Why Not?

Aside from skill, training, drive

Why I am not a software engineer

A friend

Who works for a big consultancy

Got a government contract

He was assigned to a government office

To work closely with domain experts

To improve their systems,

Clean their data,

Build insights,

And all the rest

When he arrived at the government office

He wondered where the free smoothies were

At meetings, he wondered where the project management frameworks were

Why senior managers could spend a whole meeting discussing abstractly

a potential outcome years down the line

No free coffee, fruit, no prince, kanban

Another friend, got a job in a big consultancy

He was very effective, completed many tasks

He was kept busy, and thorugh busyness became excellent.

Now, you wonder why I am not a software engineer

Within the heart of the private company

Engine of productivity

Within the heart of the public agency

Messy contradictions, of public good, public interest

and slow thinking

Within the private company,

a self that is forged in the image of corporate excellence

Within the public agency,

a self is carefully put aside for higher service

In either case, something is given over

It becomes about whether you can convince yourself

The sacrifice was worth it