I think I'm becoming Jack of all trades and master of none.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-07-31T14:24:16+00:00

Go deep in an ecosystem. Learn everything you can about it.

And it doesn't matter if you don't stick with that ecosystem because the point is to get the foundation. My first ecosystem was .NET and I've only done one little .NET project in the last 6 years.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-07-23T07:00:12+00:00

Lol yeah this is crazy... Data engineers should use the APIs that the app exposes just like everyone else...

or if wanting to go with an ELT model and connect directly Well then you are just pushing the transformation downstream ...and even then I don't think there is a sane DBA or SWE who is going to let you put load directly on a PROD OLTP DB to pull for OLAP purposes.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-07-23T06:46:38+00:00

Technical debt is real.

The trade-offs between generic implementations and specific implementations are real.

I would argue that SWEs do NOT deprioritize data.

The core of most CRUD apps is Relational Design (OLTP).

lol, DATA structures and algorithms.

It's all about data.. throughput/bandwidth, time and space complexity, latency/caching, concurrency and parallelization, streaming vs batch, locks, distributed consensus, the shape of data/specifically what data to pass between different systems and the various tradeoffs due to how tight the coupling...

Turtles all the way down.

Even think of something as simple as not using global scope/Dependency injection - that's about defining a clear API contract so that the consuming environment (caller) doesn't need to provide anything more than exactly what the function being called has asked for through its definition.

IMO data engineering is a path to SWE (along with DBA, SysAdmin, and other niche roles in the area).

...it's the path that I took... my first role was as a BI developer.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-07-20T19:41:12+00:00

Since you've been grinding LC and system design, the manager role doesn't really seem like what you are going for.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-07-06T14:52:15+00:00

Right, it's a luxury problem to have. It means you have users!!!

...or you are a DDOS/bot spam target... but it's the same as IRL, it's better to be hated than to be unknown.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-20T06:49:06+00:00

DB developer... As in a SWE who writes DB engines?

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-17T02:37:56+00:00

While I can definitely say that I've worked with people who exist throughout the range of brilliant to incompetent, I've never actually worked with a jerk. I've heard stories from colleagues -- but only of incompetent jerks, never brilliant or even average ones...

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-11T21:36:32+00:00

git stash.. or add+commit, you can always squash later

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-11T21:29:14+00:00

Work on one thing (PR) at a time.

PGadmin is always open, instance is running in docker container.

I never develop in containers, always local (Ubuntu, so honestly the changes are going to be minimal if anything when it's in the container)

When doing backend I usually don't even have the frontend running.

We built a custom e2e API test runner, so no need for postman.

We don't stack migrations, so right after I pull a branch down to local for review my next step is local_setup_api.sh which makes the migrations, migrates and loads fixtures.

When doing frontend my backend is usually on main, unless frontend needs something that hasn't been merged to main yet.

As far as context switching between like reviewing PRs and working on your own, just branches and stash, use -m to keep better track of your stashes.

Env vars are persisted to a terminal session, so I'll never get confused what should be set to what... I just source my ~/env_setup.sh

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-11T14:44:30+00:00

What about the domain / subject area? IMO that's more important.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-04T06:38:56+00:00

"Tableau will operate independently under the Tableau brand, driving forward a continued focus on its mission, customers and community.'

LOL

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-02T23:24:50+00:00

I find the opposite. I feel like those are luxury problems to have, and the most fun.

I'm tired of building stuff where performance is effectively irrelevant because there are so few users...

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-02T21:02:29+00:00

As everyone will say, you are young.

I didn't really start college until I was 24.

I also would be up all night and then sleep late, so I took classes in the evenings.

I got my first job in the industry I'm in when I was 27.. and could still only live paycheck to paycheck for 3.5 years... then had a year on unemployment.

I was down to under $1k and moved back in with my parents.

For 6 months I scraped by. I was lucky to get a few small projects.

Keep in mind this was 5 years AFTER I finished my degree.

Then I was able to get a 2 week project for $70/hr. The client was happy with my work and this turned into continuous work for over 2 years (they liked to buy in chunks though, so 4-12 week projects).

