Star Engineers Are Made, Not Born

EE Times ^ | 12/16/2016 | Tyler McMullen

[Kid Shelleen]

You’ve heard about them -- the elusive software engineers that seemingly move mountains, create miracles and build products from scratch overnight. As these so-called “10x engineers” have risen to prominence, they’ve become targets for recruiters at Silicon Valley startups and titans alike. Some engineers are even taking the lead from Hollywood by hiring talent agents to find them the best jobs.

Startups see 10x engineers as their answer to growth hurdles, product dilemmas and go-to-market hiccups. There’s only one problem: 10x engineers don’t exist.

[Stymee]

who’s john gault?

[numberonepal]

The author does not really understand what he is talking about.

Agree totally. I, too, used to be one. Imagine doing the marketing front end of a major communications provider site ALL ALONE. Me vs business vs QA vs legal. I got that sh!t done and still had time to lollygag and keep up with FR. At the time I believed in my heart that I was the best HTML/CSS coder in the entire world. I still think I was right.

I now have TWO 10x'ers working for me (thanky Jesus) - both West Indians. These guys make other coders look like pikers on a daily basis. Not only do they get their work done 2 to 3 times as fast and accurate as their peers (this stuff is easily quantified), they troubleshoot other people's problems regularly. They are so in demand that I fill a good portion of MY day directing their time allocation. I feel like their pimp.

[superfries]

So how would a company go about finding and recruiting these types? What is important to them? What floats their boats? I work for a large F50 company and we can’t pay Silicon Valley prices. We have internal debates about this all the time. I say its being on the bleeding edge that attracts them and others say we need to give them everything that google gives them so they never leave campus. Others say we need to nurture them over time. Thoughts? I’m talking SW eng and hardware design eng types.

[Quality_Not_Quantity]

So how would a company go about finding and recruiting these types?

You have to wade through a lot of employees to find one really, REALLY good one. I've been doing what I do for over 40 years and can count on maybe 2 hands the people who are anywhere near my league as far as understanding application software in my industry.

I am not bragging, by the way - I've been blessed with a very logical mind, which helps me see through problems much more quickly than most of my peers.

[AlmaKing]

Writing code is not engineering.

But of course, you already know that, you 10x
software guy.

[dhs12345]

Dyslexia can cause this.

And many dyslexics can be very smart visually and conceptually.

[AlmaKing]

I’ve always found software people to be the most arrogant bunch. They wonder why they are replaced so easily.

[numberonepal]

I talk about business a lot in interviews. I try to find out that the person understands what’s best for the business is best for him/her. I also give them a little leadership test and a coding test. The coding test isn’t really looking for the right answers, but more to how the person handles the problem. However, you still can’t find that 10X star through an interview. A bit of luck and time will tell you. Talk to the references. Ask them pointed questions outside the box - have a conversation rather than just a list of questions for canned answers.

[reed13k]

Never had any other issues with letters, reading, etc - no right/left or color switches either. Still something to think about.

[Kid Shelleen]

I believe you 100%. I think the author is trying to make the point that a management culture that promotes "autonomy, mastery and purpose" will have a better team of engineers than one that hired a bunch of people with pedigree resumes.

In some environments your talent might not be appreciated. You sound like the guy that finds the root cause of problems or sees a problem before it gets to the field. Risk adverse or schedule conscious managers might be unwilling to address an issue until an important customer complains.

[EVO X]

Hard work only carries one only so far. Nothing wrong with that. A Stem worker with IQ of a 140 is likely to out perform one with 120 if they have the same work ethic. I've been doing tech related stuff for close to 40 years and have seen how this works.

[Dr. Sivana]

Some people can cook, others can paint, others can do other skills none of which I am good at. I can look at software and see what is wrong with it. I was born this way- not made.

I agree. I knew a couple of gifted HIGH-SCHOOLERS who had the gift then. One is teaching at MIT, the other has his own software company now. There are star video game programmers who didn't have time to be "developed" the way described, and plenty more who have been successful free-lancers who developed themselves.

Congratulations on your gift, Mr. K. I am not a developed, and I am not an especially gifted system engineer, but I was also not going to be able to reliably feed my family writing about politics or religion.

[Kommodor]

Hahahaha... How cute.

Unicorns exist. The corporate software system is designed to beat them down and reduce them to the level of the lowest common denominator.

Harrison Bergeron is alive and well. For the moment.

(And that’s why many of them are bitter.)

[superfries]

Thanks for your response. I say the sell in recruiting them is that our tech is on the bleeding edge that attracts them and others say we need to give them everything that google gives them so they never leave campus. Others say we need to nurture them over time. Thoughts? I’m talking SW eng and hardware design eng types.

[superfries]

Thanks for your response. I agree with your approach. I can find them but I have trouble selling them on the opportunity. I say the sell in recruiting them is that our tech is on the bleeding edge that attracts them and others say we need to give them everything that google gives them so they never leave campus. Others say we need to nurture them over time. Thoughts? I’m talking SW eng and hardware design eng types.

[superfries]

Do you think looking for them on github and stackoverflow is the right approach?

[GingisK]

That was my experience as well. I went well beyond what my professors taught me, teaching them a thing or two along the way.

[superfries]

Do you think looking for them on github and stackoverflow is the right approach?

[GingisK]

I once read an article about why geeks don't get along with the thundering herd. Basically, they don't want to. After a total propagation delay of 12ns, I realized that the article was spot on. I have no recollection of anyone teaching me anything. I did learn quite a lot from from peers; however, that was never in a classroom setting.

I'm calling BS on the dolt who wrote the topic article.

[numberonepal]

1. Pay them well.
2. Give them OWNERSHIP of something.
3. Don’t require them to be working all the time. DO require they are always available. Coding stars need space.
4. Be flexible.
5. Make sure they have a means to work from home or at least free of distraction (modern office space is great for collaboration but awful for concentration).
6. Listen to them.