Most people think of programmers as having long hair, a beard, or both. According to a global software developer poll conducted in 2021, this stereotype could be true because men account for 91.7% of developers globally, while women account for 5.3%. So, why do most programmers have long hair or beards, or both?
Programmers have long hair, beards, or both because they; view it as a culture, want to appear older, work from home, rarely travel, need something to stroke during long shifts, or suffer work-related stress. Many also spend most of their time gaming or coding and struggle to find a partner.
In the rest of the article, I’ll take you through several fun facts about why most programmers have long hair, a beard, or both, and touch on whether there are any bald programmers. Read on!
Table of Contents
They Want to Appear Older
The majority of programmers are guys aged 21 to 35 who live a carefree lifestyle, as evidenced by their long hair or beards. Most importantly, they want to appear old due to popular misconceptions about their type of work.
For example, an anonymous Quora user claimed that cutting his beards steals 12 years because he goes from 30 to 18 years old with a babyface. To avoid that, he loves to have a long beard to project respect and confidence.
He isn’t the only one, either. Most programmers have long hair, beards, or both, to give that first impression of being older because a programmer’s experience grows with age.
They Work From Home
I bet you have heard that programmers spend their days typing away in a dark computer room. While the “dark” part of that statement might not be true, most programmers work remotely.
A 2021 survey found that most programmers prefer remote work to office work. That’s partly because they enjoy exploring new technologies without being distracted. Most employers allow it because studies have shown that working from home increases productivity.
Because programmers enjoy coding, most of them remain glued to their jobs and will move to personal projects if they are not occupied with work projects. About 75 percent of programmers treat coding as both a hobby and a job.
When you work from home, chances are that getting a haircut won’t happen as often as someone working in an office setting because there’s no pressure to look good. Add to that the prospect of being occupied with personal projects in your free time, and many aspects of grooming (not just getting a shave) take a backseat to get things done.
They Rarely Leave the House or Travel
Programmers can work from anywhere as long as they have a laptop or computer with a good internet connection. Most of their friends are fellow programmers who rarely leave the house or travel, so they are unlikely to be invited for a drink or chit-chat.
If you live and work alone, your chances of going out are slim, and grooming won’t high on your priority list. There may exceptions, but people who spend most of their time alone on their computers generally don’t feel the pressure to shave.
They Work Long Hours and Need Something To Stroke
The tech industry has a wide range of working hours. However, programmers working for new startups and small businesses are expected to put in long hours to develop a product before the funding runs out.
Such programmers are likely to work about 8 hours each day and may do overtime if dealing with a heavy workload. Because their jobs are so demanding, it’s difficult for them to find the time to trim their hair.
That’s just one part of it, though.
According to a Reddit user, playing with your beards while programming has a calming effect when tackling complex problems. Thus, programmers may need to grow a long beard to stroke it as they pass the time and engage in critical thinking.
Their Lifestyles Involve a Lot of Gaming
Because most programmers are in their 20s or early 30s, playing video games is one of their main hobbies. After all, they primarily work from home, and their only opportunity to connect with the outside world in their spare time is to play video games.
So, a group of programmers may want to put on the headset and battle it out in a game. Others may engage in brain-training activities, such as online board games because they enjoy solving complex tasks. Whatever the case, they’ll have something to occupy their time when they’re not writing code, and that pushes getting a haircut down the priority list.
Many Struggle To Find a Partner
A single man doesn’t need to groom as much because he only needs to impress himself. It’s also challenging to find a partner who shares a programmer’s thinking skills and interests because most of their colleagues are male, which means they’ll be keeping their hair or beards long for a while.
Additionally, most programmers are young individuals whose primary life goal is to build a career, so finding love doesn’t cross their minds that much. They may be lonely, but they are too preoccupied with coding to think about love, and their long hair and beards provide an excellent companion.
Too Much Stress on the Job
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), programming is one of the best-paying careers. The median pay is $159,010 per year, which translates to $76.45 per hour.
We all know how demanding well-paying jobs are, and programming is no exception. Programmers are under a lot of stress and pressure to meet their goals, so getting a haircut is not a priority.
In addition, they rarely go out when deadlines are approaching because they are too concerned about finishing their work on time and competing for a promotion. So the next time you see a coder with a beard that practically covers his eyes, don’t be surprised; it’s part of the job!
It’s a Political and Cultural Act
Most people assume that every programmer is a hacker. The general public views them as wizards because they’re always coding, updating, debugging, and troubleshooting systems to guarantee that everything is running well. Beards and long hair are often associated with wisdom, and many programmers try to conform to the way the world views them by growing facial hair.
Programmers also believe in the Unix beard, an urban legend that claims a programmer’s expertise is linked to his beards and long hair. So, what would stop them from following in their mentor’s footsteps if they grew long beards? Nothing.
Do Bald Programmers Exist?
Just like most programmers prefer long hair and beards, we also have a group of programmers who adore shaving everything or have already gone bald.
Bald programmers do exist, although they are primarily men in their late 40s and early 50s. However, baldness is more often caused by heredity than by employment.
The AHLA (American Hair Loss Association), reckons that 95% of hair loss in men occurs due to androgenetic alopecia. As such, bald programmers exist due to age life choices; it has little to do with the job.
Final Thoughts
If you want to appear strong and experienced as a programmer, consider growing a beard, long hair, or both as it’s the norm. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have any bald programmers with us. They exist, and some are pretty good.
I could go on and on about why programmers tend to be hairy, but I’d rather you add to our list of potential reasons or share this post so we can all giggle together.
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