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Re:Ask HN: Given that I am a Software Engineer, how could I ... by YoungBodhi on Thursday August 08, 2019 @12:49PM (#20646157)
Let's use natural disasters. While reacting to natural disasters response teams must be able to communicate with each other, however communication is typically spotty during natural disasters. Your knowledge of software engineering will allow you to think of a solution to this problem and implement it.

Here's the process I follow, it's simple, but it takes time.

Get involved in an activity -> Become proficient in the activity -> Notice the places software would be beneficial -> Implement -> Product.

Re:Ask HN: Given that I am a Software Engineer, how could I ... by byko3y on Thursday August 08, 2019 @03:37PM (#20647839)
As a former radio amateur I can tell you the emergency services use radio extensively for communication and no IT skills are required there. The simpler solution is more reliable. That's one of the reasons coding skills are not required where I live - those are complex and can be hard to maintain. Already mentioned below, btw:

>You may leave them in a worse situation as now they have less control, less understanding and if they need to change things and you or someone very similar to you (which is a rare combination) is no longer available, they're basically stuck.

Re:Ask HN: Given that I am a Software Engineer, how could I ... by YoungBodhi on Friday August 09, 2019 @01:31AM (#20651580)
I was using disaster recovery as an example. The method is still applicable.
Re:Ask HN: Given that I am a Software Engineer, how could I ... by byko3y on Friday August 09, 2019 @06:53AM (#20653095)
Rescue services were a good example indeed. Software developers are needed for people processing large amount of information, while local communities can do well with simple solutions.