What is stopping you to become top software engineer?
10 comments
Complex PTSD/trauma, anxiety and a degrading life situation are stopping me from having a life, period. Let alone enjoying the simple pleasures like creating software.
Hopefully, I will manage to get out of this hole at one point.
I don't want to. Being at the top requires a significant time investment. Instead of specializing I rather generalize. Also, I highly value work-life balance.
In today's world, everyone chasing multiple fishes at one time - or I say generalizing themselves for everything rather than creating expertise in specific technology or skill. But when I think any successful person or top leaders - They specialized in one skill first then moved to generalize.
I agree with you that in the end, work-life balance should be there.
I agree with you that in the end, work-life balance should be there.
"top software engineer" strikes me as "top dog". Not necessarily someone able to pound you into the ground in a competition, but the person who employs that person and can keep him employed there.
So "top software engineer" today might be somebody like Larry and Sergei, or Zuck.
All top software engineers today got there primarily by luck. They were born into the right circumstances, able to coalesce the right network, and able to bet big on the right technology at the right time. Hard work no doubt played a role, but I bet nobody at the top of the mountain worked as hard as a lot of fast-food workers do.
So, one word answer: luck.
So "top software engineer" today might be somebody like Larry and Sergei, or Zuck.
All top software engineers today got there primarily by luck. They were born into the right circumstances, able to coalesce the right network, and able to bet big on the right technology at the right time. Hard work no doubt played a role, but I bet nobody at the top of the mountain worked as hard as a lot of fast-food workers do.
So, one word answer: luck.
I completely disagree with your thinking. They all worked hard and put the limitless effort in chasing their dream. It's not like they achieved everything in one night but they experimented, failed and tried again and didn's stop until succeed.
So, putting their all efforts and hard work in "LUCK CATEGORY " is not justifiable.
So, putting their all efforts and hard work in "LUCK CATEGORY " is not justifiable.
I opted out of the rat race, life has much more to offer than software engineering, or work for that matter.
Unless you're naturally gifted you'll have to sacrifice your life to get good at flipping 0s and 1s in machines. I don't value software that much, as long as it brings food on the table I'm happy.
Unless you're naturally gifted you'll have to sacrifice your life to get good at flipping 0s and 1s in machines. I don't value software that much, as long as it brings food on the table I'm happy.
I agree, and I'm intrigued. What do you do now that you're not in the 'rat race'?
Technology wise I think I am a top software engineer - in the sense that I have learnt many types of programming languages / frameworks or can learn new tech fast.
What I totally suck at - creating something that people would want and tell their friends about.
What I totally suck at - creating something that people would want and tell their friends about.
If the spiel that HR puts out is to be believed, in that the company only hires the top 1% of engineers, (despite the abundant fallacies) we're all top software engineers.
Personally, I fall into the camp of living my life, while working in software as a day job. I don't make top dollar, I don't work on well-known products, and I have zero potential to someday get a lucrative exit due to my work. Yet I've also built a solid career, have a decent nest egg, and am raising a family while having time to do my own things.
There is no doubt that there are engineers in SV who know more than me, are smarter than me, make more money than me, etc.
But the first step in hitting your full potential is deciding what is important to you. I might be the top or the bottom of this industry, all depending on what your priorities are.