{"pageProps":{"note":{"id":34660,"site_id":57,"user_id":63,"body":"# A day in the life of a software engineer\n\n\n\nWhat's like to work as a software engineer? In a nutshell you'll write code to solve problems and collaborate on meetings. Of course it's more complicated than that.\n\nThere are plenty of videos and articles on the internet about what the day of the a software engineer looks like. Instead of going doing yet another of those, I want to share what key aspects for me.\n\n## Your mileage may vary\n\nAlthough there are constants, software development jobs are all different. Some companies have more meetings than actual development time, some only communicate through documents ([like Gumroad](https://sahillavingia.com/work)), some emphasize the social aspects while others are just about work.\n\n## Solving problems\n\nSoftware engineering is about solving problems. That's it, that's the Tweet.\n\nTechnical problems like how to make a build tool work for your project's setup or optimizing the performance of an algorithm to be fast enough and product problems which always revolve about making a better experience for your users.\n\n## Communication is key\n\nComputers are the easy part. Humans and communication are the hard part. Learn to communicate. You will never work in completely isolation. There are clients, managers, colleagues from all sorts of domains, candidates to interview.\n\nCommunication involves listening and understanding what others are trying to say, and expressing yourself clearly so other can understand your point of view.\n\n## Learning\n\nTechnology is always changing. That's a constant. Which means you'll never be able to stop learning. Those that embrace the constant learning do better. [Learn how to learn](https://jamie.build/learning-how-to-learn.html).\n\n## Flexibility & Opportunities\n\nSoftware engineering, and tech in general, is a very flexible industry. Although some jobs lean more on the traditional 9 to 5 approach.\n\nMaybe you want to only work 4 days a week, or prefer to start your day super early and have the afternoon free. You might want to work for a company that is doing some good impact in the world and resonates with you, you might want to move to another city, country or continent. There are plenty of opportunities in this field, find what works for you.\n\n## Formalities\n\nIt's not all fun and games, there are boring parts of the job as well. It's a job after all. Filling reports, attending meetings that could've been and email. But since you are getting paid to do it ¯\\\\\\_(ツ)_/¯","path":"a-day-in-the-life-of-a-software-engineer","headline":"software engineers at work\n\nWhat's like to work as a software engineer? In a nutshell you'll write code...","title":"A day in the life of a software engineer","created_at":"2022-08-10T16:58:35.783Z","updated_at":"2022-08-10T17:03:41.783Z","visibility":"public","poster":"https://photos.collectednotes.com/photos/63/4f5d44fe-bdc5-4742-a5eb-22a8abaa3867","curated":false,"ordering":0,"collections_id":null,"url":"https://collectednotes.com/gillchristian/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-software-engineer"},"site":{"id":57,"user_id":63,"name":"Christian Gill","headline":"","about":"","host":null,"created_at":"2020-05-20T07:58:35.178Z","updated_at":"2023-09-17T17:34:17.741Z","site_path":"gillchristian","published":true,"tinyletter":"","domain":"blog.gillchristian.xyz","webhook_url":"","curated":true,"payment_platform":null,"is_premium":true,"total_notes":30},"body":"
What's like to work as a software engineer? In a nutshell you'll write code to solve problems and collaborate on meetings. Of course it's more complicated than that.
\n\nThere are plenty of videos and articles on the internet about what the day of the a software engineer looks like. Instead of going doing yet another of those, I want to share what key aspects for me.
\nAlthough there are constants, software development jobs are all different. Some companies have more meetings than actual development time, some only communicate through documents (like Gumroad), some emphasize the social aspects while others are just about work.
\nSoftware engineering is about solving problems. That's it, that's the Tweet.
\n\nTechnical problems like how to make a build tool work for your project's setup or optimizing the performance of an algorithm to be fast enough and product problems which always revolve about making a better experience for your users.
\nComputers are the easy part. Humans and communication are the hard part. Learn to communicate. You will never work in completely isolation. There are clients, managers, colleagues from all sorts of domains, candidates to interview.
\n\nCommunication involves listening and understanding what others are trying to say, and expressing yourself clearly so other can understand your point of view.
\nTechnology is always changing. That's a constant. Which means you'll never be able to stop learning. Those that embrace the constant learning do better. Learn how to learn.
\nSoftware engineering, and tech in general, is a very flexible industry. Although some jobs lean more on the traditional 9 to 5 approach.
\n\nMaybe you want to only work 4 days a week, or prefer to start your day super early and have the afternoon free. You might want to work for a company that is doing some good impact in the world and resonates with you, you might want to move to another city, country or continent. There are plenty of opportunities in this field, find what works for you.
\nIt's not all fun and games, there are boring parts of the job as well. It's a job after all. Filling reports, attending meetings that could've been and email. But since you are getting paid to do it ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
\n","links":{}},"__N_SSG":true}