Chris & Naomi Hathaway Home

(Warning: a lot of this is just my rant about Computer Science stuff, so it may not be everyone's read)

In my software engineering class, the main part of the class is that we are put together in groups and go through the entire process of designing and developing a product. A good experience, but I'm having problems. The problem is that I am a certain type of software engineer, and there are two other types that I don't mesh with that well, especially when they are the extreme of their type. Both of these types are in my group in this class, and it drives me nuts sometimes.

Thus I rant.

The three types of software engineers are:

1. "Head in the clouds, wish I was management so I didn't have to think so much" guy - This person likes to talk about talking, but never gets to the meat of the issue, probably because they're scared of it. They aren't very comfortable when it comes to actual coding principles, but they love talking about problems without coming to solutions. They are very concerned about stepping on someone else's toes, so half of their conversation is trying to build someone or something up before slamming it down. "I really appreciate all the work you put into this and I think you've made a lot of good points and your hair looks nice today, but I'm just trying to think if I were an outside user and looking at this portion, I wonder if I would perhaps think there is a part of the way you describe the....blah blah blah". Man, get to the point; you hate it. They also like to talk about how we really need to get this and that done, and if this isn't done right, there could be dire consequences, while secretly hoping someone else has a good answer. These are the type of people that should be in management, so they can just get the final document and say it's good, and let me do my own work. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with this type is to sit through their babble attentively, tell them what they want to hear, and then go and do it your own way.

2. "Face in the mud, can't get through my thick skull that the world around me has evolved to something better" guy - The opposite end of the spectrum is the guy who learned how to program from the infinite monkey theorem, who knows how to use each tool in the toolbox by itself, but can never build anything reliable, and doesn't even consider thinking outside the toolbox. These are the hack-job artists who dream of one day graduating to the level of code monkey. This type in my group kept putting manually built linked lists into our code design. First of all, creating and maintaining your own link lists went out with the discovery of the telephone, alternatives to slavery, and common sense. It's just a collection, okay? A group of objects. Every once in a while, they'll have a bright idea on how to code something, but don't plan on ever understanding what they're thinking. The best way to deal with these people is to simply pound them for answers and explanations until they get so mad at you that they finally spit out something comprehensible. Honestly, it can be quite fun sometimes.

3. The problem solver - In true goldilocks fashion, the third type of software engineer is "just right". They can take a complicated problem, figure out a reasonable solution, and explain it in an understandable manner to both those above and those beneath. They may not be the best coders, and they may not have high level management skills, but they really hold a project together, and come up with the answers that get the grade. Fortunately, most engineers I've had to deal with in the workforce have been at least close to this type, but here at school its a completely different story, and I'm still trying to figure out why.

There are also those who aren't in the first category, but are just clueless to everything and have to be babied through the whole process, but I don't consider them software engineers. They probably just want to make money or something... I don't know. Fortunately, I don't have to deal with that in my group, but the first two types just give me a headache sometimes.