What are the harsh realities of Software Engineering & Programming?

Nowadays, programming is skyrocketing because of insanely high paid software engineers and programmers who get paid a lot from doing what they love. But like any other job, there are some problems about Software Engineering and Programming in general.

They expect you to know everything
Even if you are a Jr. Software Developer, people expect you to have knowledge and experience in fields that didn’t exist a few years ago. For example, Sebastian Ramirez, the creator of FastAPI posted on Twitter that he saw a job post. And in the job description, they require 4+ years of experience in the API that he created 1.5 years ago! If you don’t know how crazy can job requirements get, look at job posts at Stackoverflow, Angellist, etc.

Stress is too high
When dealing with high-complex problems on a short deadline -which is almost always the case- you get stressed too much and get a burn out too quickly. That’s why you see a lot of software engineers who retire early or choose a different low-stress profession at an early age. If you can’t handle stress or work with stress, I think you better choose a different profession.

Can’t keep up with new technologies
Especially in web development, there is always a better Library, a Framework that comes out every year. And if you want to keep up with the new technologies, that will take too much time. It is almost impossible to learn and master every trend. Also, the technologies you have learned won’t stay the way you did learn. For example, if you would have bought a React.js book 1 year ago, there is a pretty good chance that highly portion of the book will be outdated.

To conclude, of course, it is possible to deal with all of these problems. I just wanted to give you an insight into what is going on in the Software Engineering & Programming field. Thank you for reading.