This is the average developer experience in IRAN: > developer salary: ~$120/month, less than a Codex subscription price > “let me buy a Claude subscription” banks are cut off from the world, can’t buy or sell internationally > “download a local 70B LLM” internet is cooked, takes 5 business days > “learn something on YouTube” censored by government + Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, X > pip install and docker pull is a nightmare due to a combination of sanctions, censorships > VPN is more essential than an IDE > brain drain is real. most talents have immigrated or are planning to. your work buddy will likely not be there next year > electricity is cut off 2 hrs/day and internet shut down for weeks every year > AWS, Azure, Google Analytics, Adobe, are all off the menu and sanctioned for Iranians > “time to upgrade my laptop” don’t even think about it. your economy is brutal > “join an online coding bootcamp” blocked, along with most educational platforms > “I must plan my future” good luck with a +60% inflation. your raise will evaporate in 4 months > “keep up with AI research” conferences and webinars are out of reach due to visa denials and travel costs and developers are having it easy compared to other professions with much lower income. and all these are just work, let alone hundreds of other problems Iranians face every day under the dictatorship. so don’t embarrass yourself “educating” Iranians on how to feel about their situation if you haven’t lived their life and support and empathize with the will of the people instead.