I think the main difference is that the field has effectively turned into a kind of factory work.
An analogy to the car industry holds very well, I think. Early in the automotive days, people built cars because they loved to build cars. As it became an industry, and then a mature industry, that was largely lost. Now, the people who "build cars" are factory workers, punching a clock and putting in their hours. The industry stopped being about excellence and started being about maximizing profit.
That's where software is now.
I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's clear that's a natural progression of new industries. However, that's not the sort of work that I want to do, and not what fulfills me.
I'm increasingly suspecting that there is no longer a role for the likes of me in the software industry.
It depends... you could always start your own project or work on tooling. Whatever you do, needs to have some market to survive, but there are options. Even if less well paying, less secure and/or less stable. Or, harder to break in to.
> you could always start your own project or work on tooling.
I've been successfully doing that for most of my career, actually! But even as a small independent, you can't ignore the nature of the industry. Especially if you're selling to the industry. So it doesn't shield you from the market forces very much.
I fantasize about there being a market for high-end, boutique tools, libraries, and such -- but I don't think it exists. I'm not sure that it can exist given the nature of the industry overall.
