Let me be the optimist here: Programmers are both extremely unproductive and know very little about everything else. What percentage of capable programmers can actually sit down and write code for 8 hours and then do it 5 days in a row? The time not coding is filled with many different words for recovery. Some of this recovery involves trying to better understand the domain. (more on this later)
Most of the startups that get the attention are attempting to be the next big thing but a startup can just be a startup. It doesn't have to be big or glorious.
Someone who sells hot dogs (on a small scale) cant really hire a programmer but if he could (or could write it themselves) there would be plenty of software to write. You can make a nice interface with all of the sales statistics, inventory management, maps with competition and demographic data, work schedules, etc etc There is infinite complexity to even the simplest job. You could hire help and have an app talk them though every step in great detail with pictures, videos and animations. You can encode all of the little tricks that could normally take decades to learn. Say, on a busy spot you might not have time to spend 8 minutes properly cleaning the grills every 47 minutes but you could wipe down the glass every 4 minutes and clean part of the grills with alcohol every 11 minutes then clean it properly every 3 hours. The app might instruct to google location related news or other topics to talk about with the customer. If people are walking their dog they expect you to guess what breed it is and where it comes from then ask how old it is.
You might build a tech stack to help recognize their face, remember their name, what they ordered last time and how long ago. You're not suppose to but you know you want to.
You wont be coding for a glorious salary but will earn depending on the sector your chose. The software will be pure dog food of the finest quality in the world.
Grilling hot dogs is also very relaxing, can let the mind float a bit and have software ideas the way you should. Lots of bad ideas will come, I can show people pictures of themselves eating my hotdogs!
You can basically look at programming as the new literacy. You might want a fancy job writing letters for a nobleman but it is hardly the only application.
Most of the startups that get the attention are attempting to be the next big thing but a startup can just be a startup. It doesn't have to be big or glorious.
Someone who sells hot dogs (on a small scale) cant really hire a programmer but if he could (or could write it themselves) there would be plenty of software to write. You can make a nice interface with all of the sales statistics, inventory management, maps with competition and demographic data, work schedules, etc etc There is infinite complexity to even the simplest job. You could hire help and have an app talk them though every step in great detail with pictures, videos and animations. You can encode all of the little tricks that could normally take decades to learn. Say, on a busy spot you might not have time to spend 8 minutes properly cleaning the grills every 47 minutes but you could wipe down the glass every 4 minutes and clean part of the grills with alcohol every 11 minutes then clean it properly every 3 hours. The app might instruct to google location related news or other topics to talk about with the customer. If people are walking their dog they expect you to guess what breed it is and where it comes from then ask how old it is.
You might build a tech stack to help recognize their face, remember their name, what they ordered last time and how long ago. You're not suppose to but you know you want to.
You wont be coding for a glorious salary but will earn depending on the sector your chose. The software will be pure dog food of the finest quality in the world.
Grilling hot dogs is also very relaxing, can let the mind float a bit and have software ideas the way you should. Lots of bad ideas will come, I can show people pictures of themselves eating my hotdogs!
You can basically look at programming as the new literacy. You might want a fancy job writing letters for a nobleman but it is hardly the only application.