Software Industry

/prog/ what is the state of the software industry these days, and what are your short- and long-term predictions for it? Are there still jobs for a competent programmer, or will I be living on the streets for a while looking for a job? Is there any job security to be had?

Read the other day that the US has 100.000 new programming jobs each year. They are, however, only able to "produce" 60.000 new computer programmers each year. lol, shortage...

I hope the Indian invaders will brutally genocide the amerikan population.

There are always jobs for competent people? Are you one of them?

>>4
I really hope so. Although some days...God damn Jesus on a Popsicle stick.

>>1

If you are good, and can stand working with idiots (most jobs will have you working with them) then you can get a job without too much difficulty.  It helps immensely if you actually enjoy the profession.

The industry is always claiming it can't get the developers it needs, even when there are a glut of them. Think about it.

And there's no job security unless you dig yourself into a niche. The only problem with that is if the niche disappears, your experience will mean squat at the next interview.

>>7

Truth.

Despite all the news of "not enough engineers" - every job posting at my place of employment tends to get well over 100 responses in short order.  Of course, most of these people are complete retards - and thats where the true niche lies.  Most people don't like going to public channels to hire because of the retardism, so if you are good and know people, you are set.

>>7
I affirm the "industry" is ran by complete MBA morons who couldn't tell a computer and a dolphin apart, and I'm always claiming we can't get the managers we need.

Yeah.  Any idiot can get a job as a computer programmer or software engineer somewhere.  That's one of the biggest problems with the industry today.  Most of the good devs' time isn't spent making good new shit, it's spent fixing broken shit written by complete incompetents.

What's the pay like?

>>11

Depends what city you work in.  You will earn more out in CA or NY than you will in the Midwest.  I earn 60k currently - 5 years experience.  Still in college.

>>11

>>12 speaks truth.  I'm in the midwest and I'm making ~$68k with 4 years of experience (2 yrs grad school, 2 yrs industry).

Most of the good devs' time isn't spent making good new shit, it's spent fixing broken shit written by complete incompetents.
Truth.

>>14

I hear you.

How can I get into the industry? I'm about halfway through a 4-year BSCS program right now and I'm starting to think about internships and such. I had a couple classmates who got internships after their first year. Should I have done that? I worked at McDonald's all summer because I was worried about not having enough experience programming to try to do it for a real company. Would it help to pursue an internship this summer? What classes should I have before I even start thinking about internships? And, last question, I've failed a few classes in the past two years and had to retake them. Will this hurt my chances or reflect badly on myself?

I realize these are all n00blet questions, but I would rather have people who've actually been in the industry answer them rather than some old woman in the career counseling office who's actually never been in the industry and gets all her information from the company's HR department.

>>16
I got an internship at a large company after taking one intro level CS class. Most companies don't care what you know, so much as what you can learn and if you can think.

Also, take every interview you can. Even if you have no desire to work there over the summer. Technical interviews take practice.

>>16

>>17 speaks truth. 

Also, don't worry about programming during your internship.  Remember that interns are low-man on the totem pole.  You'll probably spend far more time installing and uninstalling software, running tests, and doing various other bits of menial gruntwork that nobody wants to do.  (Don't let it piss you off--- every guy you're working with has done the same shitty gruntwork, and they'll resume doing it once your internship ends.  It's part of the job.)

>>16

I did not get an internship and I was still fine. The pointers that I would give are as follows:

Build your skill set - If you like to learn new things, life may in fact become very exciting and awesome for you down the road. You will allow your company to do more things, and as a result, become an invaluable asset.

Prove yourself - work hard, I know it sounds old and cheezy, but the less you spend surfing the intarweb and the more time you spend getting real work done, the better your team will be as a whole, and you will have a greater sense of acomplishment when you actually get your deadlines smacked out in time.

Love it - it can get repetative, so if you dont love what you do, save yourself and others soe trouble. It is always nice to be around people who love their job.

and last but not least...

Save your boss's butt, dont kiss it

LISP

Private String ftmenusearch String.

/ think of Ada.

New InputStreamReader System in the entire world.

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Bringing /prog/ back to its people
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy