4 ms·

This is it. There’s a real shortage in tech of people that are willing to try before asking. (I’m not in the US)

by queuep 4y ago

antupis 4y ago
I think this cultural thing because Finland it is much more common that people try like 2 weeks and don't ask those stupid questions. It of course speeds up learning but other-hand some problems could be solve like hours instead of weeks.
- djbusby 4y ago
  Have to know the balance. Try three things, then ask the next person up the chain for a pointer.
  - f1shy 4y ago
    Lately I've seen a strong tendency, where I work, to see people with less knowledge "up the chain". Is there only where I am. From your comment, seems to be different where you are. If I'm stuck with something, the LAST place where I search for answers is "up" in the hierarchy.
    - jokethrowaway 4y ago
      It's common everywhere larger than X people. That's why bigger orgs are inefficient and need to acquire smaller companies to get stuff done. Middle managers give the impression of doing something useful without actually being able to do much.
- carlmr 4y ago
  >It of course speeds up learning but other-hand some problems could be solve like hours instead of weeks. The question is how many times these hours are spent. If the project is due tomorrow, it's worth asking ten people for a few hours of their time. If it's not urgent, blocking those ten people for a few hours might lead to more work time being spent on the problem than you figuring it out. I think there's a sweet spot in between asking too little and too much, and it's contextual.
MattGaiser 4y ago
At least everywhere I have worked, employers have been far more worried about the opposite of employees spending time on things that have easy answers, if only they had asked.
- someweirdperson 4y ago
  With this, what they mean by "grit" is: Don't ask questions, but solve things in the way I was thinking of, with no detours.
- wnolens 4y ago
  Yes that is fairly common with younger engineers. It's up to senior engineers/tech lead/manager to detect that and then give feedback, helping that engineer grow. It's also an important quality for an engineer to be able to take feedback and correct. Grit isn't the only important quality.

This is it. There’s a real shortage in tech of people that are willing to try before asking. (I’m not in the US)

by queuep 4y ago

This is it. There’s a real shortage in tech of people that are willing to try before asking. (I’m not in the US)

I think this cultural thing because Finland it is much more common that people try like 2 weeks and don't ask those stupid questions. It of course speeds up learning but other-hand some problems could be solve like hours instead of weeks.

djbusby 4y ago
Have to know the balance. Try three things, then ask the next person up the chain for a pointer.
- f1shy 4y ago
  Lately I've seen a strong tendency, where I work, to see people with less knowledge "up the chain". Is there only where I am. From your comment, seems to be different where you are. If I'm stuck with something, the LAST place where I search for answers is "up" in the hierarchy.
  - jokethrowaway 4y ago
    It's common everywhere larger than X people. That's why bigger orgs are inefficient and need to acquire smaller companies to get stuff done. Middle managers give the impression of doing something useful without actually being able to do much.
carlmr 4y ago
>It of course speeds up learning but other-hand some problems could be solve like hours instead of weeks. The question is how many times these hours are spent. If the project is due tomorrow, it's worth asking ten people for a few hours of their time. If it's not urgent, blocking those ten people for a few hours might lead to more work time being spent on the problem than you figuring it out. I think there's a sweet spot in between asking too little and too much, and it's contextual.

MattGaiser 4y ago

At least everywhere I have worked, employers have been far more worried about the opposite of employees spending time on things that have easy answers, if only they had asked.

someweirdperson 4y ago
With this, what they mean by "grit" is: Don't ask questions, but solve things in the way I was thinking of, with no detours.
wnolens 4y ago
Yes that is fairly common with younger engineers. It's up to senior engineers/tech lead/manager to detect that and then give feedback, helping that engineer grow. It's also an important quality for an engineer to be able to take feedback and correct. Grit isn't the only important quality.