Software development is still a male dominated field. The current programming culture is still known for lax attitudes towards time-keeping and dress codes—not to mention to distaste for authority. The combination of high salaries and high demand allows these professionals to have more control over their working conditions. "Managing programmers is like herding cats" is a common expression in the industry.
Contrary to the geek stereotype, communication skills are very important, both written and verbal. Many good software engineers prefer clearly defined specifications and well documented code so that future programmers have a lucid understanding of what has already been done. A typical dot-com will have only a few software engineers because of high costs. Therefore, a staff programmer may be called upon to represent and explain technical requirements to other staff, clients, and partners.
The salaries are quite high in this field, ranging from $50K to $120K+, depending on the years of experience, educational background, range of languages and skills, management level(such as development lead), and industry. Note that start-ups may pay significantly less than banks or other major corporations; and consultants may earn significantly more than their full-time, one-company counterparts. Nevertheless, most employees prefer to work at lower-paying dot-corns and software development houses because they prefer more relaxed, egalitarian company cultures. No matter what the industry, benefits include stock options and bonuses, although these too vary from place to place.
Most of the top salaries require some management responsibilities as well as programming. There is a cap for those who wish to avoid management and just code for the rest of their lives. Programmers who decide to move into management or who start their own businesses often stop programming eventually as business requirements take up most of their time and they are unable to keep current in the field.
Why more and more people became interested in becoming computer programmers?
A．Because the job is very interesting.
B．Because they can get well paid in this profession.
C．Because it takes no great efforts to learn to do it.
D．Because of the high social status of the professionals.
