I don’t belong in tech • Hacker News Board

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#71

Post by odammit » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:13 PM UTC

I used to work in healthcare and banking. Failing fast isn't encouraged in either.

The problem with fields where perfectionism is expected is that everyone knows you arent going to do a perfect job.

So you end up having 50482772 code reviews with 30 people pouring over every single semicolon, that is also very frustrating.

Maybe the author should get out of web/mobile development, but I'll take some dipshitty code that I know I can fix over highly micromanaged perfectionism any day.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#72

Post by Klathmon » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:13 PM UTC

skybrian wrote: post #5

Maybe the solution would be to switch to working on a different kind of software, where everyone agrees that getting it right really is critical?

But is that the problem?

It sounds to me like the author wants to get it perfect, not just right. And even in those other kinds if software, you stop when it works well.

It might even be worse, as the developer needs to sometimes willingly make the product worse in some areas to make it acceptable in others, and that kind of compromise hurts to a perfectionist.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#73

Post by kevan » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:14 PM UTC

Echoing the sentiments of others here, it looks like she's been in startup world for the past few years, maybe she should try working with different types of companies for a while.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#74

Post by thro32 » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:15 PM UTC

I agree. As someone with wrong gender, I strugle to find good job in tech. With right gender my chances would be twice better.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#75

Post by chris_wot » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:15 PM UTC

orasis wrote: post #66

s_q_b wrote: post #48

I apologize if you assumed this was a story about a difference rooted in race and gender, because it is not. That’s not where we are going. That's not an apology. You deliberately manipulated your audience by playing on their fears of being deemed discriminatory, their anxiety over real ethnic tensions, and perhaps most egregiously, you intentionally encouraged gender stereotyping of women for your own purpose of obt…

Writing is art too my friend. Why feel so insulted?

Art often deliberately insults to get a reaction. Which is a valid thing to do, if you are making great Art.

Of course, then people feel insulted, people groups feel targeted, etc. and they then respond. This person has responded, and neither insulted nor denigrated the author - they have merely criticised them. If the author wishes to write like they do, then mild criticism shouldn't be unexpected!

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#76

Post by amyjess » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

dublinben wrote: post #2

The writer sounds like a crippling perfectionist. The world isn't perfect, and neither is any real program. It's an important step in your personal development to recognize and deal with that. Perhaps they would be happier as a designer, where they can make everything fit into perfectly neat boxes.

Or perhaps she'd be happier in an industry such as aerospace, defense, or emergency services.

6-7 years ago, I interviewed at EFJohnson. The position involved maintaining code for systems used by emergency services (might've been related to E911, but I'm not sure). I distinctly remember one of my interviewers telling me, "if we screw up, people die". I'm fairly sure my lack of self-confidence was why I didn't get the job; he could easily see the nervousness on my face when he said that. However, it sounds like that kind of job would be perfect for the author.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#77

Post by brightball » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #13

brightball wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Belongs in an enterprise environment IMO. That mentality works really well with unlimited budget where projects can live forever.

Enterprise projects have sprawling budgets and indefinite timelines, but nobody who has worked on line-of-business software would suggest that the outcomes are anywhere close to perfect.

Not implying that. Just that her way of thinking is a much better fit in that environment.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#78

Post by threatofrain » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

dack wrote: post #34

angersock wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a fair comment. In design you at least have a chance at clean work safe from messy reality.

I'm not sure about that - designers have to build a UX that works in the real world, and sometimes there are really complicated processes that need to be exposed in a nice way. I imagine this has similar tradeoffs as programming (i.e. difficulty in implementation, balancing power/intuitiveness)

Design be perfect, because you actually have a chance to do so. Design is declarative. You are defining what be. People who are studying someone's design specification shouldn't have to wonder whether your circle is a circle. A designer declares a perfect circle even if when zoomed in you find bumpy pixels.

Also, design in the context of a team especially ought be perfect, because your perfection will be degraded in a game of telephone.

By perfect, I don't mean that your design fits the user with maximum optimality. I mean that when you draw a box, you actually mean a perfect box. When a mathematician draws a square, they are describing a perfect square. It would be a little socially blind to pick up a magnifying glass and accuse the mathematician or the designer's square to be imperfect because you find the bumpy ugliness of a 1080p monitor or a sheet of paper.

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#79

Post by user5994461 » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:17 PM UTC

skybrian wrote: post #5

Maybe the solution would be to switch to working on a different kind of software, where everyone agrees that getting it right really is critical?

Well. Maybe the industry that do critical software don't let newcomer with no experience and no degree come in. So she's stuck in the world of poor software.

[Just a thought]

Re: I don’t belong in tech

#80

Post by bayonetz » Sat, Nov 26, 2016, 6:18 PM UTC

The authors espousing of deep problem understanding sound like it would be more at home in a PhD program / academia. Also, sometimes it's possible people just "pick wrong" in the sense that they don't or can't think far enough ahead to realize where their best fit will be professionally. Wouldn't be surprised if that's what's going here. For example, I'm pretty sure, in hindsight, my best fit would be as a psychiatrist / psychologist but I'm too far down the path as an engineer to really want to change course. Instead I've channeled my strengths and leanings by working in ML and user-centered design as much as possible. That helps but never fully makes my fish out of water feelings go away. I have much more of the "feeling" predisposition than the overwhelming "thinking" predisposition of eng teams I've always worked on. Earlier on I felt like this oppressed (in terms of values) minority but once I learned about innate personality type distributions I was able to stop taking it so personally and in fact use it to my advantage by taking on roles where my differences were in fact strengths (being the guy who made sure the UI didn't feel like dogshit, thinking through how to personalize our shopping predictions, etc.).