ly, but she must remember that she will not become a friend to her clients.

non-Myth #5: Programming Is only
for Those Who Think Logically

Well, yes. The nature of programming needs clarification. I define programming as any activity where a computation is described according for formal rules. Painting a picture is not programming: first, it obviously does not describe a computation, and, second, you are free to break whatever rules there are. At worst, they will call you an “ Impressionist” and not buy your paintings until after you are dead. Constructing a Web site and building a spreadsheet are both programming, because you have to learn the rules for describing the desired output (even if the rules concern a sequence of menu selections and drag-and-drop operations), and you have to debug incorrect results that result from not following the rules.

Tiffany’s good grades in mathematics imply she has the ability to think logically. She may prefer to study music so she can play violin in a symphony orchestra, but she should certainly consider studying computer science and her guidance counselor should insist this alternative be thoroughly explored.

non-Myth #6: Software
Is Being outsourced

Of course it is. However, the share of software being outsourced is relatively small compared with that in manufacturing. This is not a fluke but an intrinsic aspect of software. Almost by definition, “soft”-ware is used whenever flexibility and adaptation to requirements is needed. If a machine tool is going to turn out the same screw throughout its entire lifetime, it can be outsourced and programmed in “hard”-ware.

Software development can also be a path to other professional activities like systems design and marketing, since software reifies the proprietary knowledge of a firm. A bank might outsource the building of its Web site, but it is not likely to outsource the development of software to implement algorithms for pricing options or analyzing risk, because this proprietary knowledge is what contributes directly to the bank’s success.

It would be reasonable for Tiffany
to prefer designing jewelry over study-
ing computer science, but not because
software is being outsourced. It is more
likely that her jewelry business will fail
when confronted with outsourced prod-
ucts than it is that her programming job
at Boeing or Airbus will be outsourced.

non-Myth #7. Programming
Is a Well-Paid Profession

That’s great. Potential earnings shouldn’t be the only consideration when choosing a profession, but it is not immoral to consider what sort of future you will be offering your family. It would be a good idea to remind Tiffany that the chasm between the life-styles of her mother and Aunt Jennifer is not the result of luck.

I recently read the controversial book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. 1 The third chapter—“Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?”—based upon the work of sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh3 is quite relevant to the issue of potential earnings. As a graduate student, Venkatesh was able to observe and document the lives of the members of a drug gang, and he eventually obtained their financial records. These were analyzed by Levitt, an economist, who came up with the following conclusion, expressed as a question: So if crack dealing is the most dangerous job in America, and if the salary was only $3.30 an hour, why on earth would anyone take such a job? The answer: Well, for the same reason that a pretty Wisconsin farm girl moves to Hollywood. For the same reason that a high-school quarterback wakes up at 5 a.m. to lift weights. They all want to succeed in an extremely competitive field in which, if you reach the top, you are paid a fortune (to say nothing of the attendant glory and power). The result: The problem with crack dealing is the same as in every other glamour profession: a lot of people are competing for a very few prizes. Earning big money in the crack gang wasn’t much more likely than the Wisconsin farm girl becoming a movie star or the high-school quarterback playing in the NFL.

Ambition to succeed in a glam-
our profession is not something to be
deplored, but a young person must
receive advice and support on what
to do if she is not the 1 in 10,000 who
succeeds. If Tiffany wants to become a
professional singer, I would not try to
dissuade her, but I would prefer that
she pursue a CS degree part time while
she tries to advance her singing career.

The Real World Is not So Bad

I found the striking image appearing the beginning of this Viewpoint on the NASA Web site. The image shows Margaret Hamilton sitting in a mockup of the Apollo space capsule. Hamilton was the chief software engineer for the development of the Apollo flight software. She and her team developed new techniques of software engineering, which enabled their software to perform flawlessly on all Apollo missions. Later, she went on to establish her own software company.

Hamilton looks like she is having a lot of fun checking out the programs that she and her team developed. I am sure the long hours and whatever routine work the job involved were placed into perspective by the magnitude of the challenge, and there is no question she felt immense satisfaction when her software successfully landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. I do not know if Hamilton felt locked out of the male-dominated “clubhouse,” 2 but my guess is that the difficulty of the task, the short schedule and the weight of the responsibility felt by the whole team would have made such issues practically nonexistent.

Teachers, parents, and guidance counselors have the responsibility to explain the facts of life to talented young people: computer science and programming may seem like boring activities suitable only for asocial geeks, but a career like Margaret Hamilton’s is more fulfilling and more rewarding than what awaits those who do not study science and engineering based upon superficial perceptions of these professions.

 

References

1. levitt, s.D. and Dubner, s.J. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. allan lane, london, 2005.

2. Margolis, J. and fisher, a. Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing. MIt Press, cambridge, Ma, 2002.

3. Venkatesh, s. Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Crosses the Line. allan lane, london, 2008.

 

Mordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari ( [e-mail]) is an associate professor in the Department of science teaching at Weizmann Institute of science in rehovot, Israel, and an acM Distinguished educator.

I would like to thank Mark guzdial for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this Viewpoint.

copyright held by author.