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I think the point was that there are people who don't need all this extra work, it just comes naturally. And they are more suited to engineering than people wh

I think the point was that there are people who don't need all this extra work, it just comes naturally. And they are more suited to engineering than people who need to spend a lot of energy on emotional and mental regulation as well.

jvanderbot 3mo ago
Yes - you are identifying a non-depressed engineer. A depressed engineer can become one of those by removing the depression.
- quantummagic 3mo ago
  No, the point is that not everyone is cut out to be an engineer. If you find yourself being depressed as an engineer, one possibility is that it's really not the job for you. Not everyone is capable of being an engineer, and being prone to emotional disregulation is probably a good indicator. Not to say you can't muddle through, but the original post was saying that you should at least ask yourself if you'd be happier elsewhere.
  - travelalberta 3mo ago
    Yeah, you articulated it better than me. Especially in the case where the OP is indicating that a lot of their stress comes from inability to perform or get better in an engineering context. If after a few years you aren't feeling more confident in your skills or aren't more comfortable with your tech stack it's time to re-evaluate. OP mentions they prioritize stability and I think a lot of people get into engineering for the wrong reasons. In my opinion the prerequisites are a natural aptitude and a genuine curiosity.
    - jvanderbot 3mo ago
      You're all correct. I'm just not convinced that the person wouldn't have those if they were relieved of the burdens holding them down. It can be simultaneously true that they are struggling and unlikely to succeed now, and that their natural aptitude is not being realized due to non-work factors. Hell, one time my friend died suddenly, and I failed out of every project I was on and developed a ton of health problems. Since then, I've gone back to my natural state, but it was hard. Anyone looking at me during that time would have seen a distracted fuckup. I probably would have been given an ADHD diagnosis and drugged heavily, were it not for the acute signal from the proximity of a good friends sudden murder.
  - mayhemducks 3mo ago
    This is ableism.
    - quantummagic 3mo ago
      [dead]
  - airmastiff 3mo ago
    Is there any job in the world, where emotional regulation is optional?
- mayhemducks 3mo ago
  There is no cure for depression. Like there is no cure for diabetes. There is a big difference between having the disease, and feeling sadness brought on by circumstances. There is no such thing as simply "removing the depression".
  - travelalberta 3mo ago
    100% of diabetes is chronic. 1% of depression is chronic. >The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people with depression can make a full recovery. (https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-adults/overview/#:~:text=The%20good%20news%20is%20that,can%20make%20a%20full%20recovery. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-ad...) I can't advise for genuine medical cases, but for the average case of anxiety/depression you can over come it. For men I would recommend the following channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElishaLong https://www.youtube.com/@ElishaLong
    - mayhemducks 3mo ago
      You know it's interesting, because with the right treatment and support, people with diabetes can live long, fulfilling lives. It's the same for depression. It does not matter if it's chronic or acute. There is no cure, it will never go away entirely. It can only be managed. Elisha Long's content is not for me. I also don't think it's relevant to the topic of mental health. Speaking from experience, I can say that when I prioritized adequate time to do activities I find challenging and enjoyable, that were deliberately unrelated to my work-life in any way, that my mental health improved. The depression didn't disappear. But it became manageable.
skydhash 3mo ago
I think there are methods and patterns to be learned. Engineering is mostly a succession of problems, with a somewhat illusory prize at the end. But a lot of people currently in software development are not trained well to withstand the journey. And for some, it’s just that they have been doing it since high school or something. One of the thing that is important is to segment the work and have checkpoints and mini bosses. You don’t climb a mountain in one go. That’s one of the reason I dislike LLM in coding is because coding is my down time after a deep thinking session. Another thing is to have an end goal in mind, and plan the journey according to those. You do this by having enough information about the business domain. I’ve seen people rush blindly into solving problem and get a burnout in the process. This also help with pacing yourself to a sustainable rate of effort.

jvanderbot 3mo ago

Yes - you are identifying a non-depressed engineer. A depressed engineer can become one of those by removing the depression.

quantummagic 3mo ago
No, the point is that not everyone is cut out to be an engineer. If you find yourself being depressed as an engineer, one possibility is that it's really not the job for you. Not everyone is capable of being an engineer, and being prone to emotional disregulation is probably a good indicator. Not to say you can't muddle through, but the original post was saying that you should at least ask yourself if you'd be happier elsewhere.
- travelalberta 3mo ago
  Yeah, you articulated it better than me. Especially in the case where the OP is indicating that a lot of their stress comes from inability to perform or get better in an engineering context. If after a few years you aren't feeling more confident in your skills or aren't more comfortable with your tech stack it's time to re-evaluate. OP mentions they prioritize stability and I think a lot of people get into engineering for the wrong reasons. In my opinion the prerequisites are a natural aptitude and a genuine curiosity.
  - jvanderbot 3mo ago
    You're all correct. I'm just not convinced that the person wouldn't have those if they were relieved of the burdens holding them down. It can be simultaneously true that they are struggling and unlikely to succeed now, and that their natural aptitude is not being realized due to non-work factors. Hell, one time my friend died suddenly, and I failed out of every project I was on and developed a ton of health problems. Since then, I've gone back to my natural state, but it was hard. Anyone looking at me during that time would have seen a distracted fuckup. I probably would have been given an ADHD diagnosis and drugged heavily, were it not for the acute signal from the proximity of a good friends sudden murder.
- mayhemducks 3mo ago
  This is ableism.
  - quantummagic 3mo ago
    [dead]
- airmastiff 3mo ago
  Is there any job in the world, where emotional regulation is optional?
mayhemducks 3mo ago
There is no cure for depression. Like there is no cure for diabetes. There is a big difference between having the disease, and feeling sadness brought on by circumstances. There is no such thing as simply "removing the depression".
- travelalberta 3mo ago
  100% of diabetes is chronic. 1% of depression is chronic. >The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people with depression can make a full recovery. (https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-adults/overview/#:~:text=The%20good%20news%20is%20that,can%20make%20a%20full%20recovery. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-ad...) I can't advise for genuine medical cases, but for the average case of anxiety/depression you can over come it. For men I would recommend the following channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElishaLong https://www.youtube.com/@ElishaLong
  - mayhemducks 3mo ago
    You know it's interesting, because with the right treatment and support, people with diabetes can live long, fulfilling lives. It's the same for depression. It does not matter if it's chronic or acute. There is no cure, it will never go away entirely. It can only be managed. Elisha Long's content is not for me. I also don't think it's relevant to the topic of mental health. Speaking from experience, I can say that when I prioritized adequate time to do activities I find challenging and enjoyable, that were deliberately unrelated to my work-life in any way, that my mental health improved. The depression didn't disappear. But it became manageable.

skydhash 3mo ago

I think there are methods and patterns to be learned. Engineering is mostly a succession of problems, with a somewhat illusory prize at the end. But a lot of people currently in software development are not trained well to withstand the journey. And for some, it’s just that they have been doing it since high school or something. One of the thing that is important is to segment the work and have checkpoints and mini bosses. You don’t climb a mountain in one go. That’s one of the reason I dislike LLM in coding is because coding is my down time after a deep thinking session. Another thing is to have an end goal in mind, and plan the journey according to those. You do this by having enough information about the business domain. I’ve seen people rush blindly into solving problem and get a burnout in the process. This also help with pacing yourself to a sustainable rate of effort.