Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Good replies all, thanks. I work at a company and they do outsource the majority of the SE to a consulting firm here in the states. The majority of the SE are from India and I'll say they are very normal in regards to being able to carry on conversations not IT related and obviously have interests (cricket example) outside.....
And that is fine as a I am a nerd but I did have a lot of other interests including basketball, baseball and watching movies. The interesting thing is as a society we push kids to major in STEM careers, yet if you follow these career boards would a more social kid be interested in these fields?
Forget about IT. You are screwed and you'll be a failure if you want a social life.
Just kidding. I'm an IT professional and I love baseball, weird food, and B&W foreign films. The Big Bang Theory takes it to extremes because it's a comedy, and yet it's rooted in fact. Everyone in IT is "on the spectrum" to one degree or another.
If you're in IT and you like baseball you'll be a baseball nerd. If you like exotic food then you'll be a food nerd. Et cetera.
Can they be "socially" normal though-- that is what I was asking. Its not a bad thing to be different by the way. But the perception was on some boards is SEs can barely look someone in the eye when talking or can't talk about anything not code related.
I'm all for being different but being able to carry on a conversation and not look at your shoes is very important. Wouldn't you agree? That is the perception of CS students turned SE by a career minded site.
Nerds can be socially normal. You've watched too much tv.
Forget about IT. You are screwed and you'll be a failure if you want a social life.
Just kidding. I'm an IT professional and I love baseball, weird food, and B&W foreign films. The Big Bang Theory takes it to extremes because it's a comedy, and yet it's rooted in fact. Everyone in IT is "on the spectrum" to one degree or another.
If you're in IT and you like baseball you'll be a baseball nerd. If you like exotic food then you'll be a food nerd. Et cetera.
Spot on about the baseball and basketball. I'm the one who always keeps and can break down the stats and science of the sport... lol.
I actually don't want to do fantasy league because I feel I would get way too addicted, so I stay away from those.
I played each sport in high school but wasn't good enough to make varsity teams so I did rec leagues. Good for exercise today (softball & YMCA bball).
Correlation does not equal causation. The software field has a larger share of introverts, people with low social skills and communication skills, etc. But that does not mean that you need to be one in order to be a software professional. The reason why introverts and socially awkward people find success in software is because they succeed inspite of these limitations, not because of it. It just so happens that these limitations matter much less in software where other skills like analytical ability, logical and abstract thinking, and ability to learn new things are valued much much higher than social skills. And this is only a generalization. You still need to work in teams, you still need to interact with clients and stakeholders - so decent social skills are still valued a great deal even in software.
"Normal" is a 100 IQ, an associate degree from a community college that's pretty much remedial high school, and $40K/year salary. Kind of by definition, a software engineer is not "normal". I don't think I've ever knowingly hired one who wouldn't have tested out with at least a 120 IQ and most have been brighter than that. Top-5% intellect, at a minimum or there's no way you could handle the work load.
Beyond being bright, engaged, and high income, career software engineers I know span the spectrum of personality types. Most are not introverted wallflowers. They have all kinds of interesting and exotic interests and they have the disposable income to do them.
Can they be "socially" normal though-- that is what I was asking. Its not a bad thing to be different by the way. But the perception was on some boards is SEs can barely look someone in the eye when talking or can't talk about anything not code related.
I'm all for being different but being able to carry on a conversation and not look at your shoes is very important. Wouldn't you agree? That is the perception of CS students turned SE by a career minded site.
Maybe if everyone would treat them "normally" they would act "normal". People don't seem to understand that others relate to them by how they are treated. Treat someone like a geek with no social skills and you'll get exactly what you expect.
That's not 100%, but when I worked at an engineering firm I saw it all the time. A "geek" would show up and act nerdy to most employees. I'd sit down with them at lunch and, ta da! They were "normal". Because I interacted with them the way I would anyone else.
I know they can but reading a few career boards it seems computer science majors and then turned software engineers are socially awkward nerds that have never talked to anyone let alone look above a humans shoes and have a life outside of computers. Is this just a stereotype or is it fact?
I get that in CS wings at universities the majority will be nerdy. And that is fine as a I am a nerd but I did have a lot of other interests including basketball, baseball and watching movies. The interesting thing is as a society we push kids to major in STEM careers, yet if you follow these career boards would a more social kid be interested in these fields? I try to find out if this is a norm today or is strictly a US issue? For example, the SE I work with are all Indian and they all love cricket. I think its healthy to have interests outside your profession.
Thoughts?
Absolutely, my son is a Software nerd at a top company but he is also very socially astute.
Status:
"Moldy Tater Gangrene, even before Moscow Marge."
(set 22 days ago)
Location: Dallas, TX
5,790 posts, read 3,612,286 times
Reputation: 5697
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeminoleTom
I know they can but reading a few career boards it seems computer science majors and then turned software engineers are socially awkward nerds that have never talked to anyone let alone look above a humans shoes and have a life outside of computers. Is this just a stereotype or is it fact?
I get that in CS wings at universities the majority will be nerdy. And that is fine as a I am a nerd but I did have a lot of other interests including basketball, baseball and watching movies. The interesting thing is as a society we push kids to major in STEM careers, yet if you follow these career boards would a more social kid be interested in these fields? I try to find out if this is a norm today or is strictly a US issue? For example, the SE I work with are all Indian and they all love cricket. I think its healthy to have interests outside your profession.
Thoughts?
If you know that "a normally socially astute person [can] thrive as a Software Engineer", then why post this question in the first place?
Leaving aside the fact that "socially awkward" is so broad it can mean many things from nervous and shy all the way to making a lot of social gaffes, do people without broad interests or otherwise have social skills problems really deserve condescension at best and contempt at worst? No. Disdain's proper role is limited to people who deliberately demean others clearly outside reasons of defense of self and others, or even simply support or find amusing that demeaning of that kind of "other". Simply being socially awkward is not proof of ill intent on a person's part. Therefore it falls outside the proper scope of even silent disdain - let alone open scorn. This remains true even if it is more socially productive to have a wide range of interests.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
