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That's because a large percentage of "architects" aren't really all that great. We interviewed a candidate that didn't knew much of anything, in terms of actual

That's because a large percentage of "architects" aren't really all that great. We interviewed a candidate that didn't knew much of anything, in terms of actually operating IT infrastructure, but in their mind that didn't really matter because they where looking for more of an architects role and didn't want to touch things like terminals, YAML, databases and all that stuff. They completely serious just sat there and told us that they really just wanted to work in diagram tools and maybe Excel.... Architects are like managers, it's way harder than people imagine and very few people can actually do the work.

whstl 1y ago
Yep. It's indeed like "management", where people expect to just slide into it as a reward for staying at a company for a few extra years. Also I hate that "architect" is used as a synonym of "cloud architect". There is much more to software architecture than cloud.
- mrweasel 1y ago
  Precisely. I noticed that a previous intern of mine is now an "Enterprise Architect". He's a smart dude, no doubt about it, but from zero to architect in 3.5 years? There's no way this person has the experience to be an architect. That is a promotion because the company either needed someone with that title, or because he was "paid off" to stay onboard.
exceptione 1y ago
> We interviewed a candidate ... didn't want to touch things like terminals ... they where looking for more of an architects role I don't know whether you were actually looking for an architect? There are different types of architects. For example, you have got enterprise architects that indeed will never touch yaml, you have got solution architects who have a more narrow focus, and you have got engineers with a plate of overbearing work and team responsibilities. The latter are better called lead engineer. In my experience, being a good (lead) engineer doesn't make one a good architect, but companies try to make their job posting more sexy by titling it with "architect". One would imho do better by taking lead engineers seriously just in their own right. Architects in general need to be very skilled in abstract reasoning, information processing & conceptual thinking. However, the people hiring for an "architect" often look for a 2x/nx engineer, who is able to code x widgets per hour. That is a stupid mismatch. I would agree however that someone without previous practical experience would be rather unsuitable, especially "below" enterprise architect level.

whstl 1y ago

Yep. It's indeed like "management", where people expect to just slide into it as a reward for staying at a company for a few extra years. Also I hate that "architect" is used as a synonym of "cloud architect". There is much more to software architecture than cloud.

mrweasel 1y ago
Precisely. I noticed that a previous intern of mine is now an "Enterprise Architect". He's a smart dude, no doubt about it, but from zero to architect in 3.5 years? There's no way this person has the experience to be an architect. That is a promotion because the company either needed someone with that title, or because he was "paid off" to stay onboard.

exceptione 1y ago

> We interviewed a candidate ... didn't want to touch things like terminals ... they where looking for more of an architects role I don't know whether you were actually looking for an architect? There are different types of architects. For example, you have got enterprise architects that indeed will never touch yaml, you have got solution architects who have a more narrow focus, and you have got engineers with a plate of overbearing work and team responsibilities. The latter are better called lead engineer. In my experience, being a good (lead) engineer doesn't make one a good architect, but companies try to make their job posting more sexy by titling it with "architect". One would imho do better by taking lead engineers seriously just in their own right. Architects in general need to be very skilled in abstract reasoning, information processing & conceptual thinking. However, the people hiring for an "architect" often look for a 2x/nx engineer, who is able to code x widgets per hour. That is a stupid mismatch. I would agree however that someone without previous practical experience would be rather unsuitable, especially "below" enterprise architect level.