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Damn really nice read! I wonder: is this what enterprise software engineering really feels like up there in the high ranks? I don't know if I would ever enjoy d

Damn really nice read! I wonder: is this what enterprise software engineering really feels like up there in the high ranks? I don't know if I would ever enjoy doing any of what she listed!

cmwelsh 6y ago
I had a similar reaction but there are a few archetypes that are very similar to the duties of an IC. She mentions “Deep Diver” and that’s similar to my current role. I enjoy having systems thrown onto my lap and becoming an expert in them as quickly as possible. Then the organization uses my analysis to decide what to do next: keep it or pivot to a different strategic solution in the long-term. Ideally my deep dives result in useful documentation, code improvements, or process automation to allow the future deep diver to come up to speed quicker than I did.
- spdionis 6y ago
  As a staff engineer, you have multiple responsibilities you need to cover, and you can delegate some of them. The reality is that in most teams you can delegate the "Deep Diver" responsibility most of the time. "Context sharing" and "Coaching" not so much. So yes, as some comments in other threads mention, your coding/hard tech contributions diminish with time.
daxfohl 6y ago
I think it is. In my younger days I wanted to rise up so that I could work on really complex and challenging code. But now I'm there and I hardly code at all. Most of it is working across teams to figure out dependencies, blockers, security concerns in launching a new project. About a year in, I still don't like it much, nor do I feel like I'm good at it, even though I consider myself a good coder. I asked my manager for a transfer to a more code forward role and apparently they really don't exist at the high levels. There are some exceptions if you are a known expert in some field, but for a generalist in optimizing queries or caching patterns, there's usually someone cheaper and younger they can get to do the work.

Damn really nice read! I wonder: is this what enterprise software engineering really feels like up there in the high ranks? I don't know if I would ever enjoy doing any of what she listed!

cmwelsh 6y ago

I had a similar reaction but there are a few archetypes that are very similar to the duties of an IC. She mentions “Deep Diver” and that’s similar to my current role. I enjoy having systems thrown onto my lap and becoming an expert in them as quickly as possible. Then the organization uses my analysis to decide what to do next: keep it or pivot to a different strategic solution in the long-term. Ideally my deep dives result in useful documentation, code improvements, or process automation to allow the future deep diver to come up to speed quicker than I did.

spdionis 6y ago
As a staff engineer, you have multiple responsibilities you need to cover, and you can delegate some of them. The reality is that in most teams you can delegate the "Deep Diver" responsibility most of the time. "Context sharing" and "Coaching" not so much. So yes, as some comments in other threads mention, your coding/hard tech contributions diminish with time.

daxfohl 6y ago

I think it is. In my younger days I wanted to rise up so that I could work on really complex and challenging code. But now I'm there and I hardly code at all. Most of it is working across teams to figure out dependencies, blockers, security concerns in launching a new project. About a year in, I still don't like it much, nor do I feel like I'm good at it, even though I consider myself a good coder. I asked my manager for a transfer to a more code forward role and apparently they really don't exist at the high levels. There are some exceptions if you are a known expert in some field, but for a generalist in optimizing queries or caching patterns, there's usually someone cheaper and younger they can get to do the work.