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What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

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Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#101

Post by dagw »

chavesn wrote: post #27

Some of the comments here claim this is just showing how engineers think they are the only smart ones, or how there's equal frustration pointed back at engineers. However, this is illustrating a particular problem that only[2] affects engineers -- engineers are the ones at the end of the day who have to make a solution reality. This particular weight doesn't fall on any other role. It's easy for anyone, including eng…

engineers are the ones at the end of the day who have to make a solution reality

That's rarely true. More often than not engineers hand off their plans to lowly underling programmers/technicians/builders/craftsmen who are the ones who actually have to make thing a reality.

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#102

Post by todd8 »

I've been the only engineer in meetings often. At one company I regularly attended senior staff meetings (President, CFO, VPs, etc.). I observed all the traits and foibles one might expect in a Dilbert cartoon strip. During one heated discussion they were arguing over the implications of some data that one of them had drawn on a graph; I had to walk over to the whiteboard and explain that the reason they couldn't interpret the data was that they had reversed the X and Y axes on the chart!

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#103

Post by GBond »

kabdib wrote: post #98
toyg wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he meant that he invested his gains from a bn-$-company in this startup and it failed.

No. I mean the startup in question went on to be worth about a billion dollars (last I checked), but the stock I bought from them was turned into wastepaper through some mechanism that I don't understand. Might have been a rescue job of some kind. Maybe they're lying and owe me a bunch of money. I don't know.

> but the stock I bought from them was turned into wastepaper through some mechanism that I don't understand.

Sounds complicated. Most likely they hired an expert to make it happen.

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#104

Post by kbenson »

mbillie1 wrote: post #40
kbenson wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could, say, accept that in most cultures the shared experience of associating with a specific gender while growing up leads to topics and conversations that are easier to have, sustain, and enjoy while talking to people of the same gender. This doesn't require you "radically alter your behavior", just that you understand that different groups of people often accept and find topics interesting at different leve…

Accepting it is exactly what I don't want to do - the only way common biases (like "it's weird/uncomfortable/etc being the only man speaking in a group of women") change is when they are overcome rather than accepted.

I'm not sure it's something that can - or event should - be overcome. Being a small minority in any setting, for any reason, whether is be physical characteristics, beliefs or experience can be alienating to some degree, that's a characteristic of being a minority. You are free to let that affect you in whatever way you see fit, and you are also free to use that to your advantage.

For an example that plays off the original poster's idea, imagine a group of 6 couples, 5 of which have children, and a single couple that does not. Conversation may drift into parenthood related topics based on the high percentage of parents present. The childless couple can choose their own level of involvement in this conversation, and the two ends of the spectrum are probably awkwardness and center of attention. The center of attention strategy is fairly easy to achieve in this scenario. Profess your ignorance to child rearing strategies, and you will almost instantly be regaled with countless tales from those present...

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#105

Post by toyg »

kabdib wrote: post #98
toyg wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he meant that he invested his gains from a bn-$-company in this startup and it failed.

No. I mean the startup in question went on to be worth about a billion dollars (last I checked), but the stock I bought from them was turned into wastepaper through some mechanism that I don't understand. Might have been a rescue job of some kind. Maybe they're lying and owe me a bunch of money. I don't know.

Sounds like something a good independent lawyer should have a look at.

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#106

Post by mncolinlee »

vayarajesh wrote: post #56

Awesome.. I have a similar situation regarding the project manager in the video :) we have a small team of 5 members and i don't think we need a "project manager" considering only 5 members working on a not-so-big project and the team members are efficient enough to self manage. I dont think a small project with a small team even needs a project manager.

I was shocked when no one drew that lesson from our international corporate hackathon. We were cranking out impressive new products in less than twenty-four hours without a single PM.

Granted, it's a sprint requiring downtime afterwards and everyone was doing what they really wanted to do instead of their day jobs.

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#108

Post by brenschluss »

skrebbel wrote: post #65
McGlockenshire wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't just ask why. Ask why until you know you've found the root cause. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys

Searching for "the" root cause (as opposed to more than one) is its own fallacy though.

The Ishikawa diagram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishikawa_diagram) is a way of assuming and charting out multiple causes.

Re: What it is like being the only engineer in a meeting [video]

#109

Post by jacalata »

aspensmonster wrote: post #23

Glad to see this finally making it on the front page. I'm particularly impressed with the actors' ability to capture the subtle facial expressions and other mannerisms that the various characters tend to make in real life under various situations. Direct YT link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg ============================================================ My favorite bit... PHB: "That's it. Now you've conf…

He really should have turned that around. "Did you just criticize my analysis of this problem?"
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