Don't want to be a downer, but after many years (15+) a software developer, I'm pretty sure I should have gone to business/economic school.
A few things that spring to mind:
a) badly paid compared to the value produced (still better paid than teachers)
b) ageism in the industry
c) the developer ego's (in general) for some reason are over the top, making it impossible for people to have normal discussing about various topics (you can see it here in HN) almost as bad as discussing politics
d) the next best biggest greatest thing being discovered every 2 months by 20 year olds that just discovered something from the 70's and you still have to pretend to be enthusiastic about it for networking/job interviews
e) sexism in the industry
f) in general, a sense of immaturity both on the development/architectural side, but also on a personal level in most places/conferences
g) networking has more to do with success than actual skills, at least in business school you learn that from the get go
Maybe I'm just getting old and want to scream at kids to get off my lawn.
The worst of it all, I'm 32 (been working professionally since I was 16, and programming as a hobby since 11). I'm not supposed to be an old timer complaining about 'kids these days' but sure feels like it!
I'm actually working with a very nice team which until today at least, haven't exhibited any of the signs above, but all the other 14 years have been in situations like that.
I can't edit my other reply so just going to do a new one.
One of the biggest eye openers I had as a developer and how I was being 'exploited' was when doing work for a consulting firm, the ceo of the company asked me to pick a open source app, change the logo and a few other things (2 days work), and the next day he presented the app as one of his 'business solutions' to some big shots (talking airports and big media companies) and was able with that to sell around 1.2 million euros in consulting services by demoing the open-source app and claiming a lot of the credit for that app. This is something as a developer I still cringe and would probably feel like I would need a bleach bath to clean myself but seems to be day-to-day from people that have MBA's or business/finance education.
I'm not complaining about my career by itself (I make good money), but it is still quite a few magnitudes lower than what I see my peers in business/finance making around here, and to top it off, seeing how their networks work is also something most developers never would think of using/tapping into. From easy entry to schools for their kids, to privileged access to clubs and activities (sorry, I don't know the correct translation for what I mean)
