But one point you skimmed over is that the maintenance work is really really really important, and that it takes a a lot of important skills to do it - persistence, high-tolerance for fixing insanely complex problems, expertise to handle this work efficiently, and judgment to know when to invest in maintenance, and when to hit the brakes and figure out a better way (and that will actually give the people who want to be promoted some interesting and impactful projects.)
So let's hear it for the config writers and the framework migrators!
Sincerely,
A former config writer at Google.
P.S. I wasn't triggered at all - I was encouraged!
A lot of this behaviour is due to the absurdly high pay at many US tech companies that atracts the career tigers, and also due to the pressure that the lack of a social security net and expensive healthcare puts on people. You can still find examples, in mechanical engineering or other industries, where people can still do highly technical and rewarding jobs with a lower pay and slower pace.
I like what Lisa T. said, about digging into existing gnarly systems that need updates. If you can find that, be the resident deep-dive expert and be both respected and happy in your role, that's awesome.
Somehow, from the beginning of my career, I was pegged for plunging into the deep end of the pool with a client, either be the person who worked with a new customer - understand their requirements, alter the product to meet their needs, install, transfer data, train, stabilize, then leave for the next project - or be the person who dropped in to correct a crisis situation - again, understand the broad situation, identify the areas that need deep-dive attention, drill in to ID and correct the pain points.
Both talents are valuable. It's good to recognize your sweet spot and be able to construct your career to match.
Excellent insights. Thanks.
But one point you skimmed over is that the maintenance work is really really really important, and that it takes a a lot of important skills to do it - persistence, high-tolerance for fixing insanely complex problems, expertise to handle this work efficiently, and judgment to know when to invest in maintenance, and when to hit the brakes and figure out a better way (and that will actually give the people who want to be promoted some interesting and impactful projects.)
So let's hear it for the config writers and the framework migrators!
Sincerely,
A former config writer at Google.
P.S. I wasn't triggered at all - I was encouraged!
Good points.
I wrote about the value of grunt work here: https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-value-of-grunge-work
cool! I'll check it out : )
Great article. I was not "triggered" though XD You're gonna have to try harder.
You are on of the best people I ever worked with, so of course _you_ weren't triggered :-)
A lot of this behaviour is due to the absurdly high pay at many US tech companies that atracts the career tigers, and also due to the pressure that the lack of a social security net and expensive healthcare puts on people. You can still find examples, in mechanical engineering or other industries, where people can still do highly technical and rewarding jobs with a lower pay and slower pace.
I like what Lisa T. said, about digging into existing gnarly systems that need updates. If you can find that, be the resident deep-dive expert and be both respected and happy in your role, that's awesome.
Somehow, from the beginning of my career, I was pegged for plunging into the deep end of the pool with a client, either be the person who worked with a new customer - understand their requirements, alter the product to meet their needs, install, transfer data, train, stabilize, then leave for the next project - or be the person who dropped in to correct a crisis situation - again, understand the broad situation, identify the areas that need deep-dive attention, drill in to ID and correct the pain points.
Both talents are valuable. It's good to recognize your sweet spot and be able to construct your career to match.