The idea that a junior software engineer who can't get a software job _and also can't get any other kind of job or move somewhere cheaper to live_ to the point that they can't afford to feed their families is what's unrealistic.

It's not like the options are write software or starve. Billions of people find jobs and can feed their families without writing software.

I also don't often meet junior software engineers who actually have families to feed. Most juniors work in the industry for a few years before deciding to get married and have kids.

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flowerlad 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> can't get any other kind of job

At that point they won't be software engineers

	▲	j2kun 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I think your expectations of who gets to do math is uncalibrated. One famous math researcher who solved a major open problem was working at Subway while still doing math on the side. A very small fraction of people who get math degrees actually continue to do math in their careers. They usually have to get other jobs in order to survive (actuary, teacher, finance, etc.). Academic math funding was already drying up for last few years, and now AI will probably cause more cuts. Not to mention that academic math positions have never paid particularly well. I feel bad for anyone who can't find a job, but the software industry as a whole has been the cushiest industry for decades, and the current turbulence seems more temporary (and driven by corporate greed) than a systematic destruction of the trade.

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achierius 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> move somewhere cheaper to live

Unfortunately this often means moving away from family. What are you going to say to the kid whose parents toiled to get him through college on the expectation that he would be able to take care of them? "Sorry Mom, I have to move to North Dakota to work on the oilfields"?