What our Economy Needs: More Developers
America is saddled with 9% unemployment. Yet, every single company I talk to can't find developers to advance their business. We at Rackspace have our own shortage (apply here!)
Something about our society is not creating enough developers. We have a glut of MBAs, accountants and lawyers (yours truly included). Where are all the good techies? Truth is being a developer has not been a focus of our society for very long. Even today I doubt many parents are thrilled when their kids come home declaring their desire to be a Python developer. I think we need an all out campaign to make writing code the next great occupation in America. Let me give you a few good reasons why:
1. The demand is there and it won't stop. If you want to know part of the reason why, take a look at one of my earlier posts: We are All Software Companies Now.
2. Don't believe the hype about offshoring. Building products and business process improvements requires deep contextual knowledge. Yes, companies are augmenting with outsourced help (for simple projects, QA, etc.), but I know very few companies that aren't seeking a strong set of resources embedded within their company, and they are willing to pay more for it. Software is now core for almost everyone. You don't outsource your core.
3. These are great jobs. Yes, the Valley talent bubble is likely out of hand (another post I can never get to), but even when it comes down to earth, the ability for a good (even decent) developer to make real money at a young age exceeds pretty much any other job I can imagine today. And it is not by any means a career dead end. Even if you stay a hard core coder and individual contributor, you can make a heck of career as a developer.
(If you know me you likely know this developer turned successful entrepreneur)
4. Developers are the key to company formation. Truth is most small businesses over the last 50 years were doctors and lawyers hanging up shingles or trade practitioners going alone and getting after it. Today, if you want to to start a business, you better be capable of creating a new experience in the technical world. And, if we want jobs we better build new companies. Developers are uniquely positioned to make it happen. Mark Zuckerberg, Chad Hurley, Larry Page, Bill Gates…they all had an idea and got to work making it real – that day. If you are not technical, this is not easy today, and that is often enough for an idea to die in your head. America's free system generates a lot of ideas, we need these hard skills to make them a reality.
5. If developers are not starting companies, they are shaping them. If you don't have the risk tolerance to build your own company, as a developer you are likely to be where you can make a major difference, learn new skills and grow with really smart people (what else can you ask from a job?). Senior engineers on key products have to think about customers, pricing, experience, profitability and all the other things that drive a business. The skill development needed to build marketing, operations, even finance leaders are built into this path.
6. Harvard degrees are not required. Truth is, being a developer or engineer is often a self taught activity. The most talented resources learn their skills from peers, books, videos and other tools, not from their doctorates. When you learn to code, you don't study the masters of old, you learn from the current thought leaders, and that is a never ending process. Your resume is much less important than your newest skills and accomplishments. This is unique from the biggest careers of recent history, and it creates real opportunity for many people. Of course, being a Harvard drop-out has worked pretty well for a few folks - especially developers.
Now all we need is a system that creates more developers. We need a society that prizes these skills. We need CS departments that teach relevant web technologies. We need business schools that demand technical knowledge. We need the Khan Academy of Python and Rails (a good start is here.). Who knows how we get there, but I think it should be a public policy goal to create at least a million incremental developers in 3 years. And millions more beyond that. Nothing I can think of will drive employment or economic innovation more.
