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I somehow get paid to be an aimless and excited programmer. I work in developer relations for a data company. Even though my title says, "engineer", I don't do

I somehow get paid to be an aimless and excited programmer. I work in developer relations for a data company. Even though my title says, "engineer", I don't do product building. I don't have any exact direction honestly. We have a data product and I do random things as long as it improves the developer experience. One month I am writing a technical blog for beginners on using the API using Csharp, before that it was writing a 15 page technical document on Snowflake, yesterday I made some demo GIFs using a CSVgrep for a product launch. It is chaotic and I really don't have an exact year-long focus when it comes to programming commitment. The only thing that is true is that the API/database we provide, which is being used by real programmers from different backgrounds. The DevRel role demands someone to be aimless and excited. You have to know enough about developers to help them get started, but you are not required to carry them to the finish line. "Being aimless and always excited" as personality trait largely helps me to do a great a job. I do have to report to my manager, and I am a part of a team, so, I have to maintain a framework. Although time to time, I suffer from being too aimless and too excited, and like a golden retriever I have to be told to calm down. Sometimes I have to remind myself it is a job.

developer93 4y ago
That sounds like an amazing job, which I never heard of. How did you get into that?
- anyfactor 4y ago
  Get this. I got hired because of an HN comment [0]. I will write about the whole story someday. Our founder is active on HN. I was applying to customer success engineer or technical support roles. Then one day, I mentioned my customer success strategy on a thread. The comment wasn't even top level. Our CEO saw it and he emailed me. He told me that, he really liked my comment, and he was looking for someone like me for their very first hire for a DevRel position. I was very afraid to apply because developer relations or developer advocate roles usually require a more mature and professional software engineer. Someone who is part of the industry. I have been freelancing for around 5 years at that time, but never had any organizational experience and drop comments on HN and Reddit threads a lot. We talked casually over email a bit than he offered me the job. It was really like a miracle to be honest. I have been in this role for 7 months, and I am very happy. This role was made for me. :D [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31857069#31858624 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31857069#31858624
embwbam 4y ago
I've had jobs like this a couple of times and they've always been my favorite. Unfortunately, later in my career I haven't been able to find or create this again. It seems like you have to stumble onto it from somewhere else in an organization.
- anyfactor 4y ago
  You are totally right! I got hired because of an HN comment our founder saw. I told the story on the sister comment. Positions like this can only happen in startup level companies, where there is room for controlled chaos. Where founders can take chances and roll the dice with a hire. I would have never made past the application process of a corporate software company, and a traditional HR might deem me to be unprofessional. I am very lucky to be in this position.
amonith 4y ago
Kind of same really. For the past 8 years I've been just "a senior developer". Commercially I've created some CRUD document-processing systems with .NET + web stuff, I've created some apps for smart barcode scanners for warehouses, I've done some touch-only "pretty" apps for corporate reception desks, I've done some mobile apps based on GPS-tracking and QR-sharing, I've done some database-only solutions too (SSIS-based migrations between systems) and many more (desktops, games even). In my private time I'm having fun with procedural graphics and game-like apps. Can't say that I'm a domain expert in any of these, but I'm in top 1% earning bracket in Poland (mostly because the general pay in PL is shit and IT is one of the few jobs with "globalized" salary) and that's all I need in life. This approach also has some not often discussed advantages. Like I don't ever worry about job security as there's hundreds of those "CRUD"-making companies all over the world. I've actually went full contractor mode (not paid by the hour, but by completing "specs" (sometimes modules, sometimes entire projects)) in 2019 and I'm booked fully this year (signed contracts by both sides) :V
- anyfactor 4y ago
  Congrats on the full year booking! I label myself as a "Python Developer" and have no high-level expertise over any specific domain of programming. This experience doesn't translate well to organizational software engineering where there is structure and hierarchy. I like solving problems programmatically period. Organizations want people to solve very specific problems very specifically. I wasn't able to be that person. That made freelancing and doing contract work the only option for me. However, I just don't enjoy contract work. There are just too many unpredictable variables and not all clients are the same. So, I am very lucky have my full-time job. I have a solid grasp on our product and am familiar with the programming side. I try my best to be the first person to answer any business side queries about our product. Our startup-esque nature enables me to have this freedom and excitement. But I do recognize the fact that, this behavior can be a bit distracting sometimes.

developer93 4y ago

That sounds like an amazing job, which I never heard of. How did you get into that?

anyfactor 4y ago
Get this. I got hired because of an HN comment [0]. I will write about the whole story someday. Our founder is active on HN. I was applying to customer success engineer or technical support roles. Then one day, I mentioned my customer success strategy on a thread. The comment wasn't even top level. Our CEO saw it and he emailed me. He told me that, he really liked my comment, and he was looking for someone like me for their very first hire for a DevRel position. I was very afraid to apply because developer relations or developer advocate roles usually require a more mature and professional software engineer. Someone who is part of the industry. I have been freelancing for around 5 years at that time, but never had any organizational experience and drop comments on HN and Reddit threads a lot. We talked casually over email a bit than he offered me the job. It was really like a miracle to be honest. I have been in this role for 7 months, and I am very happy. This role was made for me. :D [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31857069#31858624 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31857069#31858624

embwbam 4y ago

I've had jobs like this a couple of times and they've always been my favorite. Unfortunately, later in my career I haven't been able to find or create this again. It seems like you have to stumble onto it from somewhere else in an organization.

anyfactor 4y ago
You are totally right! I got hired because of an HN comment our founder saw. I told the story on the sister comment. Positions like this can only happen in startup level companies, where there is room for controlled chaos. Where founders can take chances and roll the dice with a hire. I would have never made past the application process of a corporate software company, and a traditional HR might deem me to be unprofessional. I am very lucky to be in this position.

amonith 4y ago

Kind of same really. For the past 8 years I've been just "a senior developer". Commercially I've created some CRUD document-processing systems with .NET + web stuff, I've created some apps for smart barcode scanners for warehouses, I've done some touch-only "pretty" apps for corporate reception desks, I've done some mobile apps based on GPS-tracking and QR-sharing, I've done some database-only solutions too (SSIS-based migrations between systems) and many more (desktops, games even). In my private time I'm having fun with procedural graphics and game-like apps. Can't say that I'm a domain expert in any of these, but I'm in top 1% earning bracket in Poland (mostly because the general pay in PL is shit and IT is one of the few jobs with "globalized" salary) and that's all I need in life. This approach also has some not often discussed advantages. Like I don't ever worry about job security as there's hundreds of those "CRUD"-making companies all over the world. I've actually went full contractor mode (not paid by the hour, but by completing "specs" (sometimes modules, sometimes entire projects)) in 2019 and I'm booked fully this year (signed contracts by both sides) :V

anyfactor 4y ago
Congrats on the full year booking! I label myself as a "Python Developer" and have no high-level expertise over any specific domain of programming. This experience doesn't translate well to organizational software engineering where there is structure and hierarchy. I like solving problems programmatically period. Organizations want people to solve very specific problems very specifically. I wasn't able to be that person. That made freelancing and doing contract work the only option for me. However, I just don't enjoy contract work. There are just too many unpredictable variables and not all clients are the same. So, I am very lucky have my full-time job. I have a solid grasp on our product and am familiar with the programming side. I try my best to be the first person to answer any business side queries about our product. Our startup-esque nature enables me to have this freedom and excitement. But I do recognize the fact that, this behavior can be a bit distracting sometimes.