Don't learn to code. Do we really need more Software Developers and Software Engineers?

American Thinker ^ | 02/21/2019 | By Sam Younnokis

[SeekAndFind]

Enough with "learn to code."  As this article points out, that's terrible advice.  Coding isn't beanbag, and if you don't have a problem-solving mindset, you won't be good at it.  It's like telling people to buy power tools and become home-renovators.  Having a tool doesn't inform you about when and how to apply it.

What's the problem we are trying to solve here?  Is it to meet a need for more coders or to provide a way for unemployed people to earn a good wage?  I expect that it is the latter, so let's ask: do we need more software developers and software engineers?  We already have many of them who are unemployed for whatever reason.

Forecasting the expected needs for additional software developers arrives at a figure of roughly 300K between 2016 and 2026.  That's an average of 30K new jobs per year.  The BLS site offers a similar prediction for that time period.   This site indicates that 35K computer science degrees are awarded each year.  Sounds as though we have plenty of domestic candidates for those new jobs, right?  It should be noted that some percentage of the degrees awarded is for foreign students.

This article in Inc. also claims we need to train more software people.  This news release compares the total number of allegedly unfilled jobs, with the supposed annual rate of 43K degrees being awarded.  It adds that the Computer Science Education Coalition wants the federal government to pony up $250M to train K-12 students in coding to fill the Big Tech jobs need.  Nothing in the Constitution justifies spending tax dollars to train anyone for any job at all, whatsoever, but that's obviously no deterrent.  So how will that affect the interest in getting the actual degrees?  I'm thinking it will decrease, making the apparent crisis worse.  

[flamberge]

Your suggestion for cut and paste programming is part and parcel to what the Java library is all about.

"Cut and Paste" is one of the professional secrets of the masters in this trade. You make new programs quickly by using bits and pieces of old programs that worked in a similar context.

As you mentioned, this takes a lot of skill and knowledge of multiple techniques to do it correctly. An untrained, unskilled person is not going to be able to do it.

[JohnnyP]

I, 1989, I taught myself assembly for the Motorola HC11, which I used in the SafeGuard individual cylinder knock controller. When the HC11 became obsolete, I upgraded to the 9S12. That was scary for me, I put it off as long as I could.

When I get an idea for something new, I still code in assembly. I draw flowcharts and write psuedo assembly, then hand code, then type it into CodeWarrior and try it out.

I think in registers and counters and hardware and interrupts. I just can’t seem to get my head into C. I have a few books on the shelf, and many links to tutorials, but I can’t relate general C to C for processors.

Is there a cure?

[chuckles]

..."It just doesn't work that way. And it never will."....

Well, I've been around the block a couple of times over my 67 years and have heard this a couple of times. What is needed is an incentive. When Kennedy said we were going to the moon and back, we really didn't have a rocket that was reliable for a monkey. To compare the Mercury to the Saturn 5 just shows what can be done if we set out minds to it. We have apple harvesters now even if they don't get every apple,, it's cheaper than labor. Picking strawberries was supposed to be the holy grail to get the ones that were ripe and not squash everything around it. Now we can go to a restaurant and have a machine cook and assemble a burger. You had to know when they cried out for $15 an hour, the inventors went to work. Why invent a machine to make burgers at $12 when you can pay a person $7.25?

Now we have a shortage of coders and the pay is waaaay high. The H1-B program is full politically, so the way code is written will have to evolve even if it's just piecemeal. We have self driving cars and even scarier 18 wheelers. I wouldn't buy a self driver, wouldn't rent a Lyft with no driver, but you have to admit, it's coming, and coming fast.

Someone will see the need and start to streamline coding, maybe even a new language soon. If you look at it from an employer view, If I could cut from 100 coders to 30, it would be done tomorrow. You may just have to clean up obvious errors the machine made for final approval. Have you heard of AI lately? Teaching a robot to code should be relatively easy today. Writing code, eliminating errors, and making code more streamlined could be done at breakneck speed with a Beowulf server running Terabytes per second. When it become more profitable to do it differently, it will be done more cheaply. If China were to gain advantage over the US, there would be an incentive to spend money on such a project. A small timer probably won't be the one to do it. Saying "Never" is a long time. I look at polio, AIDS, Hepatitis, and many other impossible mountains to move just in my life time, I have no doubt someone is working on it right now.

[Oatka]

I remember when I was told about COBOL school by a guy in 1982 I said to him (and these are my exact words), “I thought I missed the computer revolution.”

That was me in 1967. I thought, "Well, I've got four years to dig in before the colleges flood the market." Retired from the game in 2000 - never made six figures, but nearly did (high fives).

[Grimmy]

It’s not just learn to code. They’ve gotta do the life style and walk the globalist walk first.

Step 1. Get an Indian passport and surrender their US passport.
Step 2. Move to India and get a job in a tech support call center. Serve your time.
Step 3. Compete for an H1B visa.
Step 4. Win an H1B visa slot.
Step 5. Come to the US and *then* learn to code.

[ViLaLuz]

Thank you!

[Bobalu]

Writing program generators is a specialty of mine.

I generally create software in plain old C but when I do a generator I use Delphi.

My main specialty is pattern recognition...there are not many of us that do that so I’m on a lot of short lists to call upon for that.

Nowadays I mostly just make strange gizmos using micro-controllers and program them in C....Embedded Systems.
I build, and consult on. micro-controller powered embedded medical devices like pacemakers , neuro-stimulators, FES..and such like.

I also enjoy adding high-tech features to old military gear...it’s fun...and easier than one might think.

I will NOT work on actual weapons of war though...a rule I have stuck to except for a very few exceptional cases where I considered the good to outweigh the bad by a large margin.
I refused to do work on a weapons system just last week...the guy was pissed as he could tell I already had an idea of how to fix their problem after it was described to me.

Actually, I mostly sit here on my ass browsing FreeRepublic, and wait to meet my maker..it won’t be long :-)

[Bobalu]

At the last 3 jobs I worked they told me I did the work of 3 of their entry level guys

True story, I was once told that I did as much work as the rest of my team did put together....I immediately apologized and vowed to do better. It took a moment before he got it but then he laughed himself silly.

[Mr. K]

LOL!!

I know EXACTLY what you mean.

My last contract they had bugs that crashed the system at least 10 times a day- for the last ten years. I fixed several of them... and then they hired new management and wanted to get rid of me to hire 2 people for the same price.

I wished them luck. Also told them the NEXT time they called me to come back (for the third time) I would probably not be available (at least at the same price)

[willyd]

If you want to discuss this, I am free on Monday or Tuesday. My phone number is (713) 397-1151 and my email is will@strato-search.com. Look forward to speaking with you.

[TexasGunLover]

If you want to discuss this, I am free on Monday or Tuesday. My phone number is (713) 397-1151 and my email is will@strato-search.com. Look forward to speaking with you

Having more to lose than those few conservatives in the liberal Houston area code than being doxed by libs, I'm happy to remain anonymous.

If you care to state either your IQ (Wechsler or Standord-Binet is comparable) or your income I'd be happy to consider your validity of argument. Otherwise, I'm statistically certain you've irrelevant.