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This is the Programmer equivalent of a "midlife crisis" :-) The "Industry" is squarely to blame for this sorry state of affairs by trying to do everything chea

This is the Programmer equivalent of a "midlife crisis" :-) The "Industry" is squarely to blame for this sorry state of affairs by trying to do everything cheaper, faster, fad dependent, management controlled, focused on short-term bottomline and in a word, trying to "factory style industrialize" Programming. The "Art, Joy and Creativity of Programming" have all been banished and there is only "Drudgery" to suffer through in most companies. Countless "Bullshit Jobs" have been created (eg. Scrum Master) which add no value whatsoever and even worse, they are given power over the "Real Engineers". In order to justify their existence they invent unneeded processes and insert themselves into the management hierarchy. "Engineers/Engineering" are no longer considered central but merely "Resources" to be "Managed" and "output extracted from" in service of an imaginary "Market Value". You have been reduced to being a "Cog in the Wheel" with your Individuality/Identity/Confidence stripped away and told that is the "Normal Order" of things. So how do you deal with it? * Start by saying "No" to every useless/pointless request. Refuse to participate if it adds no value. Be blunt so the message gets across. * Treat it as a standard 9-5 job and keep the quest for "Art, Joy and Creativity" separate. * Team up with like-minded Programmers to Brainstorm/Discuss ideas to Motivate/Recharge the "little grey cells". * Find something interesting (eg. Optimization, Formal Methods etc.) and start studying it for Intellectual Satisfaction i.e. "Knowledge for Knowledge's sake". Keep your Job's needs separate from your Self's needs. Finally, always keep in mind the fine balance between Pragmatism and Idealism and when to give up one for the other i.e. the need for a paycheck vs. the need for intellectual satisfaction.

burntoutfire 5y ago
> "Engineers/Engineering" are no longer considered central but merely "Resources" to be "Managed" and "output extracted from" in service of an imaginary "Market Value". You say "no longer" as if it was ever different - and the truth is that we were always just tools ("cogs in the wheel") in the hands of business people.
- rramadass 5y ago
  That was not always true. In the early days tech. companies always considered Engineering as their Core and other depts. (eg. Marketing, Sales etc.) as Ancillary. It was only quite recently that the roles have been reversed (all in the name of "maximizing short term profits and shareholder value" BS) to the detriment of the entire Industry. The best example i have on hand is the "Speech given by Dave Packard to HP Managers" - https://gizmodo.com/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-our-company-5634378 https://gizmodo.com/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-... (they founded Silicon Valley).
lifeplusplus 5y ago
Last job I did little bit of that, I was 'managed' out of the company in few months.
- rramadass 5y ago
  Unfortunately that is a Risk we have to bear if we want to change the status quo; hence the caveat at the end of my comment. But perhaps if we approached it a little bit more diplomatically (easier said than done) we can get some better and positive results? Having a one-on-one with your Manager, documenting the Time wasted on unproductive activities, clearly verbalizing the lack of opportunities to display your full skillset and add to the company's bottom-line can all be possible strategies to reform the situation. The key is to be clear about your Expectations with your Manager which will allow you both to have a productive conversation about how best the Company can meet them in a way that is beneficial to both.

burntoutfire 5y ago

> "Engineers/Engineering" are no longer considered central but merely "Resources" to be "Managed" and "output extracted from" in service of an imaginary "Market Value". You say "no longer" as if it was ever different - and the truth is that we were always just tools ("cogs in the wheel") in the hands of business people.

rramadass 5y ago
That was not always true. In the early days tech. companies always considered Engineering as their Core and other depts. (eg. Marketing, Sales etc.) as Ancillary. It was only quite recently that the roles have been reversed (all in the name of "maximizing short term profits and shareholder value" BS) to the detriment of the entire Industry. The best example i have on hand is the "Speech given by Dave Packard to HP Managers" - https://gizmodo.com/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-our-company-5634378 https://gizmodo.com/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-... (they founded Silicon Valley).

lifeplusplus 5y ago

Last job I did little bit of that, I was 'managed' out of the company in few months.

rramadass 5y ago
Unfortunately that is a Risk we have to bear if we want to change the status quo; hence the caveat at the end of my comment. But perhaps if we approached it a little bit more diplomatically (easier said than done) we can get some better and positive results? Having a one-on-one with your Manager, documenting the Time wasted on unproductive activities, clearly verbalizing the lack of opportunities to display your full skillset and add to the company's bottom-line can all be possible strategies to reform the situation. The key is to be clear about your Expectations with your Manager which will allow you both to have a productive conversation about how best the Company can meet them in a way that is beneficial to both.