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Ask HN: How to switch software engineering domains

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Re: Ask HN: How to switch software engineering domains

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Were you actually good at your previous domain? (Be Good) Can you define "good"? and, more importantly, how do you convince others that you're "good" within the context of a job application?

Your CV should provide examples of wins. eg decreased time to enter orders from 15 minutes to 5 minutes; increased widget production rate from 5000 / hr to 8000 / hr; reduced hosting costs by 5% to $1.5M, etc. Your technical competence needs to be reflected in the business benefits you have contributed to. Even refactoring code can be a win if it speeds up things, reduces costs, increases profits etc. Increased profi…

The problem with this is it tells you nothing about how competent the candidate is. It tells you about the success of a metric of an IT project. And it is easy to make up.

It is usually a “we” thing and it if they say “I” then I am suspicious.

And say they single handily sped up some system. Maybe it was a half day of profiling and fixing some string copying bug. Yes that fix moved a needle and is “Worth millions” but is it? Many people could do the same fix.

I am suspicious of team metrics (period!) and I am suspicious of them being used to judge a developer. What you really want to know is can they fix stuff, are they thinking in alignment with the business. Chasing metrics often isn’t that. Metrics are a necessary evil: they are part truth part bullshit and require nuance to interpret.

Re: Ask HN: How to switch software engineering domains

#43

I made this exact career transition, the first ~10 years of my career were doing backend development at web companies (mostly Python, but later Go) and I switched to working in C++ in the autonomous vehicles industry. The key is really just to apply to these jobs, even if you don't have direct work experience. I had a blog on my website that had a lot of C/C++ stuff which I think helped a bit, but in the end I just a…

What does C++ grilling look like? Types of questions they asked etc?

You can have a lot of tricky questions with the STL only. Here are a few things I can think of: Why do you pass smart pointers, string_view or span by copy? What do you know about C++20? What do you know about C++23? Can you list some useful objects in the STL of C++23? Why should you be careful when calling a C function with a string_view?

Another fun question: Why is a range algorithm better than a regular algorithm? One answer would be that you have "projections" in the ranges algorithms and it makes code cleaner and simpler.

The answers to those questions are endless and show the extent of what you know, and if you're interested in the evolution of the language.

Re: Ask HN: How to switch software engineering domains

#44
At the same time, reflecting on the 5-10% pockets of what you do now that you really enjoy that makes the rest worth it (or used to) might be an interesting exercise to let it shine a light on your path.

See if there's other projects you can hop on or sit in on in your current job.

Failing that, software development is something that you can sometimes create your own experience instead of getting it from a job. Join meetups, demonstrate what you are learning and present it, and let your network organically grow and you will by pass much of the application process or have it be a bit smoother.

Domain switching can be greatly helped by cultivating relationships that don't just help you, but you also add value.

This cycle may repeat it self for a while. Work is called work for a reason.

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