"Code was never the hard part" misses the point but so does this blog post. This blog post from 2011 is worth reading and really cuts into the middle of the dreads-of-programmer.

https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pr...

  Don’t call yourself a programmer: “Programmer” sounds like “anomalously high-cost peon who types some mumbo-jumbo into some other mumbo-jumbo.”  If you call yourself a programmer, someone is already working on a way to get you fired.  You know Salesforce, widely perceived among engineers to be a Software as a Services company?  Their motto and sales point is “No Software”, which conveys to their actual customers “You know those programmers you have working on your internal systems?  If you used Salesforce, you could fire half of them and pocket part of the difference in your bonus.”  (There’s nothing wrong with this, by the way.  You’re in the business of unemploying people.  If you think that is unfair, go back to school and study something that doesn’t matter.)

Good post!

That patio11 post was good but you're overstating its relevance here by suggesting the thread's central topic is missing the point. The fizzbuzz part even undermines the "Code was never the hard part" message. If code was never hard, why has it always been so difficult to find talent that can do the most basic of tasks with code? Why was it considered a good average for programmers to only bang out 1000-2000 lines of code per year, measured by observing a team over 15 years, when it was well known even back in those days that skilled programmers could produce a lot more, and deliver even more business value quicker?

Besides, there was a whole back-and-forth among multiple bloggers and comment sites (including here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3170766) from back then in response that agreed or disagreed with that patio11 post. Here's one: https://web.archive.org/web/20111126183459/http://www.jacque... Here's another (though a couple years later): https://yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer-and-ot... From the second one's conclusion:

> When I introduce myself, I usually call myself a programmer, regardless of my current work on chip architecture and management and stuff. I got into programming for the money, so it's not like I'm overflowing with pride when uttering "programmer". I just think programming is a great career and the right thing to call myself for me.

> There's an alternative approach where you program, but you don't call it that, and you use programming as a starting point from which you transition to some form of being involved in business as directly as possible.

> It sounds a bit roundabout to me – why not just get an MBA instead? – but maybe it's the right path for some (especially considering that some prestigious MBA programs want you to have industry experience before you can even enroll.)

> The important thing is to choose the path that suits your preferences, follow it consistently, and realize where your approach is most likely to succeed. Because where I work, someone applying for a programming position and not calling himself a programmer will not make a good impression.

Sometimes calling yourself a "Software Engineer", or focusing on "$X company revenue definitely attributed to my efforts" rather than the technical details, is the right thing to do. Sometimes it's not. In any case I'll continue explaining to outsiders that "software engineer" is mostly just a fancy term for "programmer", and to programmers to call themselves whatever they think will best give them a chance at working where, on what, and for how much money they desire.

> There’s nothing wrong with this, by the way. You’re in the business of unemploying people.

Occasionally I see a tech person in SV upset about AI automating away jobs. My dude, your whole job is to automate away jobs.