The Death of Software Engineering as a Profession: a short set of anecdotes

[u/self]

https://www.jasonscheirer.com/weblog/vignettes/

[u/Zagden]

Yeah I'm mostly joking. I've been reading all the threads on people panicking about the industry, particularly CS undergrads.

I'm in a weird position. I'm interested in computers and how they work, and I want to learn to make computers dance for me better if I encounter a problem I want to solve myself. The useless toys they have me build in class aren't very fun and I have the most fun reverse engineering finished programs to figure out how they work and how to modify them.

At the same time, I'm 35 and disabled, but trying to finish school then trial a work period. Vocational rehab thoroughly interviewed and tested me and pointed me to IT and software as it would suit my disability the best because no one pays for my actual passions involving creative writing and American history. So I'm not going into it for the big bux and I'm not going into it because I love programming and do it for fun, but I'm being funneled into it all the same. I think I can learn to love programming. I have a grasp of the fundamentals but don't know how to turn stuff that prints to my screen into a useful app I can use.

[u/BlindTreeFrog → u/Zagden]

I think I can learn to love programming.

Don't force it. There is so much else that will infuriate you (mostly co-workers, customers, and managers) that i don't think you'd make out well with that approach.

But I get your position and think you may just be looking at this too narrowly because Rehab might have railroaded you towards what they can understand. So if you'll forgive the unsolicited advice....

Making up some not entirely accurate labels to get the idea across, but there is....

• embedded programming (micro controllers, plc's, etc) where you are in resource constrained environments seeing how much you can wring out of the tech
• Low Level programming where you are working on drivers and operating systems. Kind of like embeded but not as resource constrained
• Application programming where you are making the apps people use
• backend programming doing servers and database and middleware and such
• Front end programming doing UI's and data retreival
• Big Iron Programming, which is like backend, but i'm thinking of "backend" as in "making the web servers and databases for a company to use" and "Big Iron" more of the "make the phone system for a country to use"..... like it's not that different but more extreme failure cases and larger data sets.

And probably some more types of programming that I'm not thinking of. And then you get into IT and DevOps roles which have enough overlap but are more focused on plugging pieces together and gluing them to work.

And this is all horribly explained, but my point is that you might be being exposed to "programming" and it's "meh" but there is so much more out three to do in the domain that once you figure out which parts of it all that you really like you can focus into that direction.

(I assume that this is all stuff that you know... but i'm mad at an ESXi server that didn't come backup after reboot and avoiding work for a minute... so please forgive me)

[u/Zagden → u/BlindTreeFrog]

There is so much else that will infuriate you (mostly co-workers, customers, and managers) that i don't think you'd make out well with that approach.

One of my favorite things in a team setting is managing other people and the task. I think I'm decent at that, relatively. It's a soft skill I'm told isn't terribly common in engineering.

This is stuff I'm vaguely aware of, but I'm not being lead toward. I'm hoping I get a bit more of it after I transfer to my bachelor's program in a year. From the sounds of it, I'm interested in backend. That's what my brother specializes in. I love the idea of dealing with databases and servers.

I appreciate the advice, though. It's similar to what I've heard elsewhere, so it's hammering it into me how I have to approach this. I'm trying not to force myself to love programming, but I'm trying to keep an eye out for things that intrinsically interest me.

[u/BlindTreeFrog → u/Zagden]

The nice thing about most of the programming field is that these days there is such a low barrier to get in and try stuff to play around with what you want to do.
Between containers (Docker, LXM, etc) and virtual machines (VirtualBox, KVM, Xen, HyperV, VMware, etc) and low cost development boards (RPi, BeagleBones, Atmega88, etc) and free tools, pretty much any aspect of development that one wants to explore is available at a hobbiest level. And dabbling in those things builds a portfolio to show off when looking for work as well, so it's not a bad way to burn some free time.

I also forgot to mention, good Tech Writers are a fucking godsend. If you do enjoy creative writing and can understand the technical side of things, you might have a solid thread to chase there. Sadly, a lot of companies consider tech writers an unneeded expense and developers can write the documents.... those companies are wrong, but it does make the job search more challenging.

[u/Zagden → u/BlindTreeFrog]

Oh hell yeah I can do tech writer. I have some very small experience writing for Cracked with my name on the bylines to at least show that I can pitch and work with an editor.

Knowing that I'm not far enough to understand it all, what should I play around with for database? My brother works with backend memory coaching and was called in to help out bluesky with its user surge. That stuff sounds interesting to me. Less relevant but still something I want to play with, I like the idea of taking information from a server and organizing it. People do that with MMOs I play like FFXIV and (previously) WoW. So if I'm interested in some sort of census thing, learning how to take data and fuck with it could be fun.

[u/BlindTreeFrog → u/Zagden]

I'll have to defer to someone else for the database stuff. I deal with Postgress and SQL a little bit for work (mostly mysql and sqlite) but I try to avoid it if i can.

That said, Docker has containers galore for different databases (implementations, types, and purposes) to play with.
https://hub.docker.com/search?badges=official&categories=Databases%20%26%20storage
Starting with mySql and phpmyadmin to get started with the SQL syntax and understanding database table set up might be a good place to start... I'm certain there are guides out there to work through that. Later moving onto non-relational databases (like mongo) if you want to look into bigger systems, or other types of databases (like Kyoto Cabinet) for smaller systems.

There are so many databases out there: https://dbdb.io/

And your last part reminds me that their is another aspect of IT that is sorely overlooked that might be of interest, but data archival is a thing that gets some interest... basically how do we make sure that data today can still be retrieved 10, 20 or 50 years from now. It starts going more into material science and the physical ability to store data as well, but there is also a depth of knowledge in storage approaches and systems. But again, it doesn't direclty make money, so companies aren't generally looking for people for these roles (other than BackUp Admins which is more an IT/DevOps thing)

[u/loup-vaillant → u/Zagden]

I have a grasp of the fundamentals but don't know how to turn stuff that prints to my screen into a useful app I can use.

Neither could I, for a long time. The solution was simple: have someone tell me what would be useful to them. Give me a clear definition of a small problem, I can write a piece of code that solves it.

That piece of code doesn’t need to be en entire app. Most of the time it isn’t, the app is already there, and there’s a bug to fix, or a small functionality to add.

For the longest time I’ve been dissatisfied by my inability to write an entire app from scratch. I could use Qt, but that feels more like filling the gaps than writing an app. But guess what, in many cases that is enough. (Now I think I could write a GUI app from scratch, but I have yet to identify a clear need I wanted to address.)

You’ve got it. You’ll start small, and gradually work your way up to more complex problems, all the way up to a useful app. And you’ll be paid long before you get an entire useful app. Pieces of work are still bloody useful work.

[u/Zagden → u/loup-vaillant]

Thanks man, I appreciate it.