4 ms·

Is there any engineering culture left in the US? I feel like this is the case across the board.

JohnFen 1y ago
Yes, there is. In every place that I've worked, including my current position, acknowledging when you're wrong or have failed at something increases trust in you and your professionalism. People who always have an excuse, try to shift blame, etc., are assumed to be lacking in competency (let alone ethics and trustworthiness).
- ActionHank 1y ago
  My point is less around how engineers behave, and more around how organisations behave. If an organisation is constantly retrenching experienced staff and cutting corners to increase earnings rather than being driven by engineering first, it doesn't matter what the engineers do amongst themselves. This culture, in fact, rewards engineers doing a bad job.
  - JohnFen 1y ago
    Not all organizations behave that way, though. If you reword my comment to indicate the company attitudes themselves, it still largely holds true. I confess to a selection bias, because I won't work at a company that doesn't behave that way. Life is too short for that BS. However, that I maintain employment at the expected pay rates while doing so indicates that there are a lot of companies who don't behave the way you describe. All that said, I certainly don't deny that there are also a lot of companies who do behave as you describe.
    - ethbr1 1y ago
      The differentiator is market value. Any company that does engineering "well" likely has slower growth and a smaller PE multiple. Consequently, you don't hear about it nearly as much as the splashy, full-financial-speed-ahead companies. Tl;dr - don't buy products or services from companies with high valuation stock prices... they're making that profit somewhere
- navane 1y ago
  The point is not to have an excuse or shift blame, but just talk over the issue "tired of talking about $thing", and shift the conversation.
  - Smoosh 1y ago
    "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?”

Yes, there is. In every place that I've worked, including my current position, acknowledging when you're wrong or have failed at something increases trust in you and your professionalism. People who always have an excuse, try to shift blame, etc., are assumed to be lacking in competency (let alone ethics and trustworthiness).

ActionHank 1y ago
My point is less around how engineers behave, and more around how organisations behave. If an organisation is constantly retrenching experienced staff and cutting corners to increase earnings rather than being driven by engineering first, it doesn't matter what the engineers do amongst themselves. This culture, in fact, rewards engineers doing a bad job.
- JohnFen 1y ago
  Not all organizations behave that way, though. If you reword my comment to indicate the company attitudes themselves, it still largely holds true. I confess to a selection bias, because I won't work at a company that doesn't behave that way. Life is too short for that BS. However, that I maintain employment at the expected pay rates while doing so indicates that there are a lot of companies who don't behave the way you describe. All that said, I certainly don't deny that there are also a lot of companies who do behave as you describe.
  - ethbr1 1y ago
    The differentiator is market value. Any company that does engineering "well" likely has slower growth and a smaller PE multiple. Consequently, you don't hear about it nearly as much as the splashy, full-financial-speed-ahead companies. Tl;dr - don't buy products or services from companies with high valuation stock prices... they're making that profit somewhere
navane 1y ago
The point is not to have an excuse or shift blame, but just talk over the issue "tired of talking about $thing", and shift the conversation.
- Smoosh 1y ago
  "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?”