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> That is, if you can get an interview That's a solid point. Yeah, engineering interviewing could be better, a lot better, but as we push to improve it, it's r
by shados 7y ago
> That is, if you can get an interview
That's a solid point. Yeah, engineering interviewing could be better, a lot better, but as we push to improve it, it's really important to keep in mind how privileged we are. I remember having a discussion with one of my friends in a different field who was thrilled to get a recruiter pinging them on Linkedin, for example.
Also, given how chaotic the field is, and how people come from all sides (some with CS degrees, some self taught, some who worked at great tech companies, some who didn't, etc), assuming everyone's a bullshitter is unfortunately kind of expected. We absolutely should treat people with respect and dignity, but that doesn't mean being naive either.
And in other fields getting fired and even demotions are pretty common, while in big tech hubs thats nearly unheard of, except for extreme cases or very very entry level people.
- avh02 7y ago"Engineering"
- shados 7y agoHah. Point taken.
- avh02 7y agoWasn't about you in particular to be honest (but I like how you owned it). Personally, my official position is "software engineer" and I hate it. We have nowhere near the culpability engineers in other disciplines do.
- shados 7y agoIronically it took me a while to even start using that terminology. Where I'm from, "engineer" means something specific, even in software, and you can't just call yourself an engineer (well, there's no LAW against it, but people will call bullshit pretty fast if you didn't go through the right channels). In the US, everyone's an engineer. Im surprised the person who serves me my burger at the counter isn't a Bovine Product Assembly Engineer.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoAnd politicians are Bovine (Something Else) Engineers.
- walshemj 7y agoIn theory "yes" but in practice engineering doesn't disbar people in the same way law and medicine does. When was the last time you saw a news story about a Ceng / PE getting disbarred? Stories about doctors are much more common.
- phkahler 7y agoI haven't had much trouble sifting out the bullshitters. There are patterns to their resume and their conversation. You just need to ask the right questions and be able to understand the answers. No coding problems required. I mean, if you can't tell weather a person can actually do what they claim to do when you work in the same field, you have to work on your people skills.
- shados 7y agoThere's a reason that "talkling the talk vs walking the walk" is a thing. A lot of people can speak (very deeply) about many topics, but as soon as they're in front of a keyboard it falls apart.
- walshemj 7y agoHeard of a PIP or forced grading to the curve at say Microsoft back in the day. You cant directly compare a professional job to say an skilled worker in a corner store / bodega - we may have similar problems but they express them selves in very different ways.