Meta

I really feel as though I've found my people.

I've had this dissonance in past roles. Ever since academia years ago, I've been out of the "research" phase and into the "engineer at a X company" stage, where "X" is occasionally a software product but more often a service or commercial product. The culture was not one of making the right things, but making the profitable thing now.

Driven by salespeople, there was a lot of grandstanding and peacocking, both in the culture and in the message.

Facebook has my people, my culture. We do things in the way that scales and makes engineering sense.

Sure, perfect is the enemy of good enough, but if a temporary shortcut remediates a problem or a need, it's quickly iterated to improve, all the while immersed in a tech culture: Pusheen, Archer, Dr. Who, Star Wars, memes, the micro-actions that continually reinforce a culture-fit or a culture-miss.

I'm in the culture fit.

Sure, I get a very competitive salary, plus my tech chops improve (when C++ gurus review your work, your C++ quality improves), and the food, and the perks, but above all, this is the place I feel I most fit.

I'm in my mid-40s. I "get schooled" by my mid-20s. ...and it's awesome.

Pace is a killer. The work is complex, as are the discussions about it. I have little fuel in my head to code after work.

There's a big personal desire to keep up with the more efficient engineers. I don't want to "pass-a-fault," but I want to "move-fast" and get all the things done. It's exhausting!

Open a high school.

We have hired so many good people that our recruiting funnel is sparse. We need to grow our engineers. Open a high school to get right-of-first-refusal :)