I am a middle school student, and as part of a project I had to ask a [professional] Software Engineer about their job. The questions I'm looking to answer are:

1. What is your work environment usually like?

2. How much money do you make?

3. What is the hardest part of your job?

I'd appreciate it if someone can answer these 3 questions.

-Torchire

1. A 10 x 10 cubicle with no windows or fresh air and a chair that squeeks...
A. After 6 years I got a 12 x 12 office with a window
B. After 8 years I gave them the finger

2. $75,000 US plus company car, 401k, medical, dental and stock...
A. I get 7 weeks of paid time off each year...

3. Answering Dumn Azz questions...
A. Stopping what I am doing to go find a file somebodys secretarty lost
B. Endless meetings ...
C. Mission Statements... Like I care...and Who came up with these anyhow
D. Why do I have to go fix the copier, and WHO fed it paper clips in the first place

This list is ENDLESS... sorry...

Some ways to cope...
Use undelete on the Bosses digital camera memory chip on Mondays...
(How do you think I got the office)

Physically move keys around on keyboards of anoying people...

Create websites to mourn the passing of people still alive (that have pissed you off)

Add two zeros to a line item on a purchase order you happen to see in the out bin...

When some new offices were being built I added a big battery pack to an old pager and placed it inside the wall of an office built for a guy that got promoted because of my work...

This list is endless too...

For those that just MUST know... The company was Tyco...

1) anything from a large room with dozens of desks to a decent sized office of your own.

2) at the moment about €35000 a year, plus pension and health insurance plus profit share (about €2500 a year). At the peak of the .com boom about the same plus company car.

3) keeping a job in the climate of massive offshoring to eastern Europe and Asia, plus the constant meetings and demands from and with managers and marketing people (but hey, they pay the bills so I can understand them wanting some progress reports).

I believe most software engineers are offered great stock options and other benifits...Is that correct guys?

The benefit package amounted to more than the weekly check...

Actually it was quite close, call it 75k wages and 75k benefits...

I was asked several times to go back and have refused...

Not anymore.
Many were given stock options during the .com boom, often in exchange for lower salaries.
Many of those lost everything when the companies they had options in went bankrupt or became targets for takeovers before they went public, leaving them with worthless stock options for nonexistent stock.