60+, programming for 44 years, triumphed over adversity more times than I can recall, wimpy looking nerd discounted by almost everyone I ever met. Hardly ever got the girl, got to be on the team, got the part, or got the job.
I'm a programmer because I can code, and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.
You can hate on another person because they're too old or too ugly or too nerdy or too black or too female or too gay or too anything else, but the real beauty of our field is that success is binary and relatively easy to measure:
1. Can you build it?
2. Does what you build matter to someone else?
I've always considered rejection for any reason a self solving problem: if you're too stupid to accept me (whether you're in Silicon Valley or not), then I would have never wanted to work with you anyway. I'll find someone else who understands the value I produce and can provide the environment in which I can thrive.
Life is unfair, especially in Silicon Valley. It's not about the unfairness, it's about our response to the unfairness.
There has never been a better time and a better way to succeed than building software today. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're at, what you're like, what you have, or who you're with. 95% of the battle is what you can do. So go do it.
If you're in a minority group that suffers discrimination then that discrimination skews the balance away from being 95% what you can do to more like 50% what you can do and 50% what colour/gender/sexuality/age/etc you are. And a big chunk of the 50% that's discrimination is the fact that people outside of your minority grossly underestimate how much of an issue discrimination is.
If you see something that's unfair it's not especially reasonable to just ignore it with a "Life is unfair" line.
I think what he is trying to say that it is possible to publish an app or service online and gain momentum completely by marketing it on the web. In such case, I do not see how your color/gender/sexuality/age/etc would matter. You could hide yourself behind a domain and nobody would ever care who runs or maintains the thing.
Sure. But complaining about "discrimination" (even if that's accurate) is still complaining. Feels a lot better to just grin and pedal up that hill faster than the kids.
Technology is an empowering force. Whether you're starting at the top or the bottom, it will help you. If you're going against headwinds, it will help you.
The parent's advice is solid. If you want to get ahead there are few choices better than becoming a great developer. If you want to get ahead in spite of discrimination then it's probably THE best choice.
> Life is unfair, especially in Silicon Valley. It's not about the unfairness, it's about our response to the unfairness.
> There has never been a better time and a better way to succeed than building software today. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're at, what you're like, what you have, or who you're with. 95% of the battle is what you can do. So go do it.
Thank you very much for the golden words. I wanted to complain something here, but your words let me be confident again.
There has never been a better time and a better way to succeed than building software today. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're at, what you're like, what you have, or who you're with. 95% of the battle is what you can do. So go do it.
Its 95% about who you know. You can be the best coder in the world but if you can't get your foot in the right door you will just be coding away in obscurity. Why is it that 90% of startups seem to be the valley?
Heh, I've often mused that the "best coder in the world" really is coding away in obscurity in the middle of some cube farm somewhere (no doubt making somebody else very rich), and we will never know who he/she is.
I'm willing to bet the objectively top ten best coders in the world are people that 99.9% of the world has never heard of and will never know who they are/were.
"if you're too stupid to accept me (whether you're in Silicon Valley or not), then I would have never wanted to work with you anyway."
This plus having F.U. money can go a long way towards getting that perfect job. Sometimes you need to be in a position of strength and have the financial resources to hold out for the best offer. There are a lot of crap jobs out there right now as employers can pretty much dictate the terms. Over time, this will change, and you need to be able to hold out until conditions do change.
"I'm a programmer because I can code, and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters."
That is so patently untrue it's not even funny. If that were the case, then we wouldn't even be having conversations about agism, sexism, racism, lack of diversity, etc.
"I've always considered rejection for any reason a self solving problem: if you're too stupid to accept me (whether you're in Silicon Valley or not), then I would have never wanted to work with you anyway. I'll find someone else who understands the value I produce and can provide the environment in which I can thrive."
That's of cold comfort to someone looking for a job, and constantly being rejected because the employers are "too stupid".
"Life is unfair, especially in Silicon Valley"
So? So we should continue with it being unfair? Or should we be trying to make it more fair?
That argument, to me, is the argument of someone who's either benefiting from the status quo, or just wants to make themselves sound better.
"It doesn't matter who you are, where you're at, what you're like, what you have, or who you're with."
Again, this entire thread is about the fact that it is just that.
I'm a programmer because I can code, and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.
You can hate on another person because they're too old or too ugly or too nerdy or too black or too female or too gay or too anything else, but the real beauty of our field is that success is binary and relatively easy to measure:
I've always considered rejection for any reason a self solving problem: if you're too stupid to accept me (whether you're in Silicon Valley or not), then I would have never wanted to work with you anyway. I'll find someone else who understands the value I produce and can provide the environment in which I can thrive.Life is unfair, especially in Silicon Valley. It's not about the unfairness, it's about our response to the unfairness.
There has never been a better time and a better way to succeed than building software today. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're at, what you're like, what you have, or who you're with. 95% of the battle is what you can do. So go do it.