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Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

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Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#151

Post by shapefrog »

pavlov wrote: post #144
cheschire wrote: post #18

I once had a PM who told me coding was just a stepping stone to them in their career. I couldn’t understand, I thought they must not have been a “natural” like me. Fast forward a few years, after taking on more mentorship roles, then staff responsibilities, then slipping into project oversight roles… She was so right. Coding was a great stepping stone. Several years ago my father got promoted to some leadership role.…

> "Several years ago my father got promoted to some leadership role. In our conversation about it, he told me he had asked to get back closer tech, but his boss declined and said tech specialists are a dime a dozen. Technical leadership is very expensive to find though, and once you find one you don’t let them go back to the production line." Ah, the foundational myth of middle management.

We are special and unique, that is why we were chosen not them.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#153

Post by qup »

irrational wrote: post #20

> in the same way we expect that a retired doctor probably stops performing surgeries and begins to spend more time on the golf course. My father is a retired doctor. I’ve never known him to play golf, but he works 60 hours a week in the emergency room of the clinic on the local Indian reservation. He claims only working 60 hours a week is retirement for a doctor.

May he enjoy his retirement. Send him some thanks, from the rest of us.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#154

Post by qup »

nadermx wrote: post #3

What is retirement, if not doing things you enjoy. Coding is unique in its ability that you can even do it as an old man.

Not unique, but it is a nice perk. Poker is a great retirement game for many, and I suspect most programmers would both enjoy it greatly and excel at it.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#155

Post by awongh »

aeturnum wrote: post #25

For me, at least, programming is simply the most profitable articulation of an underlying personality trait that involves productivity, play, mischief, sardonicism and critique all together. This is what people mean when they point out that "hacking" isn't about software. The tantalizing just-out-of-reach articulation of a compelling concept. Satiating.

How is sardonicism involved in programming? It is a trait many in tech have, I'm not sure if you're saying that it's positively involved in doing programming....

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#156

Post by oefrha »

lastangryman wrote: post #102

I find it surprising (in a good way) the author could be a programmer for 26 years at Apple. A lot of corporate places I've worked at are always pushing you to progress in to leadership positions; if you aren't moving upwards then you are "managed out" which I always find really sad, the idea that simply being good at your job is now no longer enough. Good on Apple if they don't follow this type of thinking.

In (one) theory, pressuring everyone to always move up results in everyone eventually stuck in a role they are not good at.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#157

Post by totorovirus »

What I've seen in the past two years, a lot of people who have seemingly no fit to a life of a programmer have joined software industry. In my experience the best devs were the people who self-taught programming for pure joy of building a software, making a glimpse of imaging to something real through writing code. The others who were on this job because the compensation was hefty - they were likely to opt out to a manager. I am not saying that hobby-devs are better people or co-worker. Every people has their role in a team. Nevertheless these people who habitually code are the ones who remain as devs after all.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#158

Post by qup »

raz32dust wrote: post #75
ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #72

Thank you for your 26 years of service. Career programmers like you who still love programming at the end of it are a treasure. Programming is wonderful. It is an art in itself. Even though Slack and Leetcode and all the rest ruin it, there is nothing else which sparks joy and a sense of wonder like it does for some of us. I wish in our industry we had more wider appreciation and events where we could share stories l…

Wait what did Slack do?

Mandated black hole for attention.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#159

Post by varjag »

cheschire wrote: post #18

I once had a PM who told me coding was just a stepping stone to them in their career. I couldn’t understand, I thought they must not have been a “natural” like me. Fast forward a few years, after taking on more mentorship roles, then staff responsibilities, then slipping into project oversight roles… She was so right. Coding was a great stepping stone. Several years ago my father got promoted to some leadership role.…

Rule of thumb is the worse an engineer is the sooner they try to make a dash into management or other non-coding role. Doing the job you're not cut for is incredibly stressful and humiliating.

It is important though to not compensate for the humiliation with smugness to those who are good at their job.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#160

Post by pavlov »

shapefrog wrote: post #151
pavlov wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Several years ago my father got promoted to some leadership role. In our conversation about it, he told me he had asked to get back closer tech, but his boss declined and said tech specialists are a dime a dozen. Technical leadership is very expensive to find though, and once you find one you don’t let them go back to the production line." Ah, the foundational myth of middle management.

We are special and unique, that is why we were chosen not them.

I'm guessing the same story was told 600 years ago in Spain:

"My father, an Inquisitor himself, told me of the time when the Grand Inquisitor promoted him. Ordinary priests are a dime a dozen, the great man said, but it takes special skill to be an Inquisitor. And that's why you never let them go back to the pulpit when you do find a good one."

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