As a late 30s software engineer, I have had a disdainful view of C-suites for pretty much the entire span of my career.
It started with understanding that the leadership of technical companies had become so profit-oriented that actual good engineering was getting short-changed. All I have to do to illustrate my point here is mention a single company, which used to be a paragon of engineering and an absolutely unbeatable powerhouse in their industry: Boeing.
I think American technical expertise used to be exceptional. But now, as a direct function of the flat-lining quality and caliber of our corporate, technical, and economic leadership, the only thing I’d describe us as exceptional at is financial “engineering”. To be clear, I don’t consider that to be real engineering. It’s just applied math and logic being used to systematically take advantage of regulatory loopholes in ways that fundamentally abuse the intent of said regulatory loopholes, with no real consideration for the long term or second/third/etc-order systemic effects of such parasitic economic manipulation. It is fundamentally caustic by nature, and actively destroys long term value. I and the entirety of my generation have watched it destroy long term value over the course of our careers.
As a late 30s software engineer, I have had a disdainful view of C-suites for pretty much the entire span of my career.
It started with understanding that the leadership of technical companies had become so profit-oriented that actual good engineering was getting short-changed. All I have to do to illustrate my point here is mention a single company, which used to be a paragon of engineering and an absolutely unbeatable powerhouse in their industry: Boeing.
I think American technical expertise used to be exceptional. But now, as a direct function of the flat-lining quality and caliber of our corporate, technical, and economic leadership, the only thing I’d describe us as exceptional at is financial “engineering”. To be clear, I don’t consider that to be real engineering. It’s just applied math and logic being used to systematically take advantage of regulatory loopholes in ways that fundamentally abuse the intent of said regulatory loopholes, with no real consideration for the long term or second/third/etc-order systemic effects of such parasitic economic manipulation. It is fundamentally caustic by nature, and actively destroys long term value. I and the entirety of my generation have watched it destroy long term value over the course of our careers.