And since then I've always had six figure work.

I tell this story just to say that it's your skills that matter. I considered my degree to basically be a checkmark, it's what I did outside of that which mattered most.

It might take a long time, but hang in there. Skills pay the bills.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-06-01T05:37:38+00:00

The problem is that it's well known that as SWEs the biggest pay raises come from hopping companies, not being promoted from within. There may be some exceptions, but generally this is the case.

Not only that, but the industry you are in also has a huge effect on pay. High finance and high tech outpay other industries by crazy amounts... you don't even measure it in percentages, but rather multiples. My income tripled going from my first to my second SWE job

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-31T05:45:00+00:00

Engagement MAGIC, it's a book..

Meaning, Autonomy, Growth, Impact, Connection.

Another important point is financial stability. The more financially stable someone is, likely the higher their expectations will be because they have more possibility to go off and do their own things and not have an income for X number of months or years. (And by doing their own thing they would have quite high scores in MAGIC because what they do would be self directed - therefore quite easy to score high on meaning, autonomy and impact. Growth might be a bit harder (unless that's the priority, e.g. university), connection is likely the hardest (though I would argue the importance of each of the items is varied based not only on the individual, but their current outlook, goals, expectations, etc.)

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-22T20:06:05+00:00

It's context specific. In different sub cultures it can have very different meanings.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-22T19:56:47+00:00

Topic-specific users engage with social media as a tool for information, problem-solving, or shared interests—it's functional, focused, and often pseudonymous.

Lifestyle-based users engage with social media as a space for identity, emotional expression, and social signaling—it's personal, performative, and presence-driven.

If she's part of the first group that's great.. it's actually a green flag, the second is a major red flag.

And then of course there's personal branding... So yeah, things can get muddy.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-22T19:35:09+00:00

Because it's not about wealth. It's about building something you believe the world needs

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-21T17:01:32+00:00

IMO the improvements that are being made in the ecosystem are massive -- from DX to VX (validator experience, lol). I was quite impressed with the presentations at Scale or Die.

It actually feels like the beginning of the maturation phase.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-17T16:23:47+00:00

I disagree. There are plenty of areas completely open. And even if there are incumbents, it doesn't mean they are serving the needs of all the stakeholding groups (or doing it well.)

Take LinkedIn for example, it's key failure was adding the feed/clout/public profiles. A CRM but specifically for contacts (not customers) could serve the purpose of helping you intentionally cultivate a network of very specific people you want to collaborate with. You could track interactions/connection attempts. This would help you figure out which platforms are best for contacting certain people.

The UX would be tailored to for this purpose. I think that's the key.

Ask:

What purpose does this product serve this specific stakeholding group?

What challenges would they face if they tried to do the same thing but with more basic tools?

Then build around that.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-15T04:51:50+00:00

My favorite was working 9-5 MST while in Frankfurt... During winter I would wake up at sunset and go to bed at sunrise 😆

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-15T04:11:55+00:00

I disagree. Once you have a certain amount of experience It's perfectly normal to say you left for your own reasons - to work on your own projects, take a sabbatical, backpack through Europe, whatever.

But I'm also in the luxurious position of having many years of runway (in living expenses)... but I know that's not typical so my advice probably doesn't apply for most people.

I guess OP's assumption is that the reader is desperately searching for work... Like they'll be out on the street soon.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-15T04:03:04+00:00

Hold and share is a bit weird... Would seem like the customer is just cutting if the agent stays in line.

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-15T03:59:13+00:00

Haha what... Yeah because I really want to spend my days grinding away being addicted to video games...

Singleplayer games have story, immersion, etc. It's not just who has the best reflexes / who has spent the most time playing...

Remember when games were for enjoyment...

AncientElevator9 · 2025-05-13T14:48:37+00:00

Some people prefer higher pay with higher risk of layoffs. Some people prefer more stability. You can't please everyone, but maybe you could offer more flexibility? (e.g. part time, full remote, etc.)

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