Ask HN: Is it increasingly hard to be a good engineer?

Re:Ask HN: Is it increasingly hard to be a good engineer? by runjake on Friday October 06, 2023 @03:04PM (#37794829)

The way I see things, the bar is lower than ever to be a good engineer. You put in some minor level of effort and you're 80% above everyone else.

Now, if you scope it to the top 20% of engineers and ask the same question, I'll give you a much different answer:

After you became a decent generalist, I'd refer you to concepts like "invest in yourself, not your job"[1] and just-in-time learning[2].

1. https://critter.blog/2023/10/05/invest-in-yourself-not-in-yo...

2. https://critter.blog/2020/08/14/learning-a-technology-you-do... (coincidentally, by the same fellow as in link #1)

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Re:Ask HN: Is it increasingly hard to be a good engineer? by Lmoper on Saturday October 07, 2023 @11:29AM (#37802546)

>Invest in yourself, not your job.

This quote echoes through my mind on a daily basis. I don’t know why it’s so hard to action. Maybe because at work it’s easier to get a “good job!” then doing something yourself and affirmations feel good.

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Re:Ask HN: Is it increasingly hard to be a good engineer? by runjake on Saturday October 07, 2023 @11:52AM (#37802728)

It’s a default action of mine.

In my mind, if I don’t know what to work on at any given time, I default to working on self-improvement.

If I’m feeling overwhelmed or confused, I default to self-improvement. This could mean anything from going on a long walk or run, to reading a book, to sitting and reflecting in boredom. It could take 30 minutes or I could devote weeks or months, in some cases, to it.

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Re:Ask HN: Is it increasingly hard to be a good engineer? by Lmoper on Saturday October 07, 2023 @04:44PM (#37805391)

How do you know what to improve? Meaning, there’s so many options! How do you choose?

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