{"id":235,"date":"2019-04-03T02:37:10","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T02:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/makemeaprogstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=235"},"modified":"2021-02-27T21:08:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-27T21:08:29","slug":"are-software-engineers-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/makemeaprogrammer.com\/are-software-engineers-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Software Engineers Happy? Yes, They Are, and Here’s Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this blog, we’ve taken on some questions that seem as though they’d be too general to answer.\u00a0 For instance, we looked at what programmers wear to work<\/a> and whether programming is hard<\/a>.\u00a0 And now, in that same vein, I’ll answer the question, “are software engineers happy?”<\/p>\n

Of course, you must understand that this involves painting with a broad brush.\u00a0 How could it not?<\/p>\n

So the idea here isn’t to peg every software engineer on the planet, nor to speak in absolutes.\u00a0 Rather, it’s about taking a look at the most common case for those of us in the field.<\/p>\n

I’ll give you a short, quick answer.\u00a0 Then I’ll list some of the things that detract from a software engineer’s happiness before elaborating in more detail on happiness factors.<\/p>\n

Are Software Engineers Happy? The Short Version<\/h2>\n

Alright, so here’s the short quick answer.\u00a0 Are software engineers happy?<\/p>\n

By and large, yes.\u00a0 In employment survey after employment survey, software engineer scores high marks.\u00a0 The combination of autonomy, pay, flexibility, and job satisfaction leads to software engineers being quite happy compared to people in other professions<\/strong>.\u00a0 For instance, check out this recent survey from US News<\/a> rating it the best job there is.<\/p>\n

Of course not every survey out there puts it at number one.\u00a0 But you’ll consistently find it in the top 5 or 10, especially when you factor in variants of the software engineer title.<\/p>\n

So given that you see a pretty consistent ranking of the gig as a top job, it’s reasonable to conclude that software engineers are relatively happy.\u00a0 Now, let’s dig into why that is.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some Things That Do Detract from a Software Developer’s Happiness<\/h2>\n

First, though, let’s look at some factors that might take away from a software developer’s happiness.\u00a0 I’m listing these not to somehow undermine my own point, but rather to give you a complete picture.<\/p>\n

Even a job consistently ranked among the top jobs to have won’t be all smiles and sunshine all the time.\u00a0 Here are some of the rough parts of software engineering:<\/p>\n