I tend to agree with the article... while people can be mean anywhere, seems like there's a certain confluence of characteristics and circumstances that allows "jerks" to have an outsize place in the tech industry.
But I suppose to look on the bright side, I'd rather have somebody be a jerk to my face, even if it is subtle and insidious, than have them pretend to be my buddy and then stab me in the back.
I'll take being surrounded by jerks over trying to navigate some of the intricately constructed, intensely political environments that are common in the business world.
It's weird because when I imagine a young kid who is going to grow up to be a software developer, I tend to imagine the kid who gets picked on, not the one who's picking on people. I wonder why the tables turn.
FTA
> It is sort of a “kick the dog” syndrome where software developers who were kicked earlier in life, or even earlier in their careers, tend to feel justified in kicking the programmers who they see beneath them.
But I suppose to look on the bright side, I'd rather have somebody be a jerk to my face, even if it is subtle and insidious, than have them pretend to be my buddy and then stab me in the back.
I'll take being surrounded by jerks over trying to navigate some of the intricately constructed, intensely political environments that are common in the business world.