RE: Selling my Traveler

[Farmer <pharmer@domain.elided>]

Tom Harais wrote:
> ... Makes me wonder why I left programming in the
> first place. Of course, I'm so old that when I started programming right
> out of college it was in FORTRAN and we used "cards" and JCL on an IBM 370
> to run those programs.

Tom, you young whipper-snapper, you worked on an IBM 370?  Heck, I had to
put up with a vintage 1966 IBM 360-50 with just 512 mbytes of memory, and an
IBM 029 cardpunch without a register.  BTW, I had to unload the COBOL
compiler after compiling so that I'd have enough memory to run the program!

And, just to make you feel better, aside from the wild stories that
circulate from time to time - everyone in software engineering has done
well, but only a few folks are actually making six digits.

I know some folks who have become millionaires in the recent economic boom
through IPOs.  Generally speaking, most folks working for a startup are
offered a tiny salary and a ton of stock, and most startups never make it.
All in all a very risky venture.

The difference in productivity from a great C++ programmer to a mediocre C++
programmer is between 7:1 and 100:1, depending on who you believe.  The
difference in pay between C++ programmers is only about 2:1, with a greater
coorelation to BS than to skill.  I think the typical salary for a senior
C++ developer in San Francisco is about $75,000, with starting probably
around $40,000.

And for some necessary IH content:  while spending the last few days at a
Bed & Breakfast, my parents in law, wif, and I met a lady whose husband used
to work for IH.  Beautiful women in her late 40s, she just went on and on
about how much she loved her Orange scout!  Then she started going on and on
about how long the engines last, etc, etc.  Surprised the heck out of my
father in law, a lead engineer at GM who never completely understood our
affection with IH and its crowd.

Ken "finally!  a subject in which I'm an old-timer!" Farmer
1980 Scout II
1975 Travelall
1974 Travelall
16 years experience in software development