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The Most Dangerous Email (to my career) I've Sent

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Re: The Most Dangerous Email (to my career) I've Sent

#81

Post by pjsg »

I felt this way as well, but I was fortunate enough to be working in a large company that had a senior engineer track leading to Distinguished Engineer (DE) and then Fellow. I knew that I wasn't Fellow material, but being a DE meant that I could focus on technical issues and not on management issues. Of course, management being management, they tried to give me a project that was not going well, so I left to join an early stage startup.

I'm going to succeed in having my entire 40+ year career in software without ever having had to manage another person. I'm fortunate enough to have had a number of managers who can recognize my strong (and weak) points and then use me in the most effective manner.

Re: The Most Dangerous Email (to my career) I've Sent

#82

Post by WirelessGigabit »

I was in this position. Either advance to Staff Engineer (with 0% coding) or leave the group. The group I was a part of did not realize that not all good developers make good managers.

I've always firmly believed that I am not good in a people leading position, and that I excel as an IC.

I never ended up finding a new group in the company, as a company-wide layoff of software engineers ended my relationship with them.

I just found a new role as an IC, and I couldn't be happier.

Re: The Most Dangerous Email (to my career) I've Sent

#84

Post by bigfatkitten »

oceanplexian wrote: post #43
mikepurvis wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freedom of speech has never meant freedom from consequences, particularly in one's dealings with private individuals or corporations. At best it's supposed to mean no reprisals from public institutions, such as the TSA, IRS, DMV, and the like.

It should if you have some semblance of professionalism. At work I don’t want to know nor want to know about the politics of the people working with me. If I’m engaged in a business transaction I don’t care about the personal views of the person I’m buying or selling from. Call me old fashioned but the world used to be that way before the rise of social media addictions and the current online echo chambers in our soc…

That was the approach GM's senior management took with Opel during World War II. Opel wasn't nationalised; it continued trading and did business as usual with the German government of the day, just with less direct involvement from Detroit.

While it worked out very well indeed for GM in a commercial sense in that they retained control of the business, it continued to be profitable and the U.S. Government paid for damage to their factories due to Allied bombing, history has a less favourable view of the individual people involved.

Re: The Most Dangerous Email (to my career) I've Sent

#85

Post by zie »

oceanplexian wrote: post #43
mikepurvis wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freedom of speech has never meant freedom from consequences, particularly in one's dealings with private individuals or corporations. At best it's supposed to mean no reprisals from public institutions, such as the TSA, IRS, DMV, and the like.

It should if you have some semblance of professionalism. At work I don’t want to know nor want to know about the politics of the people working with me. If I’m engaged in a business transaction I don’t care about the personal views of the person I’m buying or selling from. Call me old fashioned but the world used to be that way before the rise of social media addictions and the current online echo chambers in our soc…

I'm not sure it ever was that way, but it was perhaps less prevalent before the rise of social media, where it's now very easy to see one's views.

> If I’m engaged in a business transaction I don’t care about the personal views of the person I’m buying or selling from.

I mean that's perhaps the ideal in a civilized society, but that's not remotely the norm. I'm guessing you do it subconsciously even if you don't realize it. It's very natural for humans to "other" different humans and shun them. Even if it's not what we strive for.

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