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Ask HN: Is there a name for this kind of developer?

by dakiol on 6/5/25, 2:24 PM with 7 comments

So, I'm not sure what kind of developer I am. I would say that the following is what defines me:

- I read tons of technical books and manuals. I don't remember all the details of course, but if at work some problem seems related to a given algorithm/situation that I have read in a book, then I know where to find more answers. I have read pretty much all the "books every software engineer should read" and more esoteric ones

- very good Google search skills (now in the AI era, I use LLM as tools just the same way. For me LLMs are just a simpler way to Google things). So, if I need to solve a given problem, I know how to search for previous solutions. This in combination with all the tech books I have read, allows me pretty much to come up with a world-class solution to most of the problems.

- I'm not good at coming up with a solution fast and just by myself (no books, no Google search). I just struggle. I know how to think algorithmically and architecturally, but for implementing a solution I need to rely on external sources. Also, I think better by not being in front of the computer; I either write things down on a piece of paper or I go for a walk or a run to think through the problem

- On the other hand, I can debug code very fast with no external sources needed, just the debugger. Of course, if the compiler/interpreter is throwing at me a very specific error message, I will Google it

- I don't consider myself to have a lot of "raw" intelligence. But in most software engineer jobs one needs to come up with robust solutions, not new solutions. I know how to build robust solutions (because I have seen them before, or I can find them)

I imagine companies are most interested in hiring intelligent people rather than people who are good "searchers" (for a lack of a better word).

And because I'm good at searching, I know how to pass tech interviews (most of the time I know what they will ask, so I can find the solution and improve it). I don't pass interviews because of some clever insight that came to me right away. One problem I see is that more companies are moving towards a "live" coding interview, and of course they don't let you Google anything. I struggle with such interviews.

  • by uberman on 6/5/25, 2:35 PM

    For what it is worth, I would rather hire for good problem solving skills than "smarts".

  • by taylodl on 6/5/25, 2:45 PM

    You sound like a typical, modern developer to me - and that's not a slam, it's a compliment. I've been developing software for 40 years now and have always worked the same way you do. The only thing that's different is back in the day we didn't have Google, so we relied on books and magazines. We also weren't working with 25 different technologies over several different layers comprising a solution. The world was a lot simpler back then.

    Today's LLMs could completely create everything we were creating back then, but guess what? The goalposts shifted. Like they always do. What I've noticed is the more power we developers gain then the more we're expected to deliver. What we now deliver in a sprint would have taken months or years to have delivered back in the day. That's why I'm not worried about AI. It's just another tool to replace developers that'll end up moving the goalposts for what we're developing. Within 10 years a single person will be able to deliver in a day what now takes a team several sprints to deliver. And we'll still be drowning in work.

  • by sfmz on 6/5/25, 2:43 PM

    You can train on leetcode sites if that's your weakness.