4 posts tagged with "Work"

I've been vibe coding for a few months now. The machine writes, I steer. It's fast, it's fun, and it fools you constantly. So I wrote down the things I keep having to relearn. None of it is clever. It's the boring stuff that's easy to know and hard to do.

Guess first​

Before you read the code, guess what it does. Then read it. The gap between your guess and the truth is the exact spot where you were fooling yourself. That gap is the whole lesson. If you skip the guess, you skip the lesson — you just nod along and feel smart, which is the most dangerous feeling there is.

Close the laptop​

If I can't explain a thing with the code closed, I don't understand it yet. I might have shipped it. It might even run. But "it runs" is not knowing. Knowing is being able to say, out loud, to a bored friend: this is what happens, and this is why. Can't say it simply? Then I don't know it — I've only met it.

The right question at the end of the week​

Not "how much did I ship?" That's easy to measure and easy to game. The honest question is: did I understand more this week, or did I just ship more? You can produce a mountain of working code and end the week dumber than you started, because the machine did the thinking and you did the accepting. Shipping is the exhaust. Understanding is the engine.

Fix depth where the blast radius is big​

Not everything deserves the same care. A wrong color on a button is a shrug. A hole in your authorization or your tenant isolation is a catastrophe that arrives one quiet Tuesday with someone else's data on the screen. So spend your deepest attention where an error ripples the farthest — auth, isolation, money, data. The UI can wait. Nature doesn't grade on how pretty the front end looks.

The tool is a tutor, not a ghostwriter​

The AI is happy to hand you a finished answer. If you take it and move on, you learned nothing and you own a black box. Make it teach instead. Ask it why, ask it what breaks if I change this, argue with it. A ghostwriter leaves you with words you can't defend. A tutor leaves you smarter than it found you. Pick which one you're using, every single time.

The test that never lies​

Here's the one question that catches me every time: if I change this, what breaks, and where does it ripple? If I can answer that, I understand the system. If I can't, I've been decorating a machine I don't understand. There's no faking this one. The code will tell you the truth eventually — better to ask it now than in production.

Friction is the cure​

This is the strange part. The problem with AI isn't that it's dumb — it's that it's so smooth. It removes all the friction, and friction was where the learning lived. The struggle to name a thing, the fight to make it compile, the slow read of a stranger's code — that was never the tax on the work. That was the work. So I've started adding friction back on purpose: guessing before reading, explaining before shipping, changing something just to see what screams.

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool. The machine just makes it faster.

Restructuring and Layoffs (Adversity is the way!)​

[Disclaimer] I’m not an expert. However, I’ve revived through this cycle once. Maybe you should open up and talk about it with your close ones first.

Being handed over a pink slip is tough! Losing a job is NOT an end to anything. It’s not under your control to have a stable journey through an economy meltdown.

Some of you might end up on a clock with your visas, bills, or up-coming expenses.

Okay, maybe have your favourite drink to calm yourself down. First night you might go sleepless. It’s all normal to over-think and be confused. Focus on what you have to offer as value and how to fix the “situation” that you’re in.

Let’s look at the positives

There are always companies out there ready to consume people of your skill set. Since your ex-employer needed you at one point of time too!

Also, there’s nothing wrong in opening up about your situation with your potential employer. Their empathetic reaction to it will give you a nice understanding of their company culture and people. Makes it easy to pick the right employer for yourself.

Plus, probability of landing a better job of interest is high!

Note:

Maybe it's a much needed break from the "rat race". Time to re-evaluate your goals and aspirations. Maybe, if you’ve got enough savings in the bank, start your own venture you always dreamt of.

All the best!

It all began with my following dev.to post dated September 16, 2017. It’s when I turned curious around this question to get an understanding and plan for my own engineering career roadmap.

While agreeing with the contextual answer on my post, I’d like to share some of my own experiences.

In my opinion, a senior software engineer is who has the potential to unblock other team members and can lead with empathy, while giving the right direction to other team members.

Also, I’ve noticed by showing confidence in, sharing knowledge, and occasionally challenging your team members with interesting problems that add value to the company leads to a healthy work culture while generating growth opportunities for all.

• You’ll get to network with some of the best minds in tech, and leadership,
• You’ll get to work on cutting edge technologies,
• You’ll be paid well,
• You’ll embrace diversity,

By the time you step out of it or asked to leave, you might end up wanting more from yourself.

You might be left with a feeling or a sense of confidence that you can do a lot more with your time than ever before.

Oh! one more thing, “there’s no place for emotions”.