> I think there’s an interesting discussion to be had about why all these programming tools (languages, frameworks, version control, other infrastructure) have made the job of software engineers so much easier, and many more people have entered the profession as a result, but the wages of software engineers has continued to rise.
More demand. As you’ve stated, we probably just wouldn’t have services like Google Docs if we were still writing code in Fortran. But with the advent of better languages and tooling, people replace old tasks (e.g. spreadsheets copywriting) with automation, and create new types of software (video games, social media, ads). Software engineers have become more efficient but there’s a need for more software engineers, because there’s a need for much more programming.
It’s the same reason people still work a lot despite having more and more automation: our expectations for a decent quality of life (housing, shopping choices, machines) have increased. Workers have become more efficient but there is much more work to be done.
A lot of it is inefficiently too. I believe there are a lot of “bullshit tech jobs” (see: ad creators), and software produced with real money which really just isn’t necessary. Similarly, there are bullshit jobs in other fields (see: call centers); things like huge houses and shopping choices which aren’t necessary,
and there’s a lot of waste (food, old stuff, products designed to fail), which all cause society as a whole to work much more than we really need to.
But it’s not just inefficiency. There are a lot of problems we simply couldn’t tackle with old technology (be it software, hardware, chemical manufacturing, healthcare) which we can tackle now. So, better tools don’t reduce jobs, they just change how the jobs are done and what they’re for.
More demand. As you’ve stated, we probably just wouldn’t have services like Google Docs if we were still writing code in Fortran. But with the advent of better languages and tooling, people replace old tasks (e.g. spreadsheets copywriting) with automation, and create new types of software (video games, social media, ads). Software engineers have become more efficient but there’s a need for more software engineers, because there’s a need for much more programming.
It’s the same reason people still work a lot despite having more and more automation: our expectations for a decent quality of life (housing, shopping choices, machines) have increased. Workers have become more efficient but there is much more work to be done.
A lot of it is inefficiently too. I believe there are a lot of “bullshit tech jobs” (see: ad creators), and software produced with real money which really just isn’t necessary. Similarly, there are bullshit jobs in other fields (see: call centers); things like huge houses and shopping choices which aren’t necessary, and there’s a lot of waste (food, old stuff, products designed to fail), which all cause society as a whole to work much more than we really need to.
But it’s not just inefficiency. There are a lot of problems we simply couldn’t tackle with old technology (be it software, hardware, chemical manufacturing, healthcare) which we can tackle now. So, better tools don’t reduce jobs, they just change how the jobs are done and what they’re for.