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On Becoming a VP of Engineering
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Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
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Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
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Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
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Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
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Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
#386Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I’ve worked at companies in the past where frontend is looked down upon because all of our leaders are backend/infra people. I think there's a lot going on here, but one of them is definitely gender. Front-end development is often feminine-coded and seen as lesser. E.g.: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/tailwind-and-the-femininity-of-c... I also think in tech-land we tend to associate leadership with male-coded traits.…
So based on an opinion of one person or a very small number of them you write > but one of them is definitely gender Why is it so easy to blame something on sexism? > macho big-swinging-dick alpha nerd tech bro, then that can involve performing genius via solo cowboy coding This is such a small number of people that act like this and write shitty code because of it that it's not worth mentioning.
I base that on my experience of decades in tech. I just included that blog post as a recently read example.
And it's easy to blame something on sexism because sexism is common. Explicit patriarchy was the default mode for our society going back thousands of years. My grandmother was born when women weren't allowed to vote. My mother wasn't allowed to get a credit card, something only outlawed in 1974. Marital rape wasn't fully outlawed until 1993.
And those are just the laws. The culture, as so often, lags behind them. There are a zillion evidences that patriarchy isn't dead. Certainly so in tech.
Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
#387Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I’ve worked at companies in the past where frontend is looked down upon because all of our leaders are backend/infra people. I think there's a lot going on here, but one of them is definitely gender. Front-end development is often feminine-coded and seen as lesser. E.g.: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/tailwind-and-the-femininity-of-c... I also think in tech-land we tend to associate leadership with male-coded traits.…
This article is hilariously bad. The argument goes: I like CSS more than Tailwind -> Why don't people like CSS more? -> Maybe because 'CSS, which makes things look ‘pretty’, is considered feminine' You're entitled to like CSS more, and I could even agree making things look pretty is feminine coded, but it obviously doesn't explain people's preference for Tailwind because Tailwind also exists to make things look prett…
That is not in fact the argument. If that's all you're getting from it, I suggest you try again.
As to your other views, I think you have several errors. The biggest is declaring "it has nothing to do with gender" in a very gendered society, one with a long history of bias, and thinking having one (weak) alternative explanation is sufficient to explain executive hiring patterns.
Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
#388Earlier quoted context omitted.
>After a while you merit your position by not running the company into the ground, but instead making it succeed. That's not merit for the position but not being a five alarm dumpster fire at the position. There is a difference. As long as the company is lucky or there's enough overall competence in leadership or they hired the right employees that incompetence may not be destroy the company. That doesn't mean they'r…
Hiring the right people is competence when it comes to corporate leadership. That's pretty much the only lever they have. Sure they make a few strategic decisions, but for the most part they are just reviewing and signing off on things that get bubbled up. I think this bothers a lot of engineers who pride themselves on being able to understand complex things, and see "soft skills" as something ancillary and lesser. I…
>I think this bothers a lot of engineers who pride themselves on being able to understand complex things, and see "soft skills" as something ancillary and lesser.
IMHO, hiring (and retaining, letting go) is hard skill not a soft one.
Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
#389Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree: Conflict resolution, public speaking, salesmanship -- they're all valuable. They make for better people in this world. When it comes to how these traits translate to the success of leaders or companies? I have no idea. I'd guess causation there is noisy. I bet leaders get a lot of mileage out of bullshit like playing surreptitious games for social capital, managing risk in decision making by offloading it an…
> Never understood why workers collectively put up with that patronizing, condescending nonsense. Its simple because only few people find it condescending or nonsense. Most people I know either ignore it without judgement or find it valuable at work. Ignoring soft skills or social graces work fine in some privileged roles where hard skills have some great premium. As one can see in case of top chefs, doctors, movie s…
>For others listening to corporate leaders sermons is just way of life not some unbearable atrocity.
Pretty sorry state of affairs, correct? Implicate in all this talk of soft skills is the fact that it can also a force for manipulation of the holocaust league.
Re: On Becoming a VP of Engineering
#390Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're missing what the previous commenter said. There are a lot of ways in which companies can succeed simply by their timing, or a couple incredibly lucky early hires, or first mover advantage in a growing space, or the right VCs -- not because of good leadership but in spite of it. Leaders take credit regardless. Often this is why technical folks deride soft skills. Folks that tout them sound like my friend who's…
>>We all need our delusions Not to be an a-hole but says who and why? I think I prefer utter honesty, but ironically I may just be deluding myself.
>>We all need our delusions
>Not to be an a-hole but says who and why? I think I prefer utter honesty, but ironically I may just be deluding myself.
Well, ahem, yes, most people will call you deluded :)