Amazon / Google Engineer - Realities of Development

Summary

In this video script, a seasoned software engineer emphasizes that knowing a specific programming language is less crucial than the ability to learn and adapt. He highlights the importance of fundamental coding skills, downplaying the significance of math and algorithms in most programming jobs. The speaker encourages aspiring developers to focus on real-world coding experience and avoid getting lost in tutorial overload.

Takeaways

• 😀 As a software engineer, you don't need to know everything; it's more important to know where to find information when you need it.
• 😎 The language you use is not as important as your ability to code and develop software effectively.
• 🤔 Focus on becoming a proficient developer rather than getting caught up in the popularity of specific programming languages.
• 🥊 Use a boxing analogy: it's not about the gloves or shoes you wear, but about your ability to box, similarly, coding is about your skills, not the tools.
• 🚀 Comprehension comes through application; understanding is gained by doing, not just by learning in theory.
• 📚 Math is often overemphasized in programming; for most business applications, basic math skills are sufficient.
• 🔍 Algorithms are not as crucial for most developers as they are often made out to be, with libraries available for most needs.
• 🌐 Scaling is not a concern for the majority of developers; database access optimization is typically more important.
• 🛠 Learn the fundamentals of programming and development, which are transferable across different languages and technologies.
• 🏃‍♂️ Avoid 'tutorial hell' by focusing on writing real code and gaining practical experience rather than endlessly consuming tutorials.
• 👨‍🏫 Uncle Steph emphasizes the importance of learning from experience and applying knowledge in real-world scenarios to become a better developer.

Q & A

What is the main message conveyed by the Google engineer in the LinkedIn post?

The main message is that as a software engineer, you don't need to know everything. It's more important to know where to find information and how to apply it when needed.

What programming languages did the engineer mention not knowing at the start of his career?

The engineer mentioned not knowing Linux commands, GET (HTTP method), Python, C++, and Dart at the start of his career.

What is the engineer's stance on the importance of programming languages?

The engineer believes that the language is not important. What matters is the ability to be a good coder and developer, not the specific language being used.

What analogy does the engineer use to explain the irrelevance of programming languages?

The engineer uses the analogy of boxing, driving, and martial arts to explain that it's not about the tools (like gloves, shoes, or the car), but about the skills and abilities of the person using them.

What is the engineer's advice for young developers who are overwhelmed by the number of programming languages?

The engineer advises young developers not to get caught up in the languages but to focus on becoming a professional developer and learning to write professional code.

What is the engineer's opinion on the importance of math in software development?

The engineer believes that math is one of the least important things in software development, especially for 99.99% of programming jobs that involve typical business applications.

What is the engineer's view on the necessity of knowing algorithms for most developers?

The engineer suggests that knowing algorithms is not important for most developers, as there are libraries available for most algorithms, and it only becomes crucial in specialized fields like gaming engines or advanced AI research.

What is the engineer's perspective on the need for scalability in software development?

The engineer argues that scalability is not an issue for 99.9% of development. It only becomes relevant in very specific cases, such as processing massive amounts of data at companies like Google.

What is the engineer's advice on how to effectively learn and master new programming languages or technologies?

The engineer advises focusing on the fundamentals of coding and becoming a proficient developer first. Once you understand the basics, learning new languages or technologies becomes much easier.

What does the engineer mean by 'comprehension comes through application'?

The engineer means that understanding and mastery come from actually doing and applying the knowledge, rather than just learning it theoretically.

What is the engineer's final advice for developers who want to avoid getting lost in the sea of information?

The engineer advises developers to learn their fundamentals, get out of tutorial hell, and start writing real code. He emphasizes the importance of not worrying about knowing everything, but being able to learn quickly when needed.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Embracing the Unknown in Software Engineering

The speaker starts by sharing a message from a Google engineer on LinkedIn, emphasizing that as a software engineer, it's not necessary to know everything. The speaker reflects on his own experience, highlighting that he didn't know Linux commands when he started at Amazon, didn't understand Git, and had never written Python code when his first project required it. He stresses that the key is knowing where to find information when you need it. The speaker also discusses the importance of not being fixated on a specific programming language, using a boxing analogy to illustrate that the tools (languages) are less important than the skill of coding itself. He encourages viewers to focus on becoming proficient developers rather than mastering a specific language.

