Crusty engineers unite!

Instead of working to build a great company or discover a new invention, too many of our brightest minds were busy engineering credit-default swaps.
--Commerce Secretary Gary Locke via readwriteweb.com

Graduating in 2003, it was all to common to hear about my fellow Stanford classmates go on to prestigious and lucrative Wall Street jobs. It was like winning the lottery back then -- virtually everyone from every discipline was drawn to the glamorous lifestyle that slick recruiters and Banana Republic-clad returning analysts talked about.

It was a really far cry from what I was more used to-- the din of keyboard keys clacking into the night at Sweet Hall, where red-eyed, greasy haired engineers of all fields would converge to run simulations, design VLSI circuitry, and write all manner of code late into the night.

Now it's 2009 and it's cool to be a crusty engineer again. *high five*

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Posted 2 months ago

7 comments

Sep 24, 2009
 said...
True, the highest paid / most glamorous jobs often attract the most talented. It isn't just potential engineers who are led astray by the glitz, but also potential teachers, community activists, researchers . . .

I don't think we're going to fix this issue any time soon. Maybe it won't be banking next time, but there will be another bubble that attracts our most talented.

Sep 24, 2009
Sachin Agarwal said...
I am proud to say I never spend a night in Sweet Hall the whole time I was at Stanford!

But I went to code on the very first day of my very first job ever. I love coding, building, doing. w00t!

Sep 25, 2009
Ron Hathaway said...
haha. Love the title. Crusty for life.
Sep 25, 2009
mrexcitement said...
Sachin, I think the Firebird lab in the basement still counted as being in Sweet Hall.
Sep 27, 2009
Parit it said...
Guys I left a coding job long ago. I find it monotonous or may be my kinda job was not creative at all. What you recommend?
Sep 28, 2009
steve joh said...
money (can be) the root of all.... ;) i think the broader point is- what are you really doing with your life??
Sep 28, 2009
Stephanie Lim said...
@garrytan you really should be attributing the term "crusty engineers" to me. Because it's MIIIIINE!

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