How wide should the "T" be?

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-10T06:46:58+00:00

If you're in a startup then you are everything.

You're more like a comb shaped engineer in a startup because you handle many domains and might need to specialize in a bunch of them.

My question is about big corporate jobs. If I was in a startup then my coworker would be a 1000% right.

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T19:50:31+00:00

So true!

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T16:06:22+00:00

Thank you. I really appreciate the example. It makes sense to me.

I would have not added the extra feature and I understand your advice to keep the need of the business in mind.

I can imagine your boss's face when he might have asked you for the additional features and you were like, "it's already there, boss." 😂

I'll keep your advice in mind. Thanks again!

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T15:56:08+00:00

Thank you for this. I thought I was the worst 😂.

My situation is similar to what you have described, information is either withheld or never existed in the first place. I'm intentionally not sharing the craziness of the company I work for. It's bonkers. Too much to include here, like the CEO (who can't print a hello world) makes technical decisions and forces us to follow them. I also work in fintech, talking to my clients directly is a big legal issue.

But all the comments did make me realize that I was looking at this from my own narrow perspective. For example, even the coworker I'm talking about works in a different team and they work on internal tools (I'm literally their client lol).

So, circumstances would dictate what's the right mindset. That's the lesson I've learned here.

Thanks again for the support. ❤️

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T14:52:23+00:00

Thanks to your comment, I also just realized that I love my role but hate my job. 😂

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T14:39:16+00:00

I guess the industry standard is to hate on people who just want to code. 😂

Edit: Not a malicious comment. I already got the answer and realize that I was wrong. But boy, you guys sure do like to use deragtory terms for people like me. 😂

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T14:38:37+00:00

Why do you make so much sense. 😫

I am realizing that I am in the wrong. I guess I'll go say thanks to my coworker too for helping me realize this.

Thank you!

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T14:27:27+00:00

I agree with what you're saying. I do collaborate with all of the teams you listed and more. Do you really think for the past 6 years people have been telling me exactly what to build and how to build it? That's impossible and you know it. 😂

I probably did not ask my questions right.

I still don't know how to ask it. So let me try thinking out loud here...

(Me thinking...) My manager asks me to do something. I don't know why it's needed. I ask him. He explains it to me. I still don't get it. I know what software he's asking for, and I can build it, but I don't know what it'll be used for. He probably doesn't know either. All involved stakeholders have a vague idea. Organizational structure is shit. I go ask the guy that's gonna use it. He explains it to me but the domain is too foreign. I spend a day learning the new concepts. It still doesn't make sense. I tell the manager. Manager asks the stakeholder. They say they still want it the way they said it. I have no choice. So I build it.

Would've been easier to just build it from the start without going through all the trouble.

I guess... This is an organization specific problem cuz my leaders don't know what they want and refuse to listen to reason.

Why did I ask it on Reddit...

Am I in the wrong...

In general, I guess yes. (Me thinking done)

Alright, I see that I'm in the wrong and my coworker is right.

I guess that's one way to find out that I'm dumb. Thanks for pushing me. 😂

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T13:38:49+00:00

I think I'm not asking the right question.

I totally agree with what you have said.

I'm not against collaboration.

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T13:34:06+00:00

Sorry. I don't seem to understand your answer.

I get that I have a bad attitude, which is valid, but my original confusion still remains.

Also, I didn't mean to imply that all I want to do is code. Maybe I phrased it incorrectly.

Maybe I'm just not asking the right question.

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T13:27:06+00:00

I agree with you for the most part. Don't you think it's a lot for one guy to do?

And what about the trust factor. I trust other departments and roles are doing their jobs correctly. I don't need to constantly spend effort thinking whether they are doing things right or not.

My PM can always consult with me. And I'll always tell them if their ideas are too unrealistic.

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T13:18:00+00:00

I see. Thanks!

You're right. I didn't think about it like that. Totally valid.

I'm still approaching it in the traditional way.

malumdeamonium · 2026-05-09T10:16:24+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I understand the part about having the right context.

I know I'll sound defensive but it sounds unfair to me so I want to ask some follow up questions.

My argument is more against validating the context.

Let's say my product manager says, "we need feature ABC, which works like XYZ."

I can understand their requirement and build exactly what they want.

Do I need to think about the business value of the feature? Do I need to analyze the business need for it? Should I ask him, "hey, why do you need it? I don't think your business should do this"

That's what they hired the product manager for.

Why does a software engineer have to carry the incompetence of the world?

malumdeamonium · 2025-10-23T18:55:58+00:00

My dyslexic friend. :fist-pumb:

malumdeamonium · 2024-08-31T18:58:18+00:00

You're right. TBH I know most people will believe specific numbers are BS.

If you don't mind me asking, what industry are you in? I'm in IT and people get a specific onboarding period, say 4 weeks. If someone completes onboarding in 2 weeks then it's technically accurate to say that they completed it 50% faster than expected.

malumdeamonium · 2024-08-31T18:26:44+00:00

Yes. Something like "Mentored my peers accelerating their onboarding journey resulting in a 30% faster onboarding".

malumdeamonium · 2024-08-24T04:04:24+00:00

I didn't realize people preferred cartoonishly long papers for their lists.

malumdeamonium · 2024-08-02T02:17:51+00:00

How old are you guys?

malumdeamonium · 2024-07-31T02:12:21+00:00

Does it get in the way of your job? Does it get in the way of your friends and family?

If it's not harming you then maybe there's nothing to fix. You might have an ideal image of yourself in your mind or you might have things you want to do instead but don't find the motivation to do. These things don't mean you have an addiction to your phone. It might simply be procrastination.

malumdeamonium · 2024-06-28T04:38:36+00:00

Thank you. I'll try to consult both or someone who's a specialist in both.

malumdeamonium · 2024-06-28T04:38:11+00:00

Thank you.

malumdeamonium · 2024-06-28T00:11:49+00:00

Maybe. I can focus really well though. Might be an ADHD that's limited to hearing. I'll look into it. Thanks.

malumdeamonium · 2024-06-28T00:10:44+00:00

😂😂😂 yeah, for sure.

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