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Articles like this make me wonder if I'm cut out to be an engineer. I'm bored to tears by systems engineering and security. I just want to build interesting stu

by naillo 3y ago

Articles like this make me wonder if I'm cut out to be an engineer. I'm bored to tears by systems engineering and security. I just want to build interesting stuff.

jjice 3y ago
Of course you are, you just don't like systems engineering and that's fine. Someone's gotta build on top of the systems too. To you it's the boring stuff. To a systems engineer, you might do the boring stuff. We all complement each other well.
eropple 3y ago
"Be an engineer" and "write code" aren't the same thing. That this industry has decided to call everyone an "engineer" because they can write some Java or even some HTML has loaded these jobs with a set of implications that they don't ever really cash in on. Until something goes wrong and they now have a stick to hit you with. It is okay to be a "developer", it's not a naughty word, and it's okay to not be an "engineer" in the sense that Rachel means it. That said, there is considerable overlap between "doing engineering" and being an effective, skilled software craftsperson. Enumerate edge cases as exhaustively as possible, capture solutions for them. Ask "what if this breaks?". Have an answer. This isn't "being an engineer", engineers get in Actual Trouble when a bridge falls down, but it is being a skilled crafter of software, and they're not dissimilar questions. The level of rigor applied might differ, but if this isn't where your brain is going by default, it is a worthwhile and even necessary skill to cultivate to build something worth using. Of course, if you're building something people rely on, you'd better be working with and listening to people who are putting (or attempting to put; this is a young field, after wall) some kind of engineering rigor into practice.
- 908B64B197 3y ago
  > Ask "what if this breaks?". Have an answer. This isn't "being an engineer", engineers get in Actual Trouble when a bridge falls down, but it is being a skilled crafter of software, and they're not dissimilar questions. Wait until you learn how much software is in a modern car!
  - eropple 3y ago
    I try not to think about it.

by naillo 3y ago

Articles like this make me wonder if I'm cut out to be an engineer. I'm bored to tears by systems engineering and security. I just want to build interesting stuff.

jjice 3y ago

Of course you are, you just don't like systems engineering and that's fine. Someone's gotta build on top of the systems too. To you it's the boring stuff. To a systems engineer, you might do the boring stuff. We all complement each other well.

eropple 3y ago

"Be an engineer" and "write code" aren't the same thing. That this industry has decided to call everyone an "engineer" because they can write some Java or even some HTML has loaded these jobs with a set of implications that they don't ever really cash in on. Until something goes wrong and they now have a stick to hit you with. It is okay to be a "developer", it's not a naughty word, and it's okay to not be an "engineer" in the sense that Rachel means it. That said, there is considerable overlap between "doing engineering" and being an effective, skilled software craftsperson. Enumerate edge cases as exhaustively as possible, capture solutions for them. Ask "what if this breaks?". Have an answer. This isn't "being an engineer", engineers get in Actual Trouble when a bridge falls down, but it is being a skilled crafter of software, and they're not dissimilar questions. The level of rigor applied might differ, but if this isn't where your brain is going by default, it is a worthwhile and even necessary skill to cultivate to build something worth using. Of course, if you're building something people rely on, you'd better be working with and listening to people who are putting (or attempting to put; this is a young field, after wall) some kind of engineering rigor into practice.

908B64B197 3y ago
> Ask "what if this breaks?". Have an answer. This isn't "being an engineer", engineers get in Actual Trouble when a bridge falls down, but it is being a skilled crafter of software, and they're not dissimilar questions. Wait until you learn how much software is in a modern car!
- eropple 3y ago
  I try not to think about it.