I love programming and I love software engineering. What I don't like is having to work for a living(in this case, doing SWE).
Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
371–380 of 733 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#372Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ve worked at 3-4 small companies (less than 30 employees) and I’ve never been happy. There is always 1 person that makes my life miserable (constantly rejecting my ideas, ego is larger than their experience level, etc). I’ve worked at a 100, and two 1,000 engineer count companies and I never met any “coding princesses” in those roles. I think part of the problem that triggers this is in small companies, one enginee…
> At large companies no one feels like they own 100% of the code, and each change is very collaborative. That's how you end up with endless process, design by committee, and having a dozen meetings with all "stakeholders" before actually writing any code. I'd much rather work at a place where individuals or small groups have a strong vision on the code and product and are capable on executing independently on that. I…
"I'd much rather work at a place where individuals or small groups have a strong vision on the code and product and are capable on executing independently on that"
Isn't that dependent on whether you are the person guiding the code though?
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#373You would probably love being an independent security researcher if you can make a living off bug bounties.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#374> I have come to a realization that I don't really enjoy Software Engineering(& the processes that it comes with) but I do love programming & solving problems. I can almost guarantee that you’re just at the wrong company. Some software companies can turn even the simplest tasks into a grueling series of processes, endless meetings, and joint work across a big number of “stakeholders”. These companies will take the jo…
> Find a company that values programming and real productivity What's an example of a company that values "programming" over the business?
Isn't google the canonical example?
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#375> I have come to a realization that I don't really enjoy Software Engineering(& the processes that it comes with) but I do love programming & solving problems. I can almost guarantee that you’re just at the wrong company. Some software companies can turn even the simplest tasks into a grueling series of processes, endless meetings, and joint work across a big number of “stakeholders”. These companies will take the jo…
> I can almost guarantee that you’re just at the wrong company. Even if this is true (which it most likely is), there's no guarantee the company you move to (in your quest of finding "the right company") won't either a) also be the wrong company again right off the bat or b) become the wrong company again. I've kind of just given up. I've accepted I'm basically a "technical plumber". Take data from this system/vendor…
True, but thats why you should network with current and former engineers at the company to get the real dirt
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#376Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> I've never heard of a "professional bench warmer" in software development. I think this is real. My friend who is serial Project Manager (he works for big corps here in Poland and changes job almost every year for last 15 years) actually uses the term "on bench" for programers that do not have projects assigned to them and he claims that he quite often hires people before project is confirmed, so from time to time…
I have 20+ years of experience in different companies (software and just using software);and I never ever heard of this behaviour. I never changed job (Unusually work 2-4 years at one company) where I didn't have everything ready on my first day.
I have heard of this at Infosys in the US
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#377Do you actually just like programming and hate “engineering” side of things?
What if you just did programming but we’re told how to program?
Sometimes people get burned by processes and sometimes people just don’t want others opinion and want to do their own way in their own world.
I honestly go through ebbs and flows between the two and honestly I think a good middle ground is some process. I’ve learned a lot (and literally did just yesterday from an RFD review) so I can’t dismiss process altogether.
If I want more autonomy I’d work at a smaller company. I do miss the days of my old company where I wrote so much of the system. From payments to auth to order and fulfillment. It was fun, and I knew everyone in the company. Thinking more about it writing this just now though, I think my code would’ve been better with more reviewers nudging in the design process.
You might want to consider doing some open source hobby work as well btw; I am doing that rn.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#378Earlier quoted context omitted.
Language is lovely because you can find so many ways to express creativity! I don't think "Those happily married make great partners, while those unhappily married make great philosophers!" is any less colorful than the original.
It’s bland, safe, and lifeless. The statement has no bite. The original statement will be read by men and some men will connect to it right away, because rather than envision some abstract person, they are made to immediately picture a man, and in that image they may recognize themselves, like looking at a mirror.
> The original statement will be read by men and some men will connect to it right away, because rather than envision some abstract person, they are made to immediately picture a man, and in that image they may recognize themselves, like looking at a mirror.
Sorry, are you saying that the audience of the statement is on purpose only men? If so, how could you possibly support any claim that it's not misogynistic?
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#379Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tastes differ, as do circumstances, but the last place I want to work is one where things are spec'd out "properly". For me one of the great sources of joy in making software is jointly discovering needs by exploring the problem space. I've done whole companies with nothing more than index cards, napkin-quality sketches, and very close team relationships. I love it.
That's fine until half or more of the team moves on, then you have a spaghetti mess that newcomers have to theorize about and clean up.
I'm talking about product design, not technical design. But I don't think specifications help in the long term there, either. I think the way you get designs that are understood by both old-timers and newcomers is continuous improvement of the code through refactoring and cleanup.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate software engineering but love programming?
#380Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m really confused. What was the motivation of the hiring company here?
Maybe hitting some hiring target?
This happened frequently in the dot-com era. There was tons of over hiring to inflate the budget and get more VC money. I remember one company I worked for raised $8 million (a pretty good size A round for late 90's), then immediately dumping $1 million into office renovations for a second location down the street.
That office needed to be full. We'd hire guys who could barely spell HTML. The next round was $20 million or so. More hiring. It was like monkeys banging on keyboards. There were no code reviews, no process, nothing like that. We hired some of the most clueless management you could possibly imagine.
The product itself was half baked and ill-conceived. But we just kept on hiring. Eventually 2001 came and there were mass layoffs. I was not among them, but I left on my own about a year later. Eventually there was a fire sale and everything was sold for pennies on the dollar.