What do I do?
I came to Microsoft some time ago. It was my dream company, it was the reason I became a Softwage Engineer when I was a kid in school ~15 years ago. Fast forward to 2018 - n, n < 5: my dream came true - I work at Microsoft. I plan to spend my lifetime here. It is already the best company in the world, I think to myself, so I will only try to make it better. I am a perfectionist. I have had issues with this in smaller companies. But Microsoft is surely different - it values quality above all else, right? It can afford to do so, because its products reach so many people, right? Today, after n years, I am torn between feeling disgusted and feeling that there is something wrong with me. There are definitely some bright minds around - I have seen them. But to every bright one there is a batallion of those who write code that they genuinely think is great, and don't even realize how fucked up it is. They don't get it when something is pointed out to them. They feel free to ignore it, because I am at their level or lower. Sometime later they wonder what's wrong with their product - oncall is hell, investigations take shitloads of time, bug lists get outdated because its so hard to keep up with them evergrowing. At some point, everything just gets rewritten. And the cycle starts again. But then, the whole industry seems to be like that. Who cares about what's under the hood if it done fast, right? What chance do I stand next to them, being ashamed to write such code. What do I do?
I work at Amazon and in the same situation š
News to me that Microsoft has or had a reputation for caring about quality.
Building perfect code is not the goal of a company; shipping something useful is.
Suck it up and prove them wrong! What's wrong with you people?! I'd you know something is wrong. Call it out! Maybe not at first? But use your window of opportunity when presented and capitalize on the situation! Who cares what others think! When you're right, end of story. Caveat, you need to be right If you are assuming you are and only complaining? Suck it up and be better at what you do until you can do the above! Toyed of hearing this nonsense
I was at Microsoft and had a similar situation (dealing with mediocrity and coworkers who just donāt care). Every time I tried to change something, even just Test and Learn (using the Growth Mindset they supposedly foster), I was met with reluctance and excuses every single time. I finally had to leave - it was driving me nuts to work with and for people like that.
If you want to go for perfection or order, try academia.
Few issues: - I plan to spend my lifetime here - I am a perfectionist - Because I am their level or lower Lifetime is a lot to plan in advance. Evaluate your priorities every few years. Your life, and everything in it, are too dynamic to be tied to one static decision. Being a perfectionist is a good aspirational goal, but that doesn't translate well in real life, which is full of little idiosyncrasies, nuances and well, flaws. Trying to write perfect code, or build a perfect product runs the same risk as hacking everything together in a very crappy manner. Instead, master the art of balancing trade offs. You will never have enough time, enough resources or enough A players. How do you deliver given the constraints? That is what winning is. You cannot hire every single employee to be exceptional. Some are A players, some are B players, some are C players. In fact, a team of A players often ends up being dysfunctional. If you think you work well with A players, try to find projects were you can collaborate with who you look up to. If you work with some B or C players, you have a great platform to lead by example. Some cases are hopeless, but that is why you are an A player and the are not. Keep at it. A lot of people get inspired and motivated when you lead the right way. Over my course of time, I've seen people rest and vest and wither away, but I've also seen some exceptional people bring up the entire team's quality. If you are a perfectionist, aspire to be that. Everyone here will tell you to Leetcode. If you want to do that, fine. But trust me, I've worked at Amazon and Google, and all companies have the same issues. Because each one of them have to deal with constraints. And each one of them need people like you to lead the way. In the end, the choice is yours. This is just my 2 cents. Keep your head up, you are worrying about the right things!
I had the same dream but also back then there was no Google or Facebook.. now, I don't even entertain any calls from the likes of Microsoft or Amazon.. just move on and do something new. Join a start-up! It will definitely change the way you look at things.
The code at a start up would put him in a mental hospital
Welcome to the corporate world
Donāt put companies on a pedestal. You canāt fuck a pedestal you know.
Leetcode
Leetcode and chill?