1/ Today I got to catch up with some fellow engineers and we started talking about the pandemic, but this led into a much deeper discussion about critical differences in the technology industry vs many others (obviously, nutrition and medical came up).
2/ It started taking that first turn when one of my friends called me out for being "unusually guarded" about my wording. "Is your job to be crazy super careful with your sentences now." I paused for a moment before answering, "Yeah, pretty much." Everyone laughed...
3/ My friend further iterated, "We're engineers, man. We're not known for our bedside manner. We're trying to get $&^% done!"
It's funny, in that moment I was reminded how nice it was to be connecting to a group of guys who are generally 99% pragmatism / 1% politics.
It's funny, in that moment I was reminded how nice it was to be connecting to a group of guys who are generally 99% pragmatism / 1% politics.
4/ I shared how I'm in a space that has a lot of careful treading as many people can get easily offended. 1 chimed in, "Us engineers are easily offended!"
To which I said, "But people take offense and block, cut off, shut down, etc."
"Oh, then no. We just fight on the natural."
To which I said, "But people take offense and block, cut off, shut down, etc."
"Oh, then no. We just fight on the natural."
5/ It's really hard to describe this to someone who isn't used to this rhythm -- that we have huge, endless debates all day long, but it's just part of the culture. We all still eat lunch together, car pool home from work, and maintain lifelong friendships. Conflict is baked in.
6/ It's like Fight Club, but with nerds. It doesn't matter what level of seniority you are, you are typically not shy about voicing your opinion with others.
If Bill Gates walked into a meeting of junior engineers and said something ridiculous, prob 90% of them would tell him!
If Bill Gates walked into a meeting of junior engineers and said something ridiculous, prob 90% of them would tell him!
7/ And you can't get attached to your idea, your code, your product. It's all expendable where a better solution clearly presents itself--and ideally, YOU are the one who figures it out. That's why for as big as egos can get, they typically take a backseat to the real way forward
8/ I know the technology industry can get pretty cutthroat... but, that's also why it advances so quickly. Which is why I think we ended up with the culture we did. If you don't work to get the right solution, someone else will (and they might even be working for you right now!)
9/ Chatting with my engineering buddies today almost felt like therapy.
I know I'm biased -- and maybe I got lucky with the many incredible engineers I've worked with over the years -- but I can always trust them to care most about what actually works.
I know I'm biased -- and maybe I got lucky with the many incredible engineers I've worked with over the years -- but I can always trust them to care most about what actually works.
