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I think there are two main paths: - you become really good working for really good top-notch companies. This is the hard path, not because becoming really good
by danwee 4y ago
I think there are two main paths:
- you become really good working for really good top-notch companies. This is the hard path, not because becoming really good is hard, but because working for top-notch companies and becoming good requires putting a lot of hours. One could become really good in say, 10 years... but on top-notch companies if you don't make it in a couple of years you re not anymore "ahead of the curve"
- you fake it. If you have already enough experience in the field, chances are there are companies out there in need for "principal engineers" or vps or whatever term they use nowadays to designate "top level tech guys". You can convince them you know your shit, and they may believe you. One you get your first job in such a role, everything is just gonna get better (e.g., more money, more free time because all you need to do is "to give advice", more knowledge because you can learn tons of stuff using that free time). This is easier than the path above in the sense that you don't need to put extra hours besides the regular 10-5. It could be difficult if you don't have enough confidence in yourself yet to sell yourself as the best tech guy out there
- grugagag 4y agoHow do you sell yourself as the best when you don’t have what it takes to back it up? Just backing it up with BS is going to backfire and the alternative, to stick the nose into brown holes and continue the BS is really not for many of us…
- bdcravens 4y agoBS just at the edge of your comfort zone. As in, I don't know it yet, but know enough terminology to talk the talk and need no more than 30 days to walk the walk. If you've made a lifestyle out of learning, this shouldn't be a problem.
- grugagag 4y agoOh well, that’s just business as usual. The BS part is not disclosing one needs documentation and a bit of time is unfortunately quite the norm. I find that part pathological as far as industry goes. One should not need to resort to BS to get their work done.
- danwee 4y ago> How do you sell yourself as the best when you don’t have what it takes to back it up? Obviously you need some sort of knowledge to do so. But I think it's not much what you need. OP has already 6+ years of working experience, so imho he has probably accumulated quite a lot of knowledge in whatever field he has worked on. On top of that add the usual BS jargon to patch the zones where you don't have a lot of practical experience yet. That's a good combo.
- fdgsdfogijq 4y agoTook me a while to accept that theres much more to learn from good people in top companies. Working with mediocre/bad programmers will hold you back. Great design principles wont just come to you, you need to work on great systems with brilliant people