Of course if you take some kids with liberal arts degrees (or no degrees) and train them to have programming skills they will be cheaper than people with senior level skills and CS degrees. But isn't that to the benefit of those workers who now have jobs? They might make less, say $60,000/yr, while the old guard gets angry because they now aren't competitive and their wages go down. What's interesting though - as an aside - is that these bootcamp grads _still_ demand to make as much as people with CS degrees and years of experience.
But what's the answer, protectionism and railing against STEM education? Yes software developers will be bitter about lower wages, but in the long term that means more people with skills and jobs, more people of color, more people from poor backgrounds who come from families who never made more than $20,000 in their life.
Let's not be so selfish, there are plenty of ways to outshine a General Assembly bootcamp grad with no degree... You just aren't going to do be able to do it by building websites for $200,000/yr anymore.
I think the problem is that for a lot of us technology was a way to provide ourselves and our families with a middle class living without doing something exceedingly dangerous like underwater welding or deep sea fishing. The companies that employ technology people are trying to eliminate this line of work and render it as cheap as an entry level checker at Wal-Mart. When that happens, how can anyone earn a living doing anything? It's not like these companies are going to take pity on their workforce and provide raises. Instead management will be trained to treat people as interchangeable and replaceable.
I don't really have an answer to your questions. What I can say is that if this happens it might be warranted to be bitter. Because a lot of things in the tech industry have been justified by high salaries. Personally I haven't believed most of it, but a lot of people have.
But what's the answer, protectionism and railing against STEM education? Yes software developers will be bitter about lower wages, but in the long term that means more people with skills and jobs, more people of color, more people from poor backgrounds who come from families who never made more than $20,000 in their life.
Let's not be so selfish, there are plenty of ways to outshine a General Assembly bootcamp grad with no degree... You just aren't going to do be able to do it by building websites for $200,000/yr anymore.