Hell is other people. And yes, it is difficult to hold a programmer job in a circus, among self-obsessed, cosplaying sophisticated individualty, bearded and tattooed clowns.
But there are many niches for those who can't stand narcissistic cosplaying mediocrity in charge - craftsmanship of any kind, not necessarily digital. Making good sandwiches will do.
One could be a self-employed, paid open source contributor, a freelancer, a subcontractor, etc. Yes, one probably will never "succeed" in one of valleys sweatshops, but there are always other, less traveled pathways..
Again, Igor Sysoev, who have bootstrapped the project alone, according to his tastes and preferences, and then went back into shadow, leaving all the singing and dancing to those who liked it, is a classic example.
There is also Pirsig's book, Atlas, and a few other good ones.
But there are many niches for those who can't stand narcissistic cosplaying mediocrity in charge - craftsmanship of any kind, not necessarily digital. Making good sandwiches will do.
One could be a self-employed, paid open source contributor, a freelancer, a subcontractor, etc. Yes, one probably will never "succeed" in one of valleys sweatshops, but there are always other, less traveled pathways..
Again, Igor Sysoev, who have bootstrapped the project alone, according to his tastes and preferences, and then went back into shadow, leaving all the singing and dancing to those who liked it, is a classic example.
There is also Pirsig's book, Atlas, and a few other good ones.