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Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

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Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#101

Post by Izkata »

soccernee wrote: post #27
supernova87a wrote: post #17

Sorry, the story totally lost me after she was describing the interaction with the FBI. I did not easily take away some conclusion about what she had done wrong or what deep pile of shit she had just created for herself, or what on 2 paths she had just chosen incorrectly, or daringly? (The paragraph ending, "I trusted the FBI to be good at their jobs." The next paragraph jumps right to generalizations, and I didn't c…

Same for me. I feel like the essay makes some good points about the type of people who gravitate towards middle management, but I'm unable to make the connections myself because the essay jumps around. I'm still confused -- is Matt Cutts the "idiot running my engineering org"?

My read is that Cutts is several levels above her (all the way at the top, perhaps), and by contacting the FBI she was doing the job someone in the hierarchy between them was supposed to be doing but avoiding for some reason or other. And the "only you" comment by Cutts indicated that it wasn't just the people in line between him and her, but all over the organization that would avoid contacting the FBI.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#102

Post by greenyoda »

azernik wrote: post #62
RustyRussell wrote: post #22

This hit home: I worked over a decade at IBM. > When you are in a work situation where you are respected and admired, that is often its own reward. If you don’t have that, the components of your job that give you a sense of value and satisfaction are all connected directly to the career ladder. What is your title? What is the prestige value of your projects? My current official job title is "Code Contributor". I was…

I like the traditional "Member of Technical Staff". Don't know if that's an IBM or Bell Labs coinage.

Bell Labs certainly used that title - people like Dennis Ritchie had it. I don't know about IBM.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#103

Post by drak0n1c »

m0zg wrote: post #64

Speaking of USDS, how come in August of 2020 we _still_ don't have a government COVID19 website that doesn't suck? One that's trustworthy, that has accurate data, and decent statistical analysis. Maybe you guys should look into doing your jobs instead of "fighting white supremacists" on taxpayer dime?

You may need to dive in a bit past the initial pages, but you can find fine-grained weekly and daily stats and graphs on pages like:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm...

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#104

Post by whack »

supernova87a wrote: post #17

Sorry, the story totally lost me after she was describing the interaction with the FBI. I did not easily take away some conclusion about what she had done wrong or what deep pile of shit she had just created for herself, or what on 2 paths she had just chosen incorrectly, or daringly? (The paragraph ending, "I trusted the FBI to be good at their jobs." The next paragraph jumps right to generalizations, and I didn't c…

The first part of the essay was a very interesting view into bureaucracy and overcoming it via personal connections. The second part seemed to be very hand-wavy armchair-psychologist-esque. The thesis seems to be that:

- Some/many workers care more about job stability, as opposed to making a difference at work

- Such workers are suffering from "real psychological damage"

- They are constantly hounded by imposter syndrome, because they aren't respected by anyone else, and they know it

- They often end up as senior bureaucrats/leaders, because of their risk aversion, and because they are trying to overcompensate for their low self-esteem and psychological damage

- They also "end up in startups more often than you might expect" (which seems ironic since startups are far more risky than being at a BigCorp)

At the risk of putting myself out there, I suspect the above conclusions are quite a reach.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#105

Post by lern_too_spel »

supernova87a wrote: post #17

Sorry, the story totally lost me after she was describing the interaction with the FBI. I did not easily take away some conclusion about what she had done wrong or what deep pile of shit she had just created for herself, or what on 2 paths she had just chosen incorrectly, or daringly? (The paragraph ending, "I trusted the FBI to be good at their jobs." The next paragraph jumps right to generalizations, and I didn't c…

Same experience. I didn't know if the second half was talking about Matt Cutts.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#106

Post by a_square_peg »

whack wrote: post #104
supernova87a wrote: post #17

Sorry, the story totally lost me after she was describing the interaction with the FBI. I did not easily take away some conclusion about what she had done wrong or what deep pile of shit she had just created for herself, or what on 2 paths she had just chosen incorrectly, or daringly? (The paragraph ending, "I trusted the FBI to be good at their jobs." The next paragraph jumps right to generalizations, and I didn't c…

The first part of the essay was a very interesting view into bureaucracy and overcoming it via personal connections. The second part seemed to be very hand-wavy armchair-psychologist-esque. The thesis seems to be that: - Some/many workers care more about job stability, as opposed to making a difference at work - Such workers are suffering from "real psychological damage" - They are constantly hounded by imposter synd…

The part that they "end up in startups more often than you might expect" was a fascinating line for me and one that resonates with me quite well based on my experience.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#107

Post by wtracy »

jacobsenscott wrote: post #57
RustyRussell wrote: post #22

This hit home: I worked over a decade at IBM. > When you are in a work situation where you are respected and admired, that is often its own reward. If you don’t have that, the components of your job that give you a sense of value and satisfaction are all connected directly to the career ladder. What is your title? What is the prestige value of your projects? My current official job title is "Code Contributor". I was…

About 20 years ago I was a newly minted CS grad and a new software engineer. I told someone a lot older than me what I do and she said "Oh, that's a great start!". Which threw me because I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do next. That's what I wanted to do. Today I am a "programmer", because I realized software isn't really engineering. That's still what I want to be doing today, and I still don't know what she th…

Several people who dislike the term "software engineer" have started using "software craftsman" instead.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#108

Post by wtracy »

IOT_Apprentice wrote: post #59
vezycash wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And who is the idiot? Short summary: Woznaik vs Jobs. The technical guy vs. the smooth talker. Longer summary: Some people are perpetual resume builders. They want quick promotion, bigger job titles, higher salary... The ladder growth is their reward. And they'll avoid anything that jeopardizes their career path. They'll grab the glory for good stuff and push the blame for bad stuff. The hacker, risk taker on the ot…

I don't get that at all. Woz vs Jobs is not an apt analogy at all. Jobs was never risk averse. He saw what could be done and how to make money off of it. Apple is a Trillion dollar company as a result and Woz is a billionaire.

To build on that: Jobs was absolutely someone who did everything "for the love of the game." It's just that the game that interested him was marketing and design, not engineering.

I can't imagine Jobs as someone motivated put his head down and do busywork to collect a brass nameplate with a fancy title after twenty years.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#109

Post by habeebtc »

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #79
nabilhat wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I was horrified at the point of: > ...he closes the door and takes out his badge. “I have to show you this first.” This job is not near the level of encountering FBI interviews as an actually critical part of work. "How about we circle back when I have legal counsel present" is the least perilous interaction at this point. > “Oh wait, I forgot something. Could you raise your right hand for a minute?” Confused. I…

Always lawyer up. As we’ve learned in the last few years, the FBI loves to catch people “lying” to agents as a precursor to persecuting them for political reasons.

Nah.

Re: Why is this idiot running my engineering org?

#110

Post by wtracy »

austhrow743 wrote: post #91
mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #52

> “ How much are you getting paid? How much equity do you have? All that shit becomes very important because it is often all you have.“ Yeah, “all that shit” like the way you can buy food or send your kid to college...

I’d put money on this lady coming from a privileged background. Story was a person who works recreationally being disgusted by having to interact with all the filthy proles who need to put food on the table.

I think you're overstaying things a bit, but you do have a point.

She probably has never experienced poverty, and no doubt believes (probably correctly!) that she could easily walk out and get another job for a similar (or higher) wage.

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