Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tell HN: The loneliness of a pretty good developer

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

451–460 of 519 posts

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

#451

Post by leaflets2 »

DeathArrow wrote: post #412

I am trying not to be an 10x developer. I try to stay around whatever the number of story points is considered ok for my team. If if finish something in 2 hours instead of 5, that means I have more time to do other things. Try new approaches, make proof of concepts for myself, read something interesting, browse the web. If I'd try to work as fast as possible, I feel I would burn out fast. My advice would be to either…

People ask OP for help a lot, wants him in their meetings. Should he say: No, I'm browsing the web

Switching company, or starting his own, seems like good ideas yes. Maybe even as a freelancer / contractor

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

#453

Post by galbar »

I've recently been faced with an opportunity that has put me somewhat in a similar situation.

I'm lucky that I have someone somewhat close to the team that I can ask for feedback on the solutions I come up with, which are not always the best, to be honest.

I very much know the feeling of "what I find plainly obvious is not to others". My solution to it has been strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and education. It doesn't matter if I go slower as long as the team in general starts going faster.

With the knowledge sharing I've also been able to share more of the load of the architecture, because my teammates also understand what's the guiding principle (or at the very least, they know that the "weird pattern" they see in the code has a purpose and they try to follow it).

They still come to me frequently with questions. I have spent many hours explaining the same thing to the same group of people, every time they have new questions.

Personally, I've noticed a reduced reliance of the team on me as a consequence of my knowledge sharing efforts. The team has also noticed it and at least one of them has commented on it positively.

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

#454

Post by bigbizisverywyz »

scarface74 wrote: post #297
thisisbrians wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe consider a Staff Engineer type role at an established and well-respected firm? Still mostly IC if you can land the right role, I think, but more focused on the meta stuff that enabled the whole team like tools and automation. Would love input from others as I've not actually worked in such a role before.

This is the same attitude I see on Reddit. Just because someone is a top performer at a no name enterprise corp dev shop doesn’t translate to tech companies and no offense is intended. I spent my entire career until I was 46 two years ago at no name enterprise dev shops.

+1 to your comment.

I suspect they are feeling stressed because they're the main goto person on the product, and with enough random bobble heads running around trying to commit sacrilege on your codebase it quickly becomes a problem of control to maintain the quality you've so strongly instilled vs allowing the product to progress.

Their best path to get out of this bind I'd say is to slowly try to make themselves redundant on that product, choose a victim dev to be your successor and gradually disengage. Possibly a new product or project will be started and then they're free to get involved in that instead.

Also learn how to interview new candidates and get involved at that level, getting good (even better than you) coworkers is a great way to influence the whole company culture and make your work life much more pleasant.

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

#455

Post by deterministic »

tsss wrote: post #134
100011_100001 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, that is exactly what I don't want. Pretending I am this amazingly productive developer and my code is just trash. I just checked. In 2021, only two defects were created against my specific code changes. If I had to home into a weakness of mine is that sometimes I solve today's problem well, but don't think extensively about how tomorrow's problem in that space might look like. The struggle is between creating sim…

It's not about behavioural defects. It's that the _code_ is trash. It is unmaintainable and slows down all future changes, exactly because the person who wrote it didn't take the time to think about the future or even good architecture in the present. Every time I touch their code I have to almost redo their work because: - It's impossible to understand what is going on (For example when people load huge json or sql…

I have worked with 10x developers. They exist. Not only are they more productive than most developers, their code is also more bug free than most developers. Get over it.

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

#456

Post by [deleted] »

ipaddr wrote: post #178

Remember a 10x developer means 10 times better than the worst. Which makes you a 2x developer compared to the average. You've reached the top at your company. You work harder and care more than most. But you haven't reached senior dev status until you realize your extra work and spotlight puts a target on your back. You are a natural target now: management shifts, technology changes, projects fail and the same people…

[deleted]

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

#457

Post by dawwido »

phkahler wrote: post #130
100011_100001 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pivot I have been debating is to become a Lead Development Manager with the express purpose of enabling everyone else, removing obstacles, creating better processes etc. My problem is that I love code much more than talking to people all day. I have been mentoring Jr Devs for a while now in an official capacity which helps. I like the idea of "make systemic changes to help your peers become more effective". So th…

Get involved in the hiring process. You should be able to screen candidates well and if the company really is full of sub-par developers (doubt it but maybe) you will bring that up a bit. If you need tips on interviewing shoot me an email (same ID at g mail) it's easy for a good engineer once you know what to look for and how. BTW that's not isolation you're feeling. It's responsibility, respect, and frustration. You…

Hey, could you please share publicly your tips on interviewing and spotting good engineer? Thank you. It would make a valuable HN post on it's own

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

#458

Post by freedom2099 »

xpe wrote: post #361
alisonatwork wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an underrated answer. When your colleagues start treating you as the "go-to guy", I think it's often holding back their own development. Why should they try harder when they know your code review will catch everything they missed? Why bother volunteering for challenging tasks when they know you will do it faster? Often when you are put in the position of being the "go-to guy" at a company, you start to imagin…

> Your work is where you go to get paid. The end. As I interpret this statement, it seems too narrow. It is one value judgment of how one person views work. It is not universal. I don't think this view is widely held in the software world, at least in the United States.

I love my job (at least most of it) but I do it to get paid! It is by any means what defines me! I feel sorry for people in the US if work (especially considering what is done in most software companies) is such an important parameter in your self worth evaluation!

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

#459

Post by bigbizisverywyz »

100011_100001 wrote: post #95
tsss wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or he just bangs out a ton of crappy code in the name of "pragmatism", while everyone else has to clean up after him and thus takes longer. I've seen this many times.

Eh, that is exactly what I don't want. Pretending I am this amazingly productive developer and my code is just trash. I just checked. In 2021, only two defects were created against my specific code changes. If I had to home into a weakness of mine is that sometimes I solve today's problem well, but don't think extensively about how tomorrow's problem in that space might look like. The struggle is between creating sim…

Have you thought about, or are you already involved in interviewing new developers for the company?

It sounds like you might already have a nose for what makes a good dev (i.e. somebody who holds the same values as you) It's a great way to influence the company culture, and get good co-workers, which can also de-stress you as you now have fellow travelers whom you can trust with tasks.

It's also fun, sometimes humbling but always interesting!

Post reply on HN