I literally don't understand what you mean by this? Software development isn't typing all day, but it is engagement all day. Coding, documentation, meetings about so much shit. So much more. There is always some kind of work to be done and that's why if you're not careful you can easily overwork yourself in this field. It never stops. You stop it, but at the same time deadlines exist and it takes effort to even make those sane.
Iteria
joined 2 years ago
For software engineer resume rot is definitely a thing. Everything has a 5 year timer on it even thr stuff that doesn't out right die. C# has been around for like 20 years something like that but try to only know about the ecosystem from more than 5 year ago and you're gonna have a bad time.
I can't speak on network or sysadmin stuff, but I do know from a coworker friend that they get paid way less are are considered more expendable, so you're probably right that it's work that doesn't change much. Still I'm surprised to hear you say that you have a lot of downtime or maybe I have only worked at trashfires
As someone in the field. I assure you, you do not work just a few hours and then go home. Software development take infinite time and any well run shop will definitely notice if you work a half day by your output vs others. IT is even worse since problems are basically constant.
I guess you can work at badly run shops, but enjoy being laid off and then failing to get a job eventually from having a stale resume.
My general point in the context of this discussion is that you cannot just work 3 hours a day and think nobody is going to notice or that it's not going to have an impact on your ability to get jobs in the software development space. You should also not come into it thinking it's possible to run out of work. Neither of those things are true.
It's also true that you can have a good work/life balance and not work more than your 40. That's usually enough to keep everything on track and it's what I do.
That a said, the people who solve 12 bugs over 6 most certainly do get paid more because they get promoted faster if they're not a dick and don't make the mistake of making themselves too irreplaceable at their current level. I literally got a 12% raise at one job for some above and beyond work I did and I continued to get more pay by basically holding the company hostage with my wealth of skills.