from Hacker News

We throw away our power as engineers working for other people

by f_kai on 10/14/20, 5:03 AM with 52 comments

• by mattmanser on 10/14/20, 5:59 AM

  This guy's in for a shock when he's built it and they do not come...

  I like how utterly brazen his job titles are, he was the 'Director of Engineering' of a team of him, and is now the 'Co-founder and Editor' of his own blog.

• by vanillacupcake on 10/14/20, 6:11 AM

  My life so far. Early 20s: I can do anything and should start a company. Late 20s: imposter syndrome. 30s: wow, there is still so much I don't know. 40s: life is over and haven't accomplished anything, 50s: post menopause and confident as hell (now is time to start a company). Haven't gotten past 32 yet(lol) but many women are most confident in their mid 50s+ according to the science around hormones and how they impact our mood and self perception. I think there's a lot I can learn personally from a fast and loose 28 year old male perception against my own perception. Probably the combo of the two is the perfect human.

• by cheschire on 10/14/20, 5:49 AM

  Power is uninteresting for some folks. Working for Big Co. and having the freedom to focus on deep coding problems without fear of where the next paycheck is coming from is very nice.

• by formalsystems on 10/14/20, 6:19 AM

  I agree with the sentiment of working for oneself, some people are just wired with that kind of independence. However I wouldn't go so far as to say startup founders are just at another level of motivation - the successful ones that I know and have worked for are at another level of maturity in their thinking and approach to product development.

  Ask an engineer to build something and they will think of the twenty features which will make a compelling product, and the great ones will work day and night to deliver them. A great startup CEO will identify the three features that get the first customer, then roadmap the remaining features in conjunction with sales, marketing, and hiring.

  Great CEOs know how to build teams and solve hard problems, usually from years of experience and failures. It's hardly ever as simple as reading a book or overcoming some mental hurdles.

• by matsemann on 10/14/20, 6:11 AM

  I think it's weird that his solution to being "unhappy and overworked" in a small startup is to make a new one and suggest that everyone else do the same.

• by Kaze404 on 10/14/20, 6:02 AM

  I read this article expecting it to get somewhere useful but when I realized it was just propaganda it was already too late.

  Seriously, the people who want to make a career in software and the people who want to be entrepreneurs don't need any convincing. What is even the point of this?

• by thespoonbends on 10/14/20, 6:26 AM

  Why do so many of these "start your own business" nomads types have businesses that revolve around getting more people to start businesses? The author's business appears to be about monetising blogs.

  It's circular. Where's the value?

• by lochlan on 10/14/20, 6:02 AM

  Why should I incur the risk and time investment of founding a startup when I can enjoy comfort and success working at a FANG company? Startups _sound_ great, but death marching myself without compensation is a stressful proposition.

  Sure, I have a handful of ideas that seem reasonable and dreams of startup success—and maybe I'll explore them in early retirement.

• by legerdemain on 10/14/20, 5:52 AM

  This is the sort of thing people in their 20s tend to write.

• by exdsq on 10/14/20, 7:13 AM

  “At this point in my career I can write code for just about anyone. I don’t say that to brag, I say that just to lay out my options.”

  I find this semi-guru semi-brag style of writing so infuriating. I’m sure he’s a great iOS developer but come on man... I wish more people wrote with the goal of genuinely helping others rather than just trying to promote their own brand.

• by codegeek on 10/14/20, 7:05 AM

  "With Great Power, comes great responsibility" - Spiderman's uncle ?

  Just because we have power as engineers, doesn't mean everyone is actually willing to go the extra distance to do their own thing etc. And I am as hardcore as you can get when it comes to controlling your own destiny. It comes at a significant cost and to be blunt, not everyone wants to do that. A lot of engineers are happy to have a good paying job that provides work-life balance, great benefits and most importantly: not worrying about the lives of a bunch of people (Read:employees).

  I would not work a job, hopefully unless I literally cannot food on the table anymore. But I very well know that a lot of engineers who can be creators are happy to create things for others, work a job that they are satisfied with and call it a day. Nothing wrong with that at all if that's what floats your boat.

• by MattGaiser on 10/14/20, 6:26 AM

  > can walk away from their work with the skills needed to create their own job immediately.

  I have the skills to create my own product. Without customers, it is not a job. I realize that he corrects his terminology later on in the article, but he does not address that disconnect.

• by keb_ on 10/14/20, 2:22 PM

  > You have 2 free stories left this month. Sign up and get an extra one for free.

  I'm dumbfounded users do this on Medium. And to think I wasted a free story on a feel good, self-congratulatory, 4 minute blog post that says little more than "Just Do It." Amusingly enough, the author's main product is a service to "make more money on Medium," and yet the landing page provides no information about the service, just a huge "Request Access" button.

• by mindfulplay on 10/14/20, 7:19 AM

  How does one write so many words to communicate so little of value?

  And the message? Quit some VC funded thing and start a blog?

  The world is a strange place... Hedge fund sellouts now have finally found an alternative.

• by inopinatus on 10/14/20, 6:15 AM

  The irony of saying "don't be a serf! build your own products!" whilst depending on the Medium platform is either delicious, or painful. Not sure which.

• by lerpapoo on 10/14/20, 7:07 AM

  there is building "for people" and then there is building "FOR THE PEOPLE", you decide.

• by kthejoker2 on 10/14/20, 12:27 PM

  This is a quarter life crisis disguised as a business venture.

  I'm all about creative expression as therapy, but please don't confuse it with a worldview you wish me to subscribe to.

• by fwip on 10/14/20, 5:50 AM

  I don't see much in this post that doesn't apply to most jobs.

• by eddhead on 10/14/20, 6:22 AM

  Clients/Customers are other people

• by mdoms on 10/14/20, 6:06 AM

  Privilege.

• by darksaints on 10/14/20, 5:52 AM

  Stop writing for medium. As a blogger, you are writing for influence, not for money. You throw that away the moment a reader sees the message: To keep reading this story, create a free account.

  Seriously, take an hour of your time and learn how to use Hugo, buy a cheap domain name, and set up your blog for hosting directly from a CDN. Stop being that person that helps medium make money off of other people's content.