Drunk Post: Things I've Learned as a Senior Engineer
5 hours ago
- #Tech Industry Honesty
- #Senior Engineer Advice
- #Career Lessons
- Changing companies is an effective way to advance your career.
- Technology stacks are less important than core software engineering principles.
- Job hunting is recommended when unsatisfied at a job.
- Friendships at work are not a requirement for happiness.
- Be honest with managers, but not excessively.
- Frequent on-call incidents signal serious issues needing fixing or quitting.
- Good managers share qualities with good engineers.
- Good code is understandable by junior engineers; great code by first-year CS students; best code is no code.
- Documentation and writing proposals for changes are crucial skills.
- Most technology holy wars don’t matter except possibly one.
- Dynamic languages become more appreciated with experience.
- Leave if you think you’re the smartest person in the room.
- Full-stack web developers are underpaid despite their broad knowledge.
- Interns are valuable for their energy and critical thinking.
- Tech stack matters for specific jobs; Java is versatile though flawed.
- SQL is highly lucrative for beginners.
- Tests are important, but TDD can be cult-like.
- Government jobs may involve esoteric technology and have an older workforce.
- Third-party recruiters are often leeches, but good ones can boost careers.
- Options are usually worthless unless engineering headcount exceeds 100.
- Work from home is great, but lack of whiteboarding is a downside.
- FAANG engineers are not necessarily more skilled.
- Self-worth is not tied to compensation.
- Managers have limited power, including in firing decisions.
- Titles matter less than accomplishments.
- Title changes up early in career and down later can benefit salary growth.
- Max out 401k contributions.
- Being kind is rewarding and beneficial for career.
- Learn from junior engineers and interns.
- Invest in classes, books, and conferences for professional growth.
- Invest in good equipment to prevent health issues like carpal tunnel.
- The best part of software engineering is connecting with like-minded thinkers.
- There’s a lack of women and black engineers in tech.
- Git is awful but necessary; command line is preferred over GUI tools.
- Semi-technical analysts help identify bad design.
- Dark mode is problematic when forced to switch; light mode is consistent.
- Security knowledge is limited; best practices should be known but broken when necessary.
- Avoid blame cultures; move on if blame is assigned for bugs or outages.
- Keep a barrier between work and personal life.
- Great leaders take responsibility for team mistakes and advocate for opinions.
- Side projects are optional; focus on work or personal interests.
- Algorithm interviews are flawed compared to other professions.
- DevOps professionals are smart and well-compensated.
- Do what you don’t hate rather than what you like.
- Proximity to product and revenue increases feeling valued.
- Linux is important even in Windows environments.
- Buzzwords like 'big data' are ambiguous and misleading.
- Not all great jobs are in Silicon Valley, but many are.
- Pair programming is time-consuming but beneficial.
- Smart non-technical coworkers improve engineering skills.
- Avoid working outside 9-5 unless personally motivated.
- Remote workers should not be treated as second-class citizens.
- Working on-site early in career aids learning.
- Technology fundamentals change slowly compared to tools.
- Hacker News and r/programming are for general updates, not detailed advice.
- Many vocal amateurs have strong, uninformed opinions on tech.
- Companies often use similar tech internally despite cutting-edge presentations.
- SQL is dominant in data engineering.
- Streaming is complex; many jobs don’t require it.
- Airflow is widely used despite flaws.
- Machine learning projects are prone to failure.
- Data engineering lacks comprehensive learning resources.
- Legacy is about people, not code.
- Code quality should not define self-worth.
- Tech as a hobby can be ruined by work.
- Software engineering is young and collectively uncertain.
- Save and invest money, especially with a high salary.
- Reddit communities have helped advance careers.
- Personal choices about kids are valid and can be driven by fear.
- Kindness and hard work, inspired by figures like Conan O’Brien, lead to fulfillment.