Biggest Secret in Software Engineering

Welcome back to another newsletter!

I’m excited to share with you an insight that I previously missed over my years of experience in the industry.

On X, many mention it, but it often gets dismissed as a meme.

It’s painfully obvious, yet the average software engineer overlooks it.

The industry is filled to the brim with intelligent individuals who struggle to connect the dots.

To be fair, I only recently grasped the concept. And let me tell you, it's a beautiful one.

The big secret is…

Your customers couldn’t care less about the tech stack your product is built on. All they care about is whether it solves their problem(s).

As engineers, we invest significant time into meticulously planning what to build and which tech stack to employ. Many, including myself, agonize over this decision. Should you opt for something familiar? Nah, that's too boring. Isn't every side project an opportunity to learn something new?

Well, kind of. But here’s the promise: you’ll learn regardless by simply building. The tech stack doesn’t hold as much weight. Besides, in two years, chances are you'll rewrite it because, let’s face it, your code sucks. (Don’t worry, mine does too).

Software engineers need to grasp that their most precious resource is time. We're among the few workers who can generate capital through our skill set. Ponder at this…

If you're a coal miner, your time doesn’t directly produce capital; it extracts a finite resource from the ground. Eventually, you have to relocate the operation as the coal depletes.

As a software engineer, you write some code, and voila, you have intellectual property. Every line you write holds value, regardless of whether it's in JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, or any other language.

In essence, what I'm saying is: focus on crafting the solution; nobody cares about the tools you use to solve their problem.

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter, edition, editorial, or whatever you want to call it.

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