6 ms·

> You're not forced to work at any particular company This is just false. People can be stuck at a company for a variety of reasons.

shanebellone 4y ago
Stuck != Force
- shakes_mcjunkie 4y ago
  Functionally what's the difference?
  - shanebellone 4y ago
    The former represents self-limitation. Edit: Unless one finds themself forcefully bound and therefore literally stuck.
prepend 4y ago
I’ve never met a good programmer who didn’t always have a trail of unsolicited job offers following them. Obviously there are many situations, but I think many people can be selective about where they work.
- drdec 4y ago
  You don't meet those good programmers because they are bad at networking. You are much more likely to meet the ones that are good at networking.
- shard 4y ago
  And what does that mean for the largest group in the bell curve: the medium skilled programmer, who does ok but nonmagical work? Not everyone has the ability to be one or two standard deviations above the median.
  - bluefirebrand 4y ago
    Trust me they are being pursued by recruiters too Because recruiters can't tell the difference.
    - CydeWeys 4y ago
      I've been pursued 10X more by recruiters ever since I've had Google on my resume. That they can tell, and I'll say that Google did a pretty good job of interviewing back in 2014.
  - jen20 4y ago
    I’m not convinced software engineering “skill” actually follows a normal distribution. People tend to have a huge impact, either positive or negative.
    - 3np 4y ago
      Skill does not necessarily manifest as impact. Someone having positive impact in one org will have negative impact in the same role on another.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  I’d like to think I’m a good programmer and it takes me months to find a job. You’ll likely never meet me because I don’t go to conferences, I don’t network, and I don’t hang out with other programmers. (HN is one of two exceptions to that.) Most people know me from furry events or furry writer Telegram groups. :)
  - shanebellone 4y ago
    "I don’t go to conferences, I don’t network" I think this highlights a distinction between "the career engineer" and "the expert engineer". The former treats their career as a profession (invests in progression) while the latter masters their craft. Skill alone does not dictate trajectory; the career engineer intentionally charts their course forward.

shanebellone 4y ago

Stuck != Force

shakes_mcjunkie 4y ago
Functionally what's the difference?
- shanebellone 4y ago
  The former represents self-limitation. Edit: Unless one finds themself forcefully bound and therefore literally stuck.

prepend 4y ago

I’ve never met a good programmer who didn’t always have a trail of unsolicited job offers following them. Obviously there are many situations, but I think many people can be selective about where they work.

drdec 4y ago
You don't meet those good programmers because they are bad at networking. You are much more likely to meet the ones that are good at networking.
shard 4y ago
And what does that mean for the largest group in the bell curve: the medium skilled programmer, who does ok but nonmagical work? Not everyone has the ability to be one or two standard deviations above the median.
- bluefirebrand 4y ago
  Trust me they are being pursued by recruiters too Because recruiters can't tell the difference.
  - CydeWeys 4y ago
    I've been pursued 10X more by recruiters ever since I've had Google on my resume. That they can tell, and I'll say that Google did a pretty good job of interviewing back in 2014.
- jen20 4y ago
  I’m not convinced software engineering “skill” actually follows a normal distribution. People tend to have a huge impact, either positive or negative.
  - 3np 4y ago
    Skill does not necessarily manifest as impact. Someone having positive impact in one org will have negative impact in the same role on another.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
kayodelycaon 4y ago
I’d like to think I’m a good programmer and it takes me months to find a job. You’ll likely never meet me because I don’t go to conferences, I don’t network, and I don’t hang out with other programmers. (HN is one of two exceptions to that.) Most people know me from furry events or furry writer Telegram groups. :)
- shanebellone 4y ago
  "I don’t go to conferences, I don’t network" I think this highlights a distinction between "the career engineer" and "the expert engineer". The former treats their career as a profession (invests in progression) while the latter masters their craft. Skill alone does not dictate trajectory; the career engineer intentionally charts their course forward.