05:00

📚 Learning Through Application in Coding

Continuing the discussion, the speaker shares a principle that 'comprehension comes through application,' meaning understanding is achieved by doing. He uses his experience in martial arts to illustrate how real-world application deepens understanding. He then applies this principle to software development, advising that learning new languages and technologies becomes easier once you understand the fundamentals of coding. He dispels common myths about the importance of math and algorithms in programming, stating that for most business applications, these are not crucial skills. He also touches on the overemphasis on scaling in software development, suggesting that it's only relevant in a small percentage of cases.

10:01

🚀 Fundamentals Over Trivialities in Software Development

The speaker warns against the common mistake of getting caught in 'tutorial hell,' where beginners are pulled in many directions learning various technologies without focusing on the essentials. He emphasizes the importance of learning the key fundamentals first, such as understanding how to write efficient database queries and the strategic aspects of query optimization. He also discusses the misconception about the necessity of object-oriented programming and scaling, stating that for most developers, these are not primary concerns. The speaker encourages viewers to start writing real code and gain practical experience, which will make learning new technologies easier in the future.

15:04

👨‍🏫 Uncle Steph's Mentorship and Life Advice

In the final paragraph, the speaker introduces himself as Uncle Steph, a mentor who aims to pass on his decades of experience as a developer and entrepreneur. He reflects on the value of hindsight and how he would advise his younger self if given the chance. He invites viewers to his channel and mentoring program, promising to share the wisdom he has gained over the years. Uncle Steph emphasizes the importance of learning from real-world coding experiences and warns against the trap of endless tutorials without practical application. He concludes by encouraging viewers to engage with him, asking questions or sharing disagreements, and ends with a reminder to code long and prosper.

Keywords

💡Software Engineer

A software engineer is a professional who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer programs. In the video, the speaker emphasizes that as a software engineer, one doesn't need to know everything but rather where to find information when needed. This concept is central to the theme of the video, which is about the importance of adaptability and learning on the job.

💡Language

In the context of software development, 'language' refers to programming languages like Python, C++, or Dart. The speaker argues that the specific language used is not as important as the ability to code and develop software. This is a key point in the video, as it challenges the common belief that mastering a specific programming language is crucial.

💡Fundamentals

Fundamentals in this video refer to the core principles and skills that a developer needs to be proficient in software development. The speaker advises focusing on these basics rather than getting lost in learning every possible technology or programming language. This is a recurring theme throughout the video, emphasizing the importance of a strong foundation in coding.

💡Professionalism

Professionalism in coding is highlighted as more important than the specific programming language one uses. The speaker suggests that a professional developer can write high-quality code in any language, which is a key message in the video. Professionalism is tied to the ability to write clean, efficient, and maintainable code.

💡Comprehension through Application

This phrase encapsulates the idea that understanding comes from doing, not just from theoretical knowledge. The speaker uses this principle to argue that learning by doing, such as writing real code, is more effective than passively consuming tutorials or reading about programming. It is a central theme in the video, illustrating the practical approach to learning software development.

💡Tutorial Hell

Tutorial Hell is a term used to describe the situation where a learner gets overwhelmed by the vast amount of information and tutorials available, leading to a lack of progress in actual coding. The speaker warns against this, advocating for a focus on writing real code and learning the fundamentals instead of getting caught in the endless cycle of tutorials.

💡Martial Arts

Martial arts are used as an analogy in the video to illustrate the importance of real-world experience over theoretical knowledge. The speaker draws parallels between learning martial arts and learning to code, emphasizing that actual fights (or coding projects) provide deeper understanding and skill development than just training (or studying tutorials).

