Scholars and academics have been bemoaning the pointlessness of what the article calls "knowledge work" for centuries. A few of my favorites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Scholar

https://andrewmbailey.com/papers/Higher-order%20truths%20abo...

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ComputerPerson 13 hours ago | parent [-]

There's a well-known book that labels programmers as a specific type of pointless job. "Duct tapers" is the category. Also task masters, who would have a foot under the software development umbrella, have space in the book.

"Bullshit Jobs"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs

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cgh 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This book and the "bullshit jobs" label is discussed extensively in the article.

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Der_Einzige 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

We are socially punished for our extremely cushy jobs

SWE has negative social value. Saying you’re a SWE or god forbid anything in AI in a dating/courtship context is basically suicide.

We are paid so well as compensation for debasing ourselves socially. A lot of normies intuitively understand the concepts in that book even without reading it and either see you as evil or a grifter, maybe both, when you say you work in tech/AI.

A lot of people are going to have extreme schadenfreud as they watch tech workers take L after L. They really hate us, they want us bullied or dead or wishing we were.

Still, it was totally worth it because the blue collar pricks that dislike tech workers are even worse in so many ways. At least I’m not a shitty construction worker responsible for contributing to the pathetic state that our housing industry is in.

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ComputerPerson 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Woah, bad day?

I've noticed or experienced absolutely none of this. The closest thing I can relate to is that I operate on a different intellectual plane from some of my blue-collar friends. This causes a divide and probably limits intimacy, but does not result in negative relationships.

Regarding the dating world, it impresses people that I'm an SWE. My role is a boon, maybe because it signals intelligence; I'm not sure.

Strongly disagree here. Would encourage you to try to reframe some of that. Sorry if that comes across as patronizing.

	▲	6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]

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arjie 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This hasn’t been true for me. Not only are the majority of software engineers I know married but also looking at the marriage rates in high-income in the Bay Area, it’s quite high, so I don’t think it’s specific to my group.

There are angry people on the Internet but real life has rarely reflected them.

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Der_Einzige 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Can't believe people here try to gaslight me on this topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtACIFEddhM

"If you're not taken, gay, or furry, the consensus is that dating in SF sucks..."

	▲	monknomo 5 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		It sounds like you are describing a problem with the San Francisco dating scene, which does relate to a small subset of the SWE experience, but hardly covers anything close to the totality of being an SWE.
	▲	arjie 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Well, I certainly was not trying to 'gaslight' you considering I repeatedly anchored my view in "for me" and "engineers I know" and then used a statistic to say that my experience seems pretty standard. To gaslight you would be to try to convince you that your experience is not what it was. I have no doubt that one's social context determines the outcomes here a lot.

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coldpie 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That has not been my experience at all. Usually people aren't interested in the career as a conversation topic ("Oh I don't understand anything about computers! Anyway,") but I've never seen anything like what you're describing.

Maybe AI people specifically get that kind of reaction, but that's a pretty hot topic at the moment.