[HN Gopher] Ask HN: What 'deeper technical skills' make up a str...
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       Ask HN: What 'deeper technical skills' make up a strong engineer?
        
       A lot of online software industry content is focused on junior
       engineers: algorithms and data structures, usage of SQL, etc... But
       I don't think we often discuss what really sets mid/senior
       engineers apart.  My list would probably look something like:  -
       ability to use a proper debugging stack (not just tests/printf, use
       of microbenchmarks for optimisation, systems tracing for services)
       - optimisation of how their app interacts with the environment
       (kernel, network stack, cache lines)  - debugging beyond
       application level issues (e.g. ability to use core dumps, knowledge
       of how the JVM works)
        
       Author : iamstupidsimple
       Score  : 12 points
       Date   : 2022-04-17 21:38 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
       | drooby wrote:
       | Refactoring.
       | 
       | 1. Being able to spot the point at which the cost of cleaning up
       | convoluted and fragile code is lower than the cost of continuing
       | to work with it. And evaluating that it's worth the long term
       | investment.
       | 
       | 2. Actually being able to turn the ship around.
        
       | hnrss wrote:
       | I've never had to deal with core dumps or understand how the JVM
       | works. Why are those worthwhile skills?
        
         | Jtsummers wrote:
         | "e.g." stands for "exempli gratia", which, in English, means
         | "for example". Maybe dealing with core dumps or understanding
         | how the JVM works hasn't been relevant _to you_ , but for any
         | competent (let alone "strong") engineer/programmer I'd expect
         | them to have familiarity with a rough equivalent to those kinds
         | of things for their own systems.
        
       | Agingcoder wrote:
       | A quantitative view of a system : how it scales, what's possible
       | / not possible ( because of hardware, software, algorithms, etc).
       | 
       | Basically, by knowing quantitative bounds of your system, you can
       | make much better / quicker decisions.
        
       | 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
       | Solid understanding of mathematics up to Calculus. Solid reading,
       | and writing skills. Growth mindset. Strong focus on system design
       | and problem solving.
       | 
       | IMO
        
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       (page generated 2022-04-17 23:01 UTC)