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“Don’t Test Me, I’m Already Broken”: 30 Hilarious Memes From This Online Group For Programmers
Being a programmer can be pretty cool. Although writing perfect code can sometimes drive you mad, it's the path that will inevitably lead you to build your own app at some point. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were just a little short of 2 million software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers in 2023.
A portion of these specialists probably frequents the Programming Memes subreddit, as it documents their struggles with such relatability and hilarity that it's often hard to look away even for non-programmers. So, whether you've had the pleasure of debugging or not, you'll probably find this collection of programming memes engaging nonetheless.
More info: Reddit
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#1
May Offend Some People
RELATED:
#2
I Am The It Department
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago
I always refused administration duties. I was a code-monkey, not a box-monkey!
#3
Lowkey The Dream
It seems like just a few years ago everyone and their mom were pivoting careers to become coders, engineers, and developers. As the mobile app market soared, coding was the most beneficial skill to learn, not to mention an attractive career for many introverted loners and connoisseurs of the early internet.
Yet, today, there are fewer programmers in the U.S. than there ever were since 1980. The data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics but is rather curious because other computer-related occupations, like software developers, haven't been experiencing such a decline.
#4
So Very True
#5
Oh Caroline!!
Tucker Cahooter 2 weeks ago
Worse is when it says "expected ;". Well if the semicolon is missing just put it in!
#6
As A Backend Engineer, Can Confirm
First, it's useful to define what exactly the difference is between programmers and other "computer-related" jobs. Take software developers, for example: their job description is often broader, involving planning and vision.
Programmers ("coders" is also an appropriate term to use) are usually behind the mechanics of writing code, testing, and debugging. Software developers, on the other hand, meet with other departments to discuss strategy, plan design, and set goals. Programmers are the ones who carry out the tasks to reach those goals.
#7
Professional Googler With Coding Skills
nottheactualphoto 2 weeks ago
Of course. Who can keep mental track of the quirks and syntax of ${LANGUAGE}?
#8
This Is Software Development About, Apparently
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago
When I started, we had to painstakingly retype code printed poorly in magazine articles....
#9
Believe Them
BeesEelsAndPups 2 weeks ago
No if I tell you it's one hour, it's really just a one line code change. If I tell you it's one day, it's probably 8-10 hours. If I tell you it's one week, I'm not sure, but it'll be done by the end of the sprint. If I tell you it's one month, I will need at least a week to figure out what needs to be done
Because of the nature of their work, there has been a lot of speculation that AI is going to replace programmers. We'll get to whether that's really true later, but it's important to mention that programming can be the occupation in which workers rely on AI tools the most.
AI startup Anthropic recently analyzed the use of AI among people in many different fields, from phlebotomists, professional drivers, and computer scientists. They found that programmers used their AI chatbot Claude the most. Software developers came in second, above more than 700 other occupations.
#10
If It Works It's Not Stupid
#12
Cobol Stands The Test Of Time
While that may seem a bit bleak and discouraging, experts aren't so quick to give in to the "AI is going to steal our jobs" rhetoric. A researcher at Anthropic, Alex Tamkin, told The Washington Post that people use AI to help them with repetitive tasks instead of asking it to automate them. "Usage tilts more towards augmentation — which is things like having the AI check your work, asking questions to teach you things, iterating on a piece of work — rather than automation."
#13
When The Code Is A Mess
#14
Literally Any New Task Looks Like This:
B Hobbs 2 weeks ago
Seems to be true for many new systems. Last century, I worked with DEC VMS and there was the, I think, blue wall of documentation followed by the orange wall, then grey. I think PDFs were next. IBM MVT was similar, lots of documentation. Languages each had two thick manuals: the Language Reference which explained in detail each language statement, and the Programming Guide which explained how to use the statements for various tasks. Now it appears that third parties supply most of the detailed documentation for a price - some of that is about the quality of the image (pounding four pegs into three holes). Youngsters have no idea what quality documentation looks like. Sigh.
#15
Real
BeesEelsAndPups 2 weeks ago
Facts. In 25 years I've only had to use Windows at one job. It was a .Net dev role, but I was so happy to come home to my Linux boxes.
Still, many job ads for programmers today will most likely include requirements to at least be able to apply AI tools. In other, more extreme cases, companies will lay off workers and replace them with the technology. Earlier this year, recruiting companies Indeed and Glassdoor decided to lay off 1,300 of their workers while planning to embrace AI.
#16
AKA Vibe Coders
#17
Finding A Tech Job In 2025 Be Like:
#18
—a Brief History Of Web Development—
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago (edited)
Jeah, let's completely miss out JavaScript and Java, shall we? Noobs!
The CEO of the parent company of both Indeed and Glassdoor, Hisayuki "Deko" Idekoba, explained that one-third of their company's new programming code is currently written by AI. In the near future, they expect that to be 50%. And Indeed and Glassdoor aren't the only companies relying on AI to write their code. Last year, Google bragged about how 25% of their code was written by AI.
