Shedding Bikes

Hi,

I read your blog on "There are no Famous Programmers" (from reddit.com), and I have my own thoughts regarding programmers and programming. I have been programming for 30 years starting with Fortran then C and C++. I have a Masters in Mechanical engineering (not CS, but have taken night classes).

I am very concerned about the plight of programmers, and you touched on one of them, lack of respect. I don't believe we (programmers) get credit, either financially or celebrity for the work we do. I am not sure why it is, but I think we bring it on ourselves. In my experience most programmers are aware of how important the work they do is, and they (wrongly) assume that everyone else knows this as well, and so they do nothing to consolidate their position of importance. Consequently, management pisses all over us, hiring offshore, moving work offshore, not giving credit for the work we do, low pay, bad working conditions (underpowered machines, no system support, multi-person cubicles ), etc.

In the past, other skilled worker groups have overcome this problem. The Masons come to mind, who created an organization to promote the skills of engineers and builders in the ancient world. Guilds would restrict access to the skill group by forcing them first to become an apprentice. The freemasons are still a significant player in the world today. I have a friend that was able to acquire a fine art masterpiece through a mason who was auctioning art work from the Scottish Wright Museum ( a free mason founded museum) at a fraction of the true cost. The AMA for medical doctors is another example. I would even go so far as to suggest unions (ugh) as a way to promote the programming profession. So the question is, why are programmers so adverse to organizing? It would seem in their best interest.

I also think programming is a special skill that has very little to do with formal training, you either have the "knack" or you don't, regardless of whether you have a CS degree. Certainly, education helps, but does not determine the level of skill.

Ken

(PS, I am not a member of any union, nor have I even been approached by one)