The "vibe thinking" trend where people stop using their brain and rely on whatever random output the LLM tells them is harder to diagnose, but it's certainly there and at least as bad as vibe coding.
What about the “vibe thinking” trend where people project their own narratives on to every situation, even if the information available shows that it’s a rise in large scale DDoS attacks?
Thanks for the insights. I have been in technical leadership positions in the past, but disliked the management part. I think that the other dilemma is that I don't like big companies, as I've only had negative experiences and I get frustrated because even the most tiny thing can take forever to be done.
> it’s very likely you haven’t mastered all layers of the stack - you maybe have mastered the parts you’ve come across though.
I was meaning that in the context of web dev. There are certainly other areas I don't know much yet.
> Would you include Linux kernel development, program proofs, HPC , math-oriented software, compilers, firmwares, fpgas, database internals ( I mean, writing a full database engine ), big iron infrastructure , actual research etc in the list of things you’ve mastered?
Definitely not (except partially a database engine), but I'd definitely like to move down the stack. I like systems programming, low level stuff and optimization problems, so that's maybe the main area that I should explore (and also one of the reasons I like game dev). Translating that into an actual job might be harder thought.
What you say makes total sense. But for some personal reasons the social part of the job has always been my weak side and I'm just not interested in playing that game.
I've had fairly positive successes in the past when being a contractor. I feel like it's easier for me to have legitimacy and influence over the project that I'm doing this way.
> Lastly, make sure whatever it is you work on truly matters to the business, and understand how it ties back to the business and your customers. It can be fun (or necessary at times) to be off in the weeds on something that is technically interesting, but really unimportant to the bottom line and ultimately to advancing your career.
That's something I have also learnt from experience, and I am more often than not the one pushing for boring tech against the last fancy trends. But I have difficulties with the fact that focusing on the business means most of the time being the fastest possible, to the point that businesses would rather save 2 hours of implementation time now, even if it costs weeks of technical debt down the road.
I can try to expand on this a bit, and respond to your thoughts.
> What you say makes total sense. But for some personal reasons the social part of the job has always been my weak side and I'm just not interested in playing that game.
I don't mean to imply playing politics or empire building. I've probably capped my career in some ways by not playing into that either. However, in roles I've had, I've built up good capital by being very helpful, jumping into incidents, etc. There are ways to build that social muscle without it being negative or selfish.
> That's something I have also learnt from experience, and I am more often than not the one pushing for boring tech against the last fancy trends.
I think this is valuable, and it has worked for me as well. Though the eternal struggle of taking on debt for speed is fundamental. By building up some of the social capital and trust, I think it makes navigating these discussions easier and being able to negotiate in time for projects to do things right. That's the only way I've found this piece to be successful.
Realistically that is the balance I am hoping to eventually reach through freelancing (more money the freedom to work on things I like and try micro businesses)
Thanks for the insights. But I've already been at this kind of position in the past (tech-lead role involving managing the devs). I hated the management part and even had to recover from a burn-out of a huge and messy project.
Also I care too deeply about the quality of the software being developed and am very much perfectionist, which usually translates into lots of frustration for both me and the team.
> Also I care too deeply about the quality of the software being developed and am very much perfectionist, which usually translates into lots of frustration for both me and the team.
This is at odds with business needs, very usually. So it doesn't surprise me that you feel people don't listen. Very few business are making money trying to pursue perfect software or quality software - if any.
Like security, trying to be perfectionist won't move any business need/project forward as we all have the real world to deal with, constraints on time / budget / scope are part of decision making
Honestly, I'd say you need to try working with more distance from the devs and work at a higher, more strategic level.
Instead of worrying about how a particular bit of software is built, you should be creating better ways of building. Enhancing processes, making the technology better, improving how dev work is delivered, rather than the minutia of a single development project.
Being a perfectionist tech lead directly managing the devs on a project sounds exhausting for yourself and the team.
I definitely feel that about inefficiencies. I'm also frustrated at the general lack of care for quality, so I might want to find a niche where it matters and where mistakes have consequences.
I've already kind-of tried some management, in the sense that some of my previous tech-lead positions actually involved managing the team as well. But that's really not something I enjoy or want to do.
> Also I question that you've never seen anything new in the past 5-10 years (not being rude here, I understand that someone with 20years experience has seen plenty already but definitely not everything).
That comment was meant to be in the context of web dev, I'm not pretending to know everything about all areas.
> For example, how much do you know about deep learning ? Are you on track with the latest trends in our inudstry ? Can you make a list of best practices to follow when building AI systems ? Maybe try looking into new areas for growth. It will be uncomfortable but worth it I think.
I have studied deep learning and neural networks, and found-out that it's not something I'm interested to work with. I am more interested into moving down the stack. Maybe systems programming, but also video games, because it involves low level concerns, optimization problems and a huge creative/artistic part. But yeah, I know that working in video games might involve lots of other sacrifices I'm not willing to make.
Thank you. That is mostly what I have been leaning toward recently, and why I'm interested in freelancing. I want more time for my own projects, and freelancing seems to be the only way that I can find a better balance between money and free time.
Thanks for the answer. That is definitely why I have such dilemma, because I know that I don't want to be in the management. Hence why I'm leaning more towards freelancing or creating my own business for now (easier said than done however).
