This question has recently been on my mind more and more. I’ve thought about it since the time I posted a blog post discussing why some people pick up coding at all. And this trend still seems to grow.
I even noticed that some companies are even jumping on this bandwagon where they are actually willing to employ under qualified software engineers. They usually go by the route to employ them and let them make a mess in the code base and let the other engineers fix that mess or simply do the workload they were supposed to take over. Obviously I’m not talking about all companies in general, since there are still smart companies that know what a valuable employee is and what he brings with him. But there have been more and more of such companies that simply don’t care as long as they see a positive number on their reports.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind helping my colleagues and teaching younger developers than me, but when this goes on and on for too long it reaches an end point. Not only do such acts halt the development of the company itself but also of its employees, which for a decent developer is not a long term goal. Most software engineers strive to develop themselves and master their craft, but when the environment gets stale and you are basically just wasting away because a company wants a cheap way out, you start thinking it’s time for a new challenge. But at this point I’m even asking myself if being just a software engineer is still even worth it unless you move or work for a really serious company and being a software engineer in Europe is also a lot different than being one in the US — specially the relocation part.
One of the things that happens once you climb the ranks towards a senior level developer is that you don’t code as much as you used to. You take on more leading roles that are planning, expecting and advising. So I’m starting to think whether I should just move on from coding and take an even deeper move towards that advisory role, but not in the company I’m at now or any other company. Yes, as you have guessed, I’m talking about creating content that caters to people who need actual guidance, not just a 10min tutorial on how to write a hardcoded to-do list in XY programming language. Because let’s face it, following a video tutorial like that doesn’t make you a software engineer — I’m sorry to break it to you.
The future is clear and it says people want more and more content they can consume every day. Youtube is basically replacing the TV. People want reality TV in hours and hours of quantity. So the future for many positions in multiple fields is actually content creating. Good content of course. So more and more I am leaning towards the idea that simply being a software engineer isn’t worth it anymore. Even though I outlast so many cycles of new developers that after a year simply fail, I lost my motivation and feel like I’m wasting away my potential at such companies. It’s time to move on in one way or another.
So what do you think about this situation? Did you experience a similar situation where a company simply does not value good employees anymore and just go for the quantity?
