The just-say-no engineer was a ZIRP phenomenon
The article discusses the role of the 'just-say-no engineer' in the context of the recent end of the zero interest rate policy (ZIRP). These engineers, who prioritize quality and caution in software development, are facing challenges due to the pressure to accept more AI-generated code. As tech companies shift focus towards profitability and efficiency, the traditional role of these engineers is becoming increasingly difficult.
- ▪The just-say-no engineer is an archetype among senior engineers who prioritize quality over speed.
- ▪The end of ZIRP has led to significant layoffs in tech companies, as they can no longer afford bloated engineering teams.
- ▪Tech companies are now more focused on profitability and efficiency, making the role of the just-say-no engineer more challenging.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The just-say-no engineer was a ZIRP phenomenonThe engineer who says no all the time is a real archetype among senior and staff engineers. Their role is to slow things down, to block the development of features that add complexity, and to ensure that as little code gets written as possible (since code is a liability). We can think of this as the just-say-no engineer1, as opposed to the just-say-yes engineer. The just-say-yes engineer is obsessed with moving fast, approves code changes by default, values MTTR over MTBF, and tends to ship a lot of code. The just-say-no engineer is obsessed with quality, is happy to move slowly, and blocks code changes by default. Most engineers are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Seangoedecke.
