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What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

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Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#101

Post by cm3 »

alex_hitchins wrote: post #87
cm3 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's too simplistic of a view. Physical work is hard on your body, but mind work is equally hard and you cannot brute force most of it. The mind needs to process complicated problems asynchronously, while you let it rest by taking a walk or doing house cleaning, but physical work needs no such thing, as long as your body condition is sufficient.

Have you ever tried a hard, manual labour job?

Yes, but not as a daily activity for long stretches (months), so my view may be incomplete.

EDIT: Not as a job, but working for weeks, daily on a personal project.

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#102

Post by guycook »

blowski wrote: post #34

When I was at school we had to interview our headmaster, and somebody asked him if he thought his job was difficult. His answer has always stayed with me: "Compared to lying on a beach drinking cocktails, it's difficult. But compared to a coal miner, it's ridiculously easy." Would I rather be a software developer - even one who is building boring CRUD apps - or a coal miner?

I've never mined coal, but I did fly-in/fly-out work at coal mines surveying, and compared to coding it had the following benefits:

  - way better pay (not everywhere pays developers like the US)
  - kept me in shape
  - I slept a lot better during that job
  - satisfaction of jobs completed (no maintenance for topo data)
  - no micromanagment, open plan offices, daily stand-ups
  - predictable, stable working hours
  - etc. etc.
I don't do it now - 10 days out of every 14 is too long for me to stay away from my family - so I guess in the end the bad outweighed the good. But I just want to make the point that it's easy to assume that building boring CRUD apps is the best road to go down if you too quickly dismiss the other paths that can be taken.

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#103

Post by Kronopath »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #79
blowski wrote: post #34

When I was at school we had to interview our headmaster, and somebody asked him if he thought his job was difficult. His answer has always stayed with me: "Compared to lying on a beach drinking cocktails, it's difficult. But compared to a coal miner, it's ridiculously easy." Would I rather be a software developer - even one who is building boring CRUD apps - or a coal miner?

I've never been a coal miner, but I have worked a number of extremely physically demanding jobs, one especially where people died from poor safety conditions and most of everyone called in sick several days a month ( I was complimented sincerely on what a good worker I was because I only called in sick once per month). any day of that job was much worse than programming when programming on a good day, but programming…

What kind of days were those bad days?

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#104

Post by erikb »

Gigablah wrote: post #83
erikb wrote: post #25

I love being tech lead or team lead or project manager or whatever you want to call the mid level just above software dev. I feel I can have more impact in that area, meetings aren't bothering me too much yet (after a little over 3 years), and most of the problems can be circumvented by being smart, just as in software dev. Think about the scope problem. You never have enough resources to achieve all the goals the cu…

I dunno, you get to call your compiler all sorts of names without violating HR policy.

But he also won't understand if you tell him directly.

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#106

Post by lostcolony »

mahyarm wrote: post #53
askyourmother wrote: post #16

For me, the best part is interviewing for new jobs. You have not lived till you are asked to reverse sort a binary tree, whilst skipping on one leg, having to show you are passionate about the job! The disappointment was that the actual job did not entail data structures, Algorithms or even skipping! Just CRUD web apps.

In many companies the algo part is like 1/4th of the entire interview. The rest like code design, working with product simulations and coding challenges are pretty relevant, even in CRUD land Its just the algo stuff you usually have to review before hand vs all the others

'Its just the algo stuff you usually have to review before hand vs all the others'

There's the problem. If it's something you have to review, it's not something you use that often. Unless the job is going to have you using it often, why is everyone's time being squandered on it?

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#107

Post by PaulRobinson »

Software engineering is not a flat domain.

I work in a web-based e-commerce outfit with 30+ other SEs who are all really into their work, smart, and committed to doing the Right Thing. This is a good gig.

If I was working on a COBOL app on a mainframe where all the documentation was in German - and I was offered the chance to interview for that gig just a year ago - I doubt I would have as much fun.

As a Ruby/Go/Rust/Python type of developer, I suspect - but can't be certain - my days are more fun than a Java developers. They all seem miserable, anyway.

I don't wear a tie. I don't wear a suit. Nobody cares if I'm a few minutes late in as long as I make stand-up. Nobody cares if I work from home if I feel like it as long as I make core meetings in person.

Would I get that writing J2EE code for a large corporate? Probably not.

Would the people who enjoy those environments enjoy working in a startup? Or a games dev house? Or where I work? Probably not.

I think the best thing about a Software Engineer is we kind find places that fit us culturally more easily than many other industries: medicine, law, most heavy industry, etc. all have a very strong culture that absorbs almost all players in that field.

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#108

Post by apercu »

derefr wrote: post #17
askyourmother wrote: post #16

For me, the best part is interviewing for new jobs. You have not lived till you are asked to reverse sort a binary tree, whilst skipping on one leg, having to show you are passionate about the job! The disappointment was that the actual job did not entail data structures, Algorithms or even skipping! Just CRUD web apps.

This is the worst thing about this sort of "IQ dick-waving contest" culture, to me. I'd be fine with doing ridiculous CS Theory stuff in interviews, if the job was about doing that. I love that stuff, when my mind is geared into the right mode, and a job that required a lot of it would give me the ability to leave my mind geared into that mode. Instead, my mind has downshifted into the CRUD-dev gear from years of dis…

I think it's also counter to good work harmony. Whenever I have worked with or hired the genius/best and brightest, a high proportion of them have difficulty playing nice with others or staying focused on routine work.

You need a couple really crazy smart knowledgable people. And then fill out rest of the team according to their roles and fit.

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#109

Post by ap22213 »

vitno wrote: post #97
ap22213 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My job is definitely easier than a 1930s immigrant coal miner's. Is it easier than a 2016 coal miner's? Probably. Maybe. Is it easier than a furniture mover's? No, but it pays a lot more. Is it easier than a 1970s steelworker's? Certainly not, and it actually pays less.

Actually, you get payed far more. A steelworker in 1975 made on average $7.11.[1] This is about $31.47 in 2016 dollars. Not bad at all, but I'm still guessing you make more. [1] http://articles.mcall.com/1985-07-19/news/2489404_1_steel-in...

I mean total compensation. My father made approximately $30,000 a year in wages in 1976. You have to remember that there was overtime pay. He also got high quality free health care, lots of vacation, 100% pension, and lots of other fringe benefits.

I estimate he made probably close to $200k, in 2016 dollars. And, he wasn't even a 'lead'. In total compensation, he made more than I do. And, IIRC, CPI inflation calculations don't account for home inflation, and we all know that housing costs as a portion of total household spending was much, much less than it is today.

Re: What is the best part about being a Software Engineer?

#110

Post by tboyd47 »

The best part for me about being an open source web developer is that the capital required to bootstrap yourself into working is as low as $100 or even nothing at all.

A few months ago, I had an idea for a side project that could lead to a lucrative business. I ordered a used Thinkpad with no operating system from eBay, and off I went, developing the same sort of website I do on a $1,500 MacBook at work. If I already had a laptop lying around, I could have just reformatted it and used it without spending a dime.

When I lost my job in the city and had to move back home in 2011, I didn't have a computer except for an old Windows desktop. I pulled it out of storage, formatted the hard drive, installed Linux and Rails, put my resume on Craigslist, and within a week I had signed a contract with a company as a remote developer. I was lugging that desktop around everywhere -- on trips to visit family, to co-working sessions in hotels, to my new employer's office -- looking just as goofy as I wanted to, but didn't care, I was working again.

Edit: I see my post is gaining upvotes quickly. If any open-source project maintainers are reading this, thank you! My story would not have been possible without your time and effort.

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