#19
Learning vs. Forgetting
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago
But learning TO code is never forgotten. Real programmers understand the difference.
#20
I Wish This Was The Case
#21
They Dont Know🤷♂️
Some experts believe that AI may take the jobs of entry-level programmers. Still, being a programmer is not just writing code: you have to be able to solve problems creatively and have some years of expertise to be able to read code. Computer scientist James Stanger explained to Business Insider that it's still too hard to take the human out of the equation. "AI can't support what it doesn't know," he believes. "I still don't think that it is something that can fully replace a good developer."
#23
That's Impressive
Basically, the more experience you have as a programmer, the more staying power you'll have in this AI apocalypse. In the case of software engineers, those with seven years or more of experience were sought after more often in the last two years. Their job listings comprised 40% of all open software engineering roles. For entry-level developers, it was only 20%.
#25
You Have 10 Seconds
#27
Front End Dev 😂
Laura Lawson 2 weeks ago
That sounds like the program we are asked to use in the large, nation-wide company I work for. In the past 18 months it has NEVER worked properly for a day! Part of my role is encouraging (telling) people to use it & training new people on it and I loathe it with every fibre of my being. One of the devs told me that HO wanted it out despite it not being ready & now it's being held together with chicken wire, duct tape & blu tac. The sad thing is, it really could have been a fantastic tool for us IF it was done before release. By the time it's actually working, we'll need something new.
But let us take your mind off all this doom and gloom about artificial intelligence, coder Pandas. Have fun scrolling through these relatable and funny pics while you drink your third energy drink of the night. And if you're up for more programming memes, check out our previous lists here and here!
#28
Things Only Real Programers Do
B Hobbs 2 weeks ago
George, our system operator, would take about ten minutes a day to write up the parameters to run into our antique payroll system. He had been doing it for years, probably decades. After the New Years break, he used the wrong year. Took about three days to undo the damage. George was horrified and apologized profusely. I spent about two weeks developing a program to generate the daily parameters. I found out that no one else really knew how to generate the daily payroll parameters except George. George retired about 18 months later. Yeah, sometimes taking ten days to automate a ten minute task can be a good thing. Then again, I have also optimized throw away code just because I could.
#29
Guys, Is Google Trolling Me?
David Paterson 2 weeks ago
PMSL. vi is coming up to its 50th birthday. And I still don't use emacs.
#30
Haha True
#31
I Have Been Attacked
nottheactualphoto 2 weeks ago
The best T-shirt has the logo of a company that folded before opening.
#32
Just A Simple Boolean Question
#33
Set Age As Primary Key😂
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
Or the reverse. I was registering at a site where you scrolled down to highlight your birth year. The scrolling stopped before it reached mine. Does that mean I'm legally dead?
#34
The Actual Reason Behind My Hairfall🙂
#36
Once U’ve Experienced Something Like This
Rick Murray 2 weeks ago
I wrote some of my best code when passing time wiped out with flu and barely functional, but I was bored and hurt and... I don't touch it, I don't go near it. I have no idea how it works, it just does and since it's in C it does some horrific looking pointer voodoo and frequent inline assembler but...it works. I tried to replace the entire function with something written properly. Took easily twice as long to do the job.
#39
Sup Ladies
#40
Hehe Really
#42
Extra Space
#44
That Will Do The Trick
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago
Java? Ha! Try something difficult like C! No variables longer than 3 characters for fun.
#46
Pikachu++
#48
A New State Of Matter
nottheactualphoto 2 weeks ago
Microsoft used to "embrace and extend." Now they "purchase and enshittify."
#50
Where Is Backup?
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago (edited)
Our school entrusted its entire student records system - grades, credits, everything - to a cloud storage company. We're were assured there would be backups of backups of backups to the nth degree. One sunny August afternoon, they all crashed. Everything had to be re-entered by hand.
#51
Inside Of Each Programmer
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago
Third wolf: Quit your job, and set up your own company to do the same thing for 5 times the price. Worked great for me!
#56
Which Algorithm Is This
Astrobloom (they/them) 2 weeks ago
I asked ChatGPT just now. It got it correct. Your jobs are no longer safe. Run for your lives /j
#57
Based On A True Story
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 weeks ago
Then pay me unfeasibly large amounts of money to change it into a database for use in a program. Based on dozens of true stories!
#58
C-Serract
#59
Still Better Than Nothing
#62
Don't Test Me, I'm Already Broken 😭
#63
The Law Of Programming Be Like
#66
Here's Something That I've Never Done:
#68
Programmers Be Like
#73
Frack Around And Find Out
David Paterson 2 weeks ago
"I use my software on Linux, but it will run on Windows if you like."
#76
;
#79
Am I The Only One?😂
Rick Murray 2 weeks ago
Don't go near dates, it's nightmare fuel. See link in following comment.
#80
Something False
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TotallyNOTAFox 2 weeks ago
I remember learning the basics of Java - before switching to business college after 2 weeks
TotallyNOTAFox 2 weeks ago
I remember learning the basics of Java - before switching to business college after 2 weeks
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