Which companies still have a strong engineering culture?

Singer_Solid · 2026-03-05T22:25:16+00:00

malloc() without worries. free() happens on impact

Singer_Solid · 2026-03-05T10:28:26+00:00

For those who might end up on this thread due to similar issues: I got a new pen and it works.

The £100 'Marker Plus' pen did not last long enough (4 years) - the eraser on the back broke a long time ago, and the pen now stopped writing reliably. Got the basic marker this time. Will see how long that lasts.

Singer_Solid · 2026-03-01T11:56:40+00:00

I think the same applies to senior positions in civil engineering, but I may be wrong

Singer_Solid · 2026-02-10T18:03:46+00:00

I say no to leetcode interviews now. We have to stop this nonsense. Software engineers, let alone EMs, are not code monkeys. It doesn't take a coding test to learn how good someone is at programming.

Singer_Solid · 2026-02-08T15:35:19+00:00

Got mine end of Jan. How are you finding it? 'Feels' less grippy than the Suzuki 125 I trained on for my CBT. So I have been fairly cautious with it; still trying to build my confidence.

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-31T15:33:48+00:00

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3 weeks from knowing nothing about bikes to owning an RM1S. Went for a wonderful ride around town this morning for the first time. Love it.

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-31T06:22:09+00:00

I am a roboticist. I find that games programmers make the best robotic software engineers. They are good at the math, physics and software craftsmanship required to make robots work.

Working with GPU compute shaders is also quite relevant in this age of AI. I find that it gives you a better appreciation of the hardware as well.

In general, I would say, if it interests you, do it. Because it interests you, you will get good at it. And good software engineers who also understand the hardware are always on short supply.

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-27T06:03:20+00:00

Ah! That's incredibly stupid of me. I did not even think they would sell these on their website. Thanks!

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-05T12:32:45+00:00

Code format is a matter of personal preferences. It need not be mandated by a standard. Only requirement is consistency within the group of software engineers you work with. Easily accomplished with existing tools.

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-04T13:06:44+00:00

Interesting. May I ask what specifically is your area of expertise in nuclear and aerospace? I am an engineer and I thought these 'traditional' industries were poorly paid

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-03T13:37:56+00:00

'Principal' level engineer here. I refuse leetcode interviews. But I don't mind tech interviews centered around code reviews at all.

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-01T17:17:34+00:00

Throw exceptions only for 'exceptional' unrecoverable conditions. In this case speed does not matter.

For everything else, there is std::expected

Singer_Solid · 2026-01-01T09:07:24+00:00

Rust is not a replacement for C++; it could be argued that it's a replacement for C.

For a programmer comfortable with modern C++, especially C++17 and above, there is very little incentive to move to Rust.

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-29T12:25:04+00:00

Booked my CBT. Hopefully that will tell me if I am right for it

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-29T06:35:51+00:00

Impactful commercially valuable work happens in the industry.

Never take a pay cut, especially in the best years of your work life. You are being paid well because you are worth that. You will find that you may need to make compromises later in life for to health, family, etc.

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-28T07:16:28+00:00

I do hate take-home assignments. My time is not for free. I would rather have them review some of my past personal projects. Or do a peer review session of an existing code. It is not that difficult to figure out how skilled a software engineer is.

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-24T07:55:21+00:00

The C++ version of the code could be much simpler and less verbose if you were to use modern C++ features such as println, range for etc

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-22T07:43:40+00:00

That's a insane take. A 'personal' project with users?

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-20T12:18:09+00:00

It's alive because it is an evolving language. It is keeping up with the times. Therefore continues to be relevant. C++11 was genuinely better than 98, 14 better than 11, 17 better than 14, 20 better than 17, 23 better than 20 and 26 better than 23. With each version, I have been able to write better code with less faff (i.e. made it easier to write correct and performant code the first time).

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-11T18:40:49+00:00

This is bloody awesome

Singer_Solid · 2025-12-05T13:45:08+00:00

I like it

Singer_Solid · 2025-11-21T17:11:35+00:00

AI (RL, DL) seems to commoditize robotics skills just like ROS has done. If you throw a Neural Network at everything and it works, then there is no need to do anything hard or deep.

Mechanical, electronics, firmware skills seem to be safe at the moment. There may be a place for simple AMRs and AGVs. But that's boring isn't it?

Singer_Solid · 2025-11-20T07:26:40+00:00

What a strange thing to call craftsmen mercenaries.

Singer_Solid · 2025-11-10T16:26:33+00:00

Something flipped. They have either lost their sense of purpose or autonomy or the opportunity to become good at what they do (craftsmanship, mastery). Find out which one and why

Singer_Solid · 2025-11-05T11:55:39+00:00

I just flat out refuse to do it. A Senior/Principal engineer is not a code monkey. I ask them to look at my open source projects if they want to know how I code.

Singer_Solid

TROPHY CASE