Software Engineers Do NOT Want to Be Efficient

In 2014, after my Erasmus in France, I decided on a few things.

First, I would have spent the next 10 years working with languages.

Secondly, I would have tried my way in Sales.

10 years later, I assumed everybody worked like me.

🔴 You work 10 hours
🟢 You get a 10$ bonus

🔴 You work better for 10 hours
🟢 You get a 100$ bonus

🔴 You are super efficient for 10 hours
🟢 You get a 1000$ bonus.

The best work I did in my life, as a Sales person, was where:

• my calendar was freed by meetings,
• I could get every possible gadget to simplify my work,
• I was THE fastest in the room.

And by best work I mean with the highest payout.

I assumed that worked for everybody.

And when 10 years later I met this Head of Design of a large startup, dealing with 40 front-end engineers and she goes:

"I don't think software engineers want to be efficient"

It hit me on a different level.

In my journey, trying to grow https://www.polipo.io/, I underestimated this.

That software engineers are rewarded differently.

The ones who get the most interesting projects, the Googles of the past and the future, get the highest rewards.

But they do not get rewarded for efficiency.

At least not in the same ways I did.

And that is precisely why most of the software engineers do not have any incentive being more efficient.

And they probably do not want to be.

Because one of their tasks is precisely to make the world more efficient.

What do you think about it?

Full video story in the first comment. ⬇️