

The care and feeding of software engineers (or, why engineers are grumpy) - treyp
http://www.nczonline.net/blog/2012/06/12/the-care-and-feeding-of-software-engineers-or-why-engineers-are-grumpy/

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Xion
As a relative newcomer to the software industry (~2 years), I hope the
grumpiness caused by shifting requirements decreases over time. That after you
gather enough experience, you are able to predict more and more accurately
what the requirements _should_ describe and act accordingly by preparing some
hooks, dangling bits and all other kinds of flexibility so that you can
leverage it quickly once the change kicks in.

A more experienced friend of mine (10+ years) says that it is indeed more or
less possible, but to do so consistently one has to be quite exceptional
engineer - and psychologist. Well, if he's right, then at least I have
something to strive for :)

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geebee
The part about "Creators, not builders" resonates with me, and it used to make
me very resentful when people viewed me as a producer of the codes rather than
as a contributor to the creation of a product. The author of this piece is
absolutely correct that most people got into software because they realized
they could create, not because they could build up someone else's idea.

That said, this bothers me much less than it used to, largely because I see it
as a choice rather than something that is imposed on me. There are plenty of
opportunities to create if that's what I want to do - but I understand that
this doesn't tend to happen when someone directly pays me money to write code.

Why does someone hire a software developer? Almost always because they have an
idea about some software they'd like to have written, and they are unable to
do it themselves, which is why they're giving the developer the money in
exchange for working code.

I certainly don't think this is how the best software is written. I'm under
the impression that many ycombinator applicants (as well as google and
facebook) start with programmers creating version 1 of the product that will
eventually become a company. A couple of business guys thinking up an idea and
then hiring a programmer to "code it up" doesn't seem to be the winning
formula.

But I've come to understand that if I want to produce the codes in exchange
for the moneys, I shouldn't be too resentful that my insights into the product
aren't really what I was hired for.

Now, I do think this is a perfectly good reason for a developer to _leave_ and
look for a new gig. I just wouldn't be resentful about it.

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shrub
This article resonates with me, I really appreciate it!

I would like to add a source or two of grumpiness.

To the "Work cross-functionally" section: it is possible to be injected into
the creative process too early and too far. I may be creative, but I am not a
replacement for a designer or graphics artist. I can sketch a wire frame, but
I get really grumpy when someone says "now we want a screenshot of what it
would look like in the real website."

Also a source of grumpiness is being expected to know everything about
computers and be able to do/fix anything. As a programmer, if I say I can't
administer a production level server, I hope that will be respected and
someone qualified will be found to take care of the task.

I know there are really talented people with a wealth of cross domain
knowledge and expertise, but for me - I'm a programmer, Jim, not a graphics
artist or a system administrator.

~~~
steverb
Adding to sources of grumpiness, my personal pet peeve is being expected to
remember everything about the way a particular piece of software works.

Yes, I have worked on it. I may even have worked on it just last week. But
unless I worked on that particular piece of functionality in the last 48 hours
then I probably have no clue about what the code is doing under the hood. Give
me a minute to read the source before you start demanding answers.

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zenogais
Excellent article. I recognize in myself almost all these sources of
grumpiness and callousness towards them to different degrees at the places I
have worked. Never have they been so well laid out though.

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gaius
Replace "wombat" with "software engineer" in this book, and you'll have it
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/061886864X/ref=oh_details...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/061886864X/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00)

