Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
matt.aimonetti.net
Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
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Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#2This whole thing seems like it is written by a recruiter having a hard time to get people to leave their current jobs for new ones.
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#3This whole thing seems like it is written by a recruiter having a hard time to get people to leave their current jobs for new ones.
Hehe, I'm not a recruiter (I'm the OP) but probably like yourself, I get a lot of them contacting me on a regular basis. Knowing what to do next and or if our current job is worth it is a hard challenge. I just shared my own experience.
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#4The issue of seniority always bugs me. If a 26 year old guy who writes "good enough" code can be a Senior, which I see very often, what's left?
Personally I wouldn't feel right with a title including "senior" until I've got at least 10y experience, generated millions in revenue and lead a team of >10. And I'd still prefer not having a title. Unless the only way to increase a salary is by taking the title, which seems to be the problem.
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#5The issue of seniority always bugs me. If a 26 year old guy who writes "good enough" code can be a Senior, which I see very often, what's left? Personally I wouldn't feel right with a title including "senior" until I've got at least 10y experience, generated millions in revenue and lead a team of >10. And I'd still prefer not having a title. Unless the only way to increase a salary is by taking the title, which seems…
That's a very good point, John Allspaw from Etsy has a great post on that topic: http://www.kitchensoap.com/2012/10/25/on-being-a-senior-engi...
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#6The issue of seniority always bugs me. If a 26 year old guy who writes "good enough" code can be a Senior, which I see very often, what's left? Personally I wouldn't feel right with a title including "senior" until I've got at least 10y experience, generated millions in revenue and lead a team of >10. And I'd still prefer not having a title. Unless the only way to increase a salary is by taking the title, which seems…
Here is a great article on what it means to be a Senior engineer: http://www.kitchensoap.com/2012/10/25/on-being-a-senior-engi...
The long answer is maturity. Then the author goes to explain what maturity brings to the discipline of software engineering.
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#7Good post, as it happens I'm also pondering the things you're talking about.
I like that you to offer to talk things over with anyone who asks! I'd be curious to know what you learn from it.
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#8> Now is an awesome time to be a software engineer (probably best time ever).
I don't agree with this statement at all, as it's getting harder and harder to find low-level work (e.g., C and *asm) and that's the __only__ kind of programming that I enjoy doing.
I'll start looking for another career when I have to consider putting words like ``full-stack'' or ``cloud'' on my resume in order to find work.
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#9Good post, as it happens I'm also pondering the things you're talking about. I like that you to offer to talk things over with anyone who asks! I'd be curious to know what you learn from it.
I'll try to do a follow up post, so far I've been really impressed with the emails I got. They raised a lot of great questions such as what it means to built a career when you aren't willing to relocate etc...
Re: Engineers suck at finding the right jobs
#10The issue of seniority always bugs me. If a 26 year old guy who writes "good enough" code can be a Senior, which I see very often, what's left? Personally I wouldn't feel right with a title including "senior" until I've got at least 10y experience, generated millions in revenue and lead a team of >10. And I'd still prefer not having a title. Unless the only way to increase a salary is by taking the title, which seems…
...what's left?
Where do I begin?
- Drilling down multiple levels for greater understanding. Being the "anti-poser" by knowing what's really going on under the hood. Sharing this insight with others. Amazing what a difference maker this often is.
- Subject matter expertise. Can you stay two steps ahead of your customers by getting behind their eyes and seeing what they need before they do?
- Continuous improvement. (I know, a B.S. term if there ever was one, but it's true...): "Good enough" is never good enough any more. Get better or someone will eventually eat your lunch.
- Communication skills. We all suck at them so much that this is often a bigger speedbump than technical shortcomings. We have much to learn from ants.
- Vision. Another nebulous term, but one that often makes a difference between arithmetric and geometric growth.
- Determining priorities. (Are we really working on the best thing?)
I can go on and on, but you kinda get the idea.