Everything the video* Hug a developer* says is true - there probably isn't a job more difficult than being a developer, at least no intellectual job can be much more difficult. Yes we're like gods to other less perfect beings and yes we do appear omnipotent and like we know everything, but the fact of the matter is our lives are hard.
Most of what makes our lives hard are ignorant bosses who know next to nothing about our work seeming as how it's simply not very much like any other type of office work out there whereas they seem to think it is. People just don't understand that developing takes time, they think it's like writing a text, simpler perhaps, and no matter how often you tell them that you need to at least know what the hell it is you're supposed to do before doing it and preferably before running out of time, they will still change specs whenever they please. Somehow bosses just can't seem to comprehend the fact that changing a line or two in a large specification doesn't take changing a line or two in the code, but could actually mean weeks more work.
But after all, I would rather work for three ignorant bosses who couldn't understand even each other at once than see my girlfriend in such a state as I saw her this morning ... it did however make me feel very powerful and like a god amongst the masses.
Continue reading about Hug a developer
Semantically similar articles hand-picked by GPT-4
- I Don't Know
- I Don't Know
- Programmers are fucking lazy
- The 10x programmer in you
- Software dev isn't just a logical process
Learned something new?
Read more Software Engineering Lessons from Production
I write articles with real insight into the career and skills of a modern software engineer. "Raw and honest from the heart!" as one reader described them. Fueled by lessons learned over 20 years of building production code for side-projects, small businesses, and hyper growth startups. Both successful and not.
Subscribe below 👇
Software Engineering Lessons from Production
Join Swizec's Newsletter and get insightful emails 💌 on mindsets, tactics, and technical skills for your career. Real lessons from building production software. No bullshit.
"Man, love your simple writing! Yours is the only newsletter I open and only blog that I give a fuck to read & scroll till the end. And wow always take away lessons with me. Inspiring! And very relatable. 👌"
Have a burning question that you think I can answer? Hit me up on twitter and I'll do my best.
Who am I and who do I help? I'm Swizec Teller and I turn coders into engineers with "Raw and honest from the heart!" writing. No bullshit. Real insights into the career and skills of a modern software engineer.
Want to become a true senior engineer? Take ownership, have autonomy, and be a force multiplier on your team. The Senior Engineer Mindset ebook can help 👉 swizec.com/senior-mindset. These are the shifts in mindset that unlocked my career.
Curious about Serverless and the modern backend? Check out Serverless Handbook, for frontend engineers 👉 ServerlessHandbook.dev
Want to Stop copy pasting D3 examples and create data visualizations of your own? Learn how to build scalable dataviz React components your whole team can understand with React for Data Visualization
Want to get my best emails on JavaScript, React, Serverless, Fullstack Web, or Indie Hacking? Check out swizec.com/collections
Did someone amazing share this letter with you? Wonderful! You can sign up for my weekly letters for software engineers on their path to greatness, here: swizec.com/blog
Want to brush up on your modern JavaScript syntax? Check out my interactive cheatsheet: es6cheatsheet.com
By the way, just in case no one has told you it yet today: I love and appreciate you for who you are ❤️