💡Database Access

Database access is mentioned in the context of performance bottlenecks in software development. The speaker points out that for most business applications, database access is the primary factor affecting runtime speed, not the choice of programming language. This highlights the practical aspects of software development that are often more important than the language used.

💡Scaling

Scaling refers to the ability of a software application to handle increased load or demand. The speaker argues that scaling is not a concern for the vast majority of developers, as most applications do not need to handle the massive amounts of data that would require scaling. This challenges the common misconception that all developers need to be concerned with scaling.

💡Algorithms

Algorithms are mentioned as a topic that is often overemphasized in software development education. The speaker suggests that for most types of development, understanding complex algorithms is not necessary, as there are libraries available for most algorithmic needs. This underscores the video's theme of focusing on practical skills over theoretical knowledge.

💡Real Code

Real code refers to actual, functional code that is used in real-world applications, as opposed to code written for tutorials or academic exercises. The speaker emphasizes the importance of writing real code to become a proficient developer, arguing that this is more effective than learning through tutorials or theoretical study.

Highlights

A software engineer doesn't need to know everything; knowing where to find information is crucial.

The speaker didn't know Linux commands, fully understand GET, or program in Python or C++ when starting at Amazon or Google.

Language is not important; it's the ability to be a coder and a developer that matters.

The speaker often jokes about Ruby to emphasize that the language is not as important as the coding ability.

Young developers should focus on becoming proficient developers rather than focusing on specific languages.

Professionalism in coding is not tied to a specific language; it's about the quality of the code.

The speaker teaches programming languages but emphasizes professional-level development.

Once you understand how to be a professional developer, pivoting between languages is not a problem.

Comprehension comes through application; understanding is gained by doing.

Real-world experience in coding is more valuable than theoretical knowledge.

Math is not super important in development for most business apps.

Algorithms are not crucial for most development work; libraries can handle most algorithmic needs.

Scaling is not an issue for most development; database access is often the bottleneck.

Efficient database queries are more important than focusing on scaling for most business apps.

Caching is not as important as many people think for most development tasks.

Focusing on fundamentals is crucial for getting into the development world quickly.

Learning new technologies and languages on the fly is easy once you have the fundamentals.

Avoid getting caught in tutorial hell; focus on writing real code instead.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning fundamentals over specific languages or technologies.

The speaker's experience as a freelance developer shows flexibility in choosing technologies based on job requirements.

The speaker offers mentorship and shares decades of experience through his channel and mentoring program.

