The value of engineering
My last post was in March 2020, right before the pandemic. A lot has changed since then. The world isn’t the place it used it be - Covid-19, War, and AI just to name a few.
I recently began a short leave from work, so I finally have some free time again. I want to reflect a bit on my own values. What has changed and what has stayed the same.
I could talk about how I admire people who are obsessed and determined to solve tasks, or people who are not afraid to be themselves even though it may be “cringe”, but strangely I want to focus on something work-related. The value of good engineering.
I have been at Google for a long time - 7 years. I have done a lot of different things - and have seen the company evolve. Yet the people I admire the most at work are about the same - the people who care about building good software.
I don’t like it when people do things just for money.
Yea, I understand that people work for money and its good to not just be a corporate robot who gets happy generating profit for their execs.
But there’s honor in just building things becauseyou want them to be good. It’s a virtue to want to build things that work well, just because you want to build something good.
Unfortunately, it’s something that can get easily taken advantage of if not careful. In the world of move fast, find PMF, and generate virality - I feel like this simple thing got lost. Build things that work and help people.
The signs of a good engineer
- Leaving the campsite cleaner: always make it easier for the next person
- Laser focus: always be working on the most important thing (way harder than it sounds)
- Strong communication: Authetnically and clearly guide, teach, and lead
- Operational excellence: Build things will as little nonsense as possible. Prioritize reliability and maintainability.
Maybe i’m just a cynic and it’s normal to get less enthusiastic about programming as I get older. Or maybe the world really is a different place.
// rant over