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"One quick anecdote: a great engineer that I know well was recruited to work for a top class company. They basically lost him when he was told that he would be

"One quick anecdote: a great engineer that I know well was recruited to work for a top class company. They basically lost him when he was told that he would be working with an old Java stack and his workflow would not be git based. The tools matter." How prevalent is this for "great engineer" looking for work? I guess that this type of criteria would only be restricted for those working in the web based. Other industries, not so much? For me, a great engineer is someone who can create a great product with whatever tools are available for them to use.

jedrek 12y ago
Yes... but if you're a good engineer, why would you work with shitty tools? All things being equal, why would you choose to work with tools you find frustrating when you can work with tools you like? That's the point: tools matter, and by holding on to crappy tools, you might be giving people a reason to not work with you.
- yitchelle 12y ago
  Because, sometimes, shitty tools is all you have to work with. I work in embedded systems, and some of the tools I have available is absolutely the shittiest. Imagine debugging a realtime OS on a 8bit micro by flashing an error code through a LED.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - Drakim 12y ago
    But is that because you don't have any other options available, or because your company told you to use inferior tools?
    - yitchelle 12y ago
      This was the only option. The other debugging options were too intrusive and would colour the information.
  - jedrek 12y ago
    Ok, but we're talking about a website, where the toolset is limited by political decisions, not technical ones.
calibraxis 12y ago
Maybe they can create a great product with whatever tools, but do they want to? Don't many experts want to choose among the most appropriate tools? (Not to mention other facets of the working environment they spend half their lives in?)
segmondy 12y ago
Great engineer is relative. I'm a "great engineer" and I will work with BASIC or PERL and CVS if it came down to it. The problem I solve is more important than the tools.
carrja99 12y ago
I think the point is that great engineers can often be choosers as there is no shortage of jobs available to them. Given the choice between a job with shitty tools and one with great tools, he/she would choose the latter. Ditto when it comes to company culture too.

jedrek 12y ago

Yes... but if you're a good engineer, why would you work with shitty tools? All things being equal, why would you choose to work with tools you find frustrating when you can work with tools you like? That's the point: tools matter, and by holding on to crappy tools, you might be giving people a reason to not work with you.

yitchelle 12y ago
Because, sometimes, shitty tools is all you have to work with. I work in embedded systems, and some of the tools I have available is absolutely the shittiest. Imagine debugging a realtime OS on a 8bit micro by flashing an error code through a LED.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- Drakim 12y ago
  But is that because you don't have any other options available, or because your company told you to use inferior tools?
  - yitchelle 12y ago
    This was the only option. The other debugging options were too intrusive and would colour the information.
- jedrek 12y ago
  Ok, but we're talking about a website, where the toolset is limited by political decisions, not technical ones.

calibraxis 12y ago

Maybe they can create a great product with whatever tools, but do they want to? Don't many experts want to choose among the most appropriate tools? (Not to mention other facets of the working environment they spend half their lives in?)

segmondy 12y ago

Great engineer is relative. I'm a "great engineer" and I will work with BASIC or PERL and CVS if it came down to it. The problem I solve is more important than the tools.

carrja99 12y ago

I think the point is that great engineers can often be choosers as there is no shortage of jobs available to them. Given the choice between a job with shitty tools and one with great tools, he/she would choose the latter. Ditto when it comes to company culture too.