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Developers and the Rip Current Effect
You can stay in it but there’s only one way to get out
Typecasting
Contrary to the programmer’s understanding of typecasting, where something is made to act and appear as something different temporarily, Hollywood’s definition of typecasting is the exact opposite.
Think of Matthey Perry, of TV show Friends fame. In many, if not all, of his feature-length movie appearances, he’s still basically Chandler Bing.
Can you picture Michelle Rodriguez as anything but a badass Latina in a tank top?
What about Seth Rogen? Same guy, same character, different movies. The same can be said for Jason Statham, Danny Trejo and many more big names in television and movies.
Basically, these actors have been typecast into roles that have defined how we, the audience perceive them. We can’t see them in any other roles. Neither can the casting directors who hire them. The studios know we can’t suspend our disbelief if, for example, Michelle Rodriguez played the lead role in a romantic comedy. It’s not because these thespians are one-dimensional; it’s because we are only willing to accept them in a very limited scope.
These performers are basically stuck playing the same character over and over. Whatever pays the bills, right?
The Cycle Begins Early, and Continues for a Long Time
While the typecast actors may appear to be one-dimensional, software developers in a sense, do become “one-trick ponies.”
That term “one-trick pony” is rather harsh. Developers typically have a wide range of skills in their respective fields. To brand them as “one trick” is unfair. The singular trick to which I’m referring is the technology stack in which they’re currently working.
The systems programmer will go to another systems programming job. The game developer will go from one studio to another, pursuing more or less the same “game developer” role. Typically, these moves are in pursuit of better pay, perks, titles, etc.
The web developer will usually go from one web developer job to the next. To go a bit deeper, this same developer will likely go…
