
Is Tech a Meritocracy? - snake117
http://istechameritocracy.com/
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existencebox
This topic gets brought up and beaten to the ground on a regular basis, while
the answer seems quite apparent: "No, but then again nothing is." It always
struck me as rather odd that tech was seen as some exception where all of the
typical powers of politicking, luck, opportunity, and networking/positioning
savvy went out the window for some exalted ideal that people would only judge
and succeed based on merit.

There may be some draw, I'll grant, in the ability of the individual to have
truly massive impact via tech as a force multiplier, but beyond that I've
never been convinced as to why tech as an "industry" wouldn't pick up the
modus operandi of more matured industries, anti-meritocratic practices and
all, once that force multiplier is effectively harnessed, understood, and
boxed into just another means for a worker to deliver productive output. All
of the same management and incentive structures are relatively comparable
across industries.

As is my tendency, this was a bit of a rant, so in summary: There is certainly
some merit based reward in tech, perhaps to a greater degree than in other
industries due to the aformentioned single-dev-power. But as in all things
this is heavily influenced by the opportunities one is presented and the tools
one is able/willing to use. (trying to encapsulate everything from "working
overtime" to "playing political games" in this)

The greater question to me seems to be, "how do you unseat those with vested
interest and power in maintaining the status quo, if you're playing by a set
of rules that they aren't (and are starting at a disadvantage)" (if I may
handwave at the recent bigCo wage/hiring collusion), or perhaps more deeply,
"is it possible to have a complex societal/corporate structure without there
being loopholes/social constructs that can be exploited to detract from there
ever being a pure meritocracy, and do we even WANT the constrained system that
would allow for this?"

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ryandvm
Tech is a meritocracy, it's just based on many more factors than technical
skill. Idiot savants aren't particularly successful, but the sky is the limit
for developers that are technically proficient and also able to navigate the
murky waters of managerial politics.

There aren't a whole lot of fields that allow someone with only a high school
diploma to make upwards of $150K. And I'd argue that those that do are usually
meritocracies too.

~~~
existencebox
At the risk of being pedantic/taking the pessimistic take, "tech is a
meritocracy but..." seems entirely in line with my conclusion of "nothing is a
meritocracy, although tech enables those with merit more than most"

Someone with a highschool diploma CAN certainly succeed (two of my strongest
mentors, one of which a googler, did not have college degrees) but they had
_significant_ hurdles to get where they did; and even in my own experience
I've run into (nearly verbatim): "Since you have never held a senior rank, we
are not willing to look at you further" (turning down any opportunity to
"prove onesself" as well).

As I've said in posts elsewhere, tech is as susceptible to needing other
signaling channels as any other field, even if we weight the signaling of
"personal achievements" higher.

If we're coming at this from different angles around the basis of whether
these side effects preclude the existence of a meritocracy, I can accept that
disagreement; since I do tend to take a more pessimistic take on things and
could see how the opposite could be argued. (and as I said in the OP, I'm not
convinced a "pure meritocracy" could even happen, so perhaps that's a vacuous
comparison anyway)

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ryandvm
We're definitely being pedantic, but what I'm saying is it's a meritocracy
because your skills are far more important than your pedigree or seniority.

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pbreit
A little bit more than most things but certainly not like what the idealists
would prefer. Somehow they do not believe that high end college careers, name-
brand companies or knowing lots of good people have merit.

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comrh
Is anything a true meritocracy?

~~~
JauntTrooper
Chess.

~~~
pbreit
The narrower the rules, the more merit counts. Unfortunately (actually,
fortunately), in business and in the world, there are few if any rules.

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carsongross
Yes, as much as any industry in the history of mankind, save perhaps
prostitution.

