Skip to contentSkip to footer
Engineering
Electronics Engineer

How can you expect a non software engineer thats never done software to do simpler code? Lol i find it so funny when experience professionals think u can do everything like them.

2
  1. Technical Writer 1

    Companies expect all sorts of things. Companies will ask for 5 years of experience in a technology that has only been around for a year. Your job is to say yes and collect the paycheck as long as you can.

  2. Principal Engineer 1

    I mean, I was a non software engineer as well (optical engineering), but computer programming was part of my undergraduate curriculum and I could do simple coding (I learned Python, MATLAB, and C). So I don’t think it is an unreasonable thing to assume. If you can’t meet that expectation, then just be honest about that. From there though, I think the onus is on you to learn and try to meet the expectation. It is not unusual for the job you end up doing to not match your academic background. I had very little background in electrical engineering when I was first hired as an engineer and had to learn a lot on the job to fill the expectations of my job role. Now almost 15 years later, I can do a lot more EE work comfortably.

    Manager 1

    It’s a balance, there’s always going to be some learning in the job, but if you’re not meeting the expectations of your coworkers some additional training may be required

Related posts
Engineering
Civil Engineer

I'm a junior engineer, but I inherited a project mid-construction because the designer left. I wasn't around for the early phases, but now I’m running the site meetings. I'm stressed about the technical gap and being asked questions I don't know the answers to. I don't want to appear clueless in front of the clients, even though I am. Is it okay to say that I don't know, but I will get back to them? Or does that look unprofessional?

4
Engineering
Mechanical Contact Engineer (Fixed Equipment)

What task in your role would be the hardest to explain to someone outside your industry? For me, some of the work seems straightforward until you try explaining all the constraints, tradeoffs, and decision-making involved. What’s something people usually don’t understand about your job?

3
Engineering
Mechanical Contact Engineer (Fixed Equipment)

If you were given one extra hour each workday that had to be spent on professional development, how would you use it? I’d probably split it between learning new tools and studying how other industries solve similar problems. How would you invest that time?

3
Engineering
Mechanical Contact Engineer (Fixed Equipment)

What’s one engineering “best practice” that you think is actually overused or applied in situations where it doesn’t add much value? For me, it’s excessive documentation on very small, low-risk changes. Documentation is important, but I’ve seen teams spend more time documenting simple fixes than implementing them. Where do you draw the line?

1
Engineering
Engineer

Obviously, no one expects a newly graduated hire to know everything during their first week, but early impressions stick. Question for the managers and senior engineers on here: What can a new grad do in those first few days to make you incredibly glad you hired them? What sets them apart early on?

2