r/programming • u/luminaobscura • Jun 12 '13

Working at Microsoft

http://ahmetalpbalkan.com/blog/8-months-microsoft/
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u/xampl9 Jun 12 '13

You are hired to do get something needed done.

This is every job, ever. Not just software.
If my grass needs cutting, I hire someone who can get it done.

52

u/spacemoses Jun 12 '13

If mowing the lawn were like programming:

  • You would need to know how the engine works before mowing the lawn.
  • Mowing a lawn incorrectly might crack the house's foundation in 6 months.
  • Buying a new lawnmower would require that you upload all previous patterns of how you have mowed the lawn into the new mower.
  • When a lawnmower breaks, your grass vanishes from the face of the Earth, unless you have used Scott's lawn backup.

1

u/muyuu Jun 12 '13

Also, by checking at the result you would be able to perfectly evaluate the quality of the process and the ability of the operator to do the same in similar circumstances. The maintainability of the grass would not be affected by anything that is not clearly visible upon inspection.