The thing is you only see this attitude with Software Engineers and not other high paying professions such as Doctors or Lawyers.
If you were to compare the roots of Computer Science and its culture to other professions, it initially stemmed from the nerds and nerds were always trained to see themselves as low status, in fact by definition being a geek would make you an outcast amongst others..
It just so happened by pure luck that many successful startups grew thanks to our field and being a SWE became suddenly desirable.
So I'm not surprised that demanding a fair wage or forming unions are some of the things we struggle with.
Our industry is constantly trying to bring its own value down (anyone can code, it's easy,..), you never hear about other industries complaining they are "overpaid" or belittle the value they bring to people and businesses.
It's an unfortunate truth about studying CS and if I may be boldly controversial on HN, it might also one of the reasons we don't see too many women in this low status field.
If you were to compare the roots of Computer Science and its culture to other professions, it initially stemmed from the nerds and nerds were always trained to see themselves as low status, in fact by definition being a geek would make you an outcast amongst others..
It just so happened by pure luck that many successful startups grew thanks to our field and being a SWE became suddenly desirable.
So I'm not surprised that demanding a fair wage or forming unions are some of the things we struggle with.
Our industry is constantly trying to bring its own value down (anyone can code, it's easy,..), you never hear about other industries complaining they are "overpaid" or belittle the value they bring to people and businesses.
It's an unfortunate truth about studying CS and if I may be boldly controversial on HN, it might also one of the reasons we don't see too many women in this low status field.