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Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

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Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#371

Post by theptip »

Two options come to mind:

1, as others have suggested, find a bigger pond so that you are no longer the biggest fish. You’ll learn and grow from working with more experienced/better people.

2, found a company. You’ll still be the biggest fish in the pond, but you’ll get a substantial equity stake which might make that role worth your while, and total ownership may give you room to grow in new dimensions (eg, now you need to figure out infrastructure, security, IT, business ops automation, hiring, training, careeer progression, etc. - if this sounds exhausting goto 1)

In the current economic climate, and given your (my impression of) general malaise I’d suggest that 1 has more chance of injecting positive energy into your work situation.

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#372

Post by xpe »

iamstef wrote: post #366

Time to find a new gig. Starting fresh somewhere else with no reputation, no karma, and the potential for being the small fish again will pay dividends. At the very least, different social and organizational challenges may exist there and allow you to grow in a different light. (also, be sure your enjoying non work-related hobbies and adventures as much as you can. Life isn't just work)

> Starting fresh somewhere else with no reputation, no karma, and the potential for being the small fish again will pay dividends.

This assumes new place will recognize the attributes that you bring, no?

This reminds me somewhat of the allure of rags-to-riches stories. Of a world (or a company, at least) where talent is consistently recognized and fairly rewarded.

One can hope that such places exist, to varying degrees, but it seems unwise to assume your next job is one of them, unless you have some solid evidence.

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#375

Post by mk81 »

lowercased wrote: post #326
wreath wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've debated working one hour less than I'm supposed to just so that I can exercise daily, but I find myself worrying that without me things will fall apart. So be it. This may be harmful to your team/company in the short term but it will make it clear that there is a gap in output and productivity within the team that must be addressed. Go lift heavy weights (im talking about iron).

Came here to say something similar, as I feel the OP's "fall apart" comment too. However, my bigger anxiety is not that it'll "fall apart", but that things will "fall apart" and then it'll be my role to fix it. If I died, I don't care. If I left the project entirely, I don't care. I've moved on many times over my career. I can live with that. But... if you leave early for a bit, then things "fall apart" and you have…

No post body was provided.

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#376

Post by n3utrino »

I was/am in a somewhat similar position. I don't consider myself a 10x dev but I have 20+ years at the same company.

Obviously I don't vibe with all the "you should switch jobs" comments, although it can be an excellent next step for you.

My approach was to work more "on the system" than "in the system". I made it my mission to improve the skills of my team. Introducing "Mob Programming" had the biggest impact. It seems counter intuitive but stories get completed faster, knowledge is shared, ownership of code is shared, even small decisions get made together, good practises by positive peer pressure, and you get to code together.

It seems you could use your standing to suggest/introduce changes without even having an official role, that comes with less coding.

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#377

Post by deltaonefour »

phphphphp wrote: post #89
MauranKilom wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People didn’t challenge them because it was exhausting, because they knew best, despite their constant churning out of garbage code that the business didn’t have the guts to address. That doesn't square with how people are going out of their way to query OP though, no? If people drag you into meetings tangential to your work, it seems unlikely that they hate working with you...

Difficult to say without knowing the OP personally, but in my experience, all of this can square. There’s complex dynamics at play that are a product of the genius developer mythology: someone produces a lot of code, the system becomes an extension of that person, everyone becomes dependent upon that person regardless of whether the person is good or bad, enjoyable to work with or not, because they’re the genius syst…

This is how it is at every company. The older developers create the universe new developers need to figure out. ON average newer developers don't perform as well as the older ones. This effect is highly correlated by the complexity of the code base.

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#378

Post by EFreethought »

100011_100001 wrote: post #33
ziddoap wrote: post #21

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” I know saying this is easier than doing it, but; seek upward movement until you no longer feel like you're the smartest person in the room. I would also add, although it's purely personal opinion, that seeking a solution to loneliness through work is a surefire way to feel more lonely. You say you're big on self-improvement, but are you only focus…

I've thought about this. I actually do not think I'm the smartest person in the room, hell two of the people in my direct team are definitely smarter than me. I think I have really good systems that allow me to consistently solve problems and write code. On the loneliness front, I meant in the scope of working. I have four kids, I am everything BUT lonely with them. However, I do agree that aside from work and one of…

What are these "really good systems that allow me to consistently solve problems and write code"?

I assume you are referring to some sort of productivity methodology like GTD.

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#379

Post by johnwheeler »

RhodesianHunter wrote: post #344
johnwheeler wrote: post #343

You’re run of the mill prima donna and one exists in every org. How do I know? Because 10x developers are on the other side of the Dunning Krueger spectrum. They struggle with insecurities and second guess themselves all the time. They wonder if they’re making bad decisions and actually listen to their peers. They hide their competence and even come off as dumb because they don’t want to alienate coworkers. They’ve s…

Don't worry, the confidence does come eventually. Attacking others further along the curve isn't a good look though.

I don’t know what this means

Re: Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

#380

Post by hughlilly »

jiggawatts wrote: post #279
100011_100001 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've thought about this. I actually do not think I'm the smartest person in the room, hell two of the people in my direct team are definitely smarter than me. I think I have really good systems that allow me to consistently solve problems and write code. On the loneliness front, I meant in the scope of working. I have four kids, I am everything BUT lonely with them. However, I do agree that aside from work and one of…

> I actually do not think I'm the smartest person in the room, hell two of the people in my direct team are definitely smarter than me. I think I have really good systems that allow me to consistently solve problems and write code. I had the exact same experience in my first job, where I was one of the least experienced developers and I wasn't even remotely the smartest one there. However, I was working smarter than…

Out of interest, what language was the project written in, and what kinds of testing tools did you use?
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