Softies - The laughing stock

Its about 2 years since I started working in my famed company. 2 years have flown in a jiffy. I've learned a lot about work, co-workers, discussions, conferences, meetings and other inherent bits and pieces of a global company. But initially, I never understood one thing alone - why are software engineers the laughing stock?

About one year back, when we were searching for a house in Bangalore, I got the first hit. We were told by the broker to project ourselves as students or just joined employees of a local bank. The reason? If we dare speak the truth, that we are software engineers, zing! the rent will go up by almost 20 percent. And advance, beats everything, will be up by 50%. This happens almost as a rule.

Speak about health disorders, and the talk automatically revolves around the perils of being a software engineer, when scores of people from other professions - Researchers, Call centre workers, Computer operators, Office workers - are as good and as bad. Talks about infidelity, broken marriages, overwork, and even suicides, murders, you name it - everything centers on techies, and softies, as we are called in Bangalore.

After thinking so much about this, I found the reason why so many people envy softies. Its the same reason why America is at the centrestage of hate of the most of the world. Software engineers, in general, have more money, power and fame. Three things that make people scorn.