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Senior engineers are living in the future

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Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#12
post #8

Senior means two things: - Have experience - Self learning though above experience. I met many experienced developers, but most of them failed at step 2. To me, they're still junior.

Can you give an example of a failure at step 2?

A 10 years Java/PHP developer doesn't know how to use Golang on the job in 3 days.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#13

a great article, we software engineers are impatient and we tend to job hop often. Being an effective engineer is about more than knowing how to build systems and code, it also requires deep domain knowledge into your company's business and existing systems and this knowledge takes years to cultivate at the same company. All the superstars at my current company have been here for a while.

We job hop for a number of reasons. The primary one being compensation when their current job isn’t keeping up with inflation. Another is lack of promotion when you went above and beyond (as you were coached to by your manager, for that promotion).

Another reason (which is why I do) is that life for some of us isn’t as stable. I move. I’m forced to sometimes because of rent. Sometimes that means having to find a new, cheaper, city to live in. Sometimes it’s to relocate for that new position.

Next time you see someone who has worked at several companies over a decade, ask why and understand their reasoning. I would love to work at a company for 20+ years. I can’t stay put in the same position for that long.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#14
post #9

a great article, we software engineers are impatient and we tend to job hop often. Being an effective engineer is about more than knowing how to build systems and code, it also requires deep domain knowledge into your company's business and existing systems and this knowledge takes years to cultivate at the same company. All the superstars at my current company have been here for a while.

> we software engineers are impatient and we tend to job hop often. This has been the only way to increase our pay beyond measly 2-5% growth if you stay at the same company. I would love to not jobhop and become a 'superstar' but making half the pay of your peers is really intolerable.

Especially in the last 5 years. 2-5% bumps for 10-20% inflation… gotta love math.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give an example of a failure at step 2?

A 10 years Java/PHP developer doesn't know how to use Golang on the job in 3 days.

Well, golang is a tough language.

I am stuggling with helm/kubernetes and the new company's ecosystem where everybody is new in the team. We are expected to deliver according to a plan while we keep hunting for relevant info.

I would say the second point is a lot more nuanced than stated.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#16

a great article, we software engineers are impatient and we tend to job hop often. Being an effective engineer is about more than knowing how to build systems and code, it also requires deep domain knowledge into your company's business and existing systems and this knowledge takes years to cultivate at the same company. All the superstars at my current company have been here for a while.

>All the superstars at my current company have been here for a while.

Exactly. And isn't that memorisation by repetition? If you will come across something often you take a good guess on how it works.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give an example of a failure at step 2?

A 10 years Java/PHP developer doesn't know how to use Golang on the job in 3 days.

Not everyone learns at the same pace, not everyone is great at bootstrapping.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give an example of a failure at step 2?

A 10 years Java/PHP developer doesn't know how to use Golang on the job in 3 days.

Why is 3 days, likely with competing priorities, a reasonable timeframe to learn a new language well enough to contribute production code in your estimation?

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give an example of a failure at step 2?

A 10 years Java/PHP developer doesn't know how to use Golang on the job in 3 days.

Had a guy with 20 years experience at a top mail carrier come in for a senior position. We were very excited to interview him.

He had spent the 20 years copying the same html file and changing the text for whatever was needed.

Struggled heavily with the concept of a loop.

Re: Senior engineers are living in the future

#20
One of my classmates in college couldn't handle this. I'd glance at some awful Visual Studio compiler error and then point out a missing semicolon. He ended up feeling stupid, but I was trying to be encouraging because his code was pretty good aside from some missing punctuation, which will come with practice. He ended up switching majors.
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