&gt; Apply this perspective beyond software development. Law, medicine, firemen, teaching a kid to play baseball. Why do we continually look at software development different than other acquired skills?<p>Well, that&#x27;s a good question. What do you think it takes to break into law, medicine or fire safety? I can assure you that being willing to put in <i>significant</i> work, and tolerating adversity, is a hard requirement for each of them.<p>Much of my family is in medicine, and I used to work in law - both professions are absolutely merciless in comparison to engineering. The expectation that would-be [doctors, lawyers, bankers, etc] put in the work is <i>unwavering</i>, and the professionals in those fields can be huge dickheads to boot. Yet, they somehow manage to attract more than their share of candidates.