I posted a video awhile back of someone making the comparison between a SWE and a Medical doctor. At the end of the day, they’re both life-long learning careers. If you want to be a thorough, knowledgeable SWE, then like a Medical Doctor you’re going to have to read some intensive technical books on whatever you’re trying to learn and that knowledge keeps updating as well.
This isn’t really the industry to stop learning once you make it. The more knowledge you build the more valuable and flexible you are as a professional. At the end of the day, these CEO’s want the bleeding edge and some kind of moat to push their company to the top and keep a competitive advantage.
Even many traditional engineering roles from Civil to Electrical don’t expect the same knowledge growth over a career. I know some people working in those fields for about 20 years who haven’t stepped outside much of what they learned in college. In comparison, a SWE would be basically a pass if all they knew was the MEAN stack (unless at a very deep level) after 10 years. You’d have to find a very specific job at that point.
Totally agree.
One thing I’ll say though, is that; there is a common phrase that says: a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Meaning, there are too many situations that exposes engineers who can talk a good game but can’t apply that knowledge to anything useful. They know how a particular technology works but, that’s it.
And, to be frank, a mandate that requires constant education is one designed specifically to keep you working. chasing that carrot. Your competition will be freshly graduate brilliant kids. Bad setup for you.
Nevertheless, education does become quite beneficial when you’re choosing to do it based on a private need (ie your own business), not because your livelihood depends on it. A year or so ago, I saw a mark Cuban interview where the interviewer was straight up baffled when Cuban told him he was learning python.
