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This applies to any job: work where what you do is the core discipline. At a law firm, be a lawyer. At a medical practice, be a doctor. As a software engineer,

This applies to any job: work where what you do is the core discipline. At a law firm, be a lawyer. At a medical practice, be a doctor. As a software engineer, work at a company where software is the product. Don’t write software at an insurance company and expect job satisfaction. At such companies software engineers are seen as replaceable. Another option: work where what you do is largely represented by upper management. They make the decisions and if they worked in your discipline they will empathize with you, defend you, and promote you.

valuearb 9y ago
I up-voted you because there is a lot of truth to what you wrote. But you also have to realize that today many businesses that don't understand how to develop software but still need to have effective software development processes. That's a huge personal opportunity if you are an effective communicator who can emphasize with managers from disparate backgrounds. They need someone who not only can implement and manage a successful software development process, but communicate to them what is possible, what is risky, and what the best trade-offs there are to develop software to meet the company's goals.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  That's very true but it's not much fun.
  - gedrap 9y ago
    Define fun. If rewarded, taking a team with shitty development processes, poor software, etc and taking it to the next level can be a great fun. But only if it is reward, i.e. is considered valuable.
davewasthere 9y ago
Actually, I quite like writing software in companies where software isn't the core discipline. But I'm writing it in support of the core discipline. Admittedly I consult/freelance now, but writing software to support FMCGs, Loss Adjusters, Hospitality, Airlines, etc.... it's all cool stuff and really enjoyable.
thirdsun 9y ago
> As a software engineer, work at a company where software is the product. Don’t write software at an insurance company and expect job satisfaction. At such companies software engineers are seen as replaceable. Speak for yourself. My non-tech employer (small manufacturer) treats me very well and despite being anything but an exceptional developer my experience is that developers are closer to being regarded as magicians in these environments. That's of course a very anecdotal impression, but so is yours.
- itchyouch 9y ago
  I would imagine that small businesses where most of the employees have the opportunity to interact with the owner(s) is quite different than a large company where a dev's salary is a line-item under liabilities. Typically with a smaller & medium-sized businesses (<200 employees), the owner is generally and acutely aware of each individuals impact to the company and would hopefully treat and compensate people commensurate to their value and impact. There's still a lot of people who view tech folks as wizards of black magic. All they know in their tenure in the business is that some process used to take 5 people 3 work-days to build a widget, while now, the software by the dev + some new fangled machine allows 1 person to build the widget in half a day. When I did consulting work for a small print-shop during my college days, they were always very appreciative of the work I did and had no problem paying for my work.

valuearb 9y ago

I up-voted you because there is a lot of truth to what you wrote. But you also have to realize that today many businesses that don't understand how to develop software but still need to have effective software development processes. That's a huge personal opportunity if you are an effective communicator who can emphasize with managers from disparate backgrounds. They need someone who not only can implement and manage a successful software development process, but communicate to them what is possible, what is risky, and what the best trade-offs there are to develop software to meet the company's goals.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
That's very true but it's not much fun.
- gedrap 9y ago
  Define fun. If rewarded, taking a team with shitty development processes, poor software, etc and taking it to the next level can be a great fun. But only if it is reward, i.e. is considered valuable.

davewasthere 9y ago

Actually, I quite like writing software in companies where software isn't the core discipline. But I'm writing it in support of the core discipline. Admittedly I consult/freelance now, but writing software to support FMCGs, Loss Adjusters, Hospitality, Airlines, etc.... it's all cool stuff and really enjoyable.

thirdsun 9y ago

> As a software engineer, work at a company where software is the product. Don’t write software at an insurance company and expect job satisfaction. At such companies software engineers are seen as replaceable. Speak for yourself. My non-tech employer (small manufacturer) treats me very well and despite being anything but an exceptional developer my experience is that developers are closer to being regarded as magicians in these environments. That's of course a very anecdotal impression, but so is yours.

itchyouch 9y ago
I would imagine that small businesses where most of the employees have the opportunity to interact with the owner(s) is quite different than a large company where a dev's salary is a line-item under liabilities. Typically with a smaller & medium-sized businesses (<200 employees), the owner is generally and acutely aware of each individuals impact to the company and would hopefully treat and compensate people commensurate to their value and impact. There's still a lot of people who view tech folks as wizards of black magic. All they know in their tenure in the business is that some process used to take 5 people 3 work-days to build a widget, while now, the software by the dev + some new fangled machine allows 1 person to build the widget in half a day. When I did consulting work for a small print-shop during my college days, they were always very appreciative of the work I did and had no problem paying for my work.