Transcripts

hey guys how you doing so somebody sent

me a little I don't know message that a

Google engineer put on LinkedIn so it's

public

so I'm going to put it here so uh let's

jump into it all right so let's just

read this here as a software

engineer you don't need to know

everything so before I read the rest of

this everything that we're going to see

here is what I've been talking about for

years for years I did not know any Linux

commands when I started my first job as

a programmer when I joined Amazon I did

not fully understand get at Amazon my

first project was in Python but I had

never written a single line of python

code when I joined Google I could not

program in C++ but most of my work was

in C++ later when I changed teams I

built a feature in Dart but never used

Dart before as a software engineer you

don't need to know everything you just

need to know where to find it and when

you need it so there you go something

I've been talking about for years and

years and years now I always say the

language is not important it's not

important my Ruby joke if you ever been

watching my videos I make fun of Ruby

all the time I'm not actually making fun

of Ruby I'm making fun of the notion

that the language is important

it's not important it's not important I

know a lot of you young nerling out

there are going how could you say a

language is not important Stu all these

Youtubers with at least 6 months of

experience on YouTube these 21y old

influencer experts uh they're telling me

that this is so important react is so

important or JavaScript is so important

it's not everything I've been saying for

years and years and years is born out

with this guy here who worked at Amazon

and worked at Google

it's not about the languages it's about

your ability your ability to be a coder

to be a developer that is the

key it's like um I'll use a boxing

analogy because I used to do uh I used

to box a little

bit it's not about the gloves you wear

it's not about the shorts you wear it's

not about the shoes you wear these are

just tools it's about whether or not you

can box same thing with driving by the

way it's not about the car that you

drive it's about how good of a driver

you are and yes we'll have our

preferences some of us will prefer this

and some of us will prefer that some of

us will prefer JavaScript some of us

will prefer Swift or python or PHP

whatever except for Ruby

and don't get caught up in the languages

get caught up in becoming a pro

developer learn to write Pro code so you

could take a great developer with 5

years plus experience and put them on

any language and the quality of that

code will be superior to the person

who's only done two years of coding on

average right all things being equal the

professionalism of your coding has

nothing to do with the language you can

write amazingly Pro level code in

Pearl and you can write dog crap code

code in

C++ it all depends on your ability to

code not the language that's why when

people ask me why don't you teach

typescript why don't you teach uh react

why don't you teach node I don't need to

because in my training courses I teach

three programming languages I teach s

not SQL that's not a programming

language I teach JavaScript python

PHP but more than the languages I teach

teach PR level development I teach

people to think like a pro developer I

teach people how to structure code like

a prole developer these lessons are 100%

transferable to all software development

once you understand how to be a pro

developer you can be like this sahil

Gaba guy uh Google Amazon engineer you

will be able to Pivot from language A to

B to C with no problem in a previous

video I uh cited a post that somebody

made under one of my YouTube videos

where he said that he had tried learning

react after only having spent a few

months on JavaScript and he couldn't get

his head wrapped around it so what he

did is he fell back to basics just

started building websites starting doing

some PHP some JavaScript vanilla stuff

and he did this making money for about 9

months and he decided to

revisit react CU he had a job

opportunity and to his surprise he

learned it in about a day wasn't an

expert but he was able to start doing

basic things why is that the case well

because once you understand how to be a

coder regardless of the language once

you understand you build things once you

build things you understand by building

then all these other Technologies

learning new languages new learning new

libraries is not such a big

deal remember here's one of my

principles

comprehension comes through

application write that down

comprehension comes through application

what does that mean that means you

understand by doing I learned this

actually in martial arts I started doing

martial arts when I was about 10 years

old started with Judo then did some

Japanese karate then Taekwondo then cat

Campbell and then a little bit of a

little bit of Muay Thai and all kinds of

different things Wrestling Judo I did

Judo you know anyway so I did a bunch of

styles a bunch of traditional Styles or

but you know what even the

weirdest and the least effective

traditional

Styles I was able to draw some

interesting uh lessons and understanding

from them so even in with some really

useless traditional martial arts I was

able to gain some knowledge so anyway I

did all these different types of martial

arts and what I found in practice is

that one street fight one you know

actual altercation in the street was

worth months and months of training and

there was every time I fought at least

for the first

several I found my understanding of

combat in general deepened quite a bit

and this real world experience

formed a lot of opinions about actual

combat then I became a bouncer in a

nightclub well years later I became a

bouncer in nightclub which was my last

job as a uh working for somebody uh so I

was like 1819 18 through 19 and so

anyway so I had a job as a de as a

bouncer and that experience in big group

situations uh sometimes we had group

fights beer bottles and chairs that

continued to form my

opinion and it changed the way I trained

it changed the way what I emphasized

what wasn't important what was what was

important this is something I notice

that we see a lot in all fields of

studying and what we see is that people

concentrate on things that are not

important yeah that's key especially in

software

development and coding there is so much

out there it's unbelievable how much

information we have out there there's so

many Lang languages but it's hard for a

beginner to know what is important what

do you really need to know so one of the

myths out there is that math is super

important in

development it's silly

99.99% of programming math is the one of

the least important

things there is like I've been writing

commercial code for three decades now

and I do typical business apps

and I've

I'm trying to think of the most advanced

math I've ever done maybe modulus or

something I don't know if you know how

to add and subtract the occasional once

every year two multiply divide that's

the extent of the math skills that you

need so when you hear these people say

oh you need to learn math these are just

people don't know what the hell they're

talking about the only exception is if

you're building a gaming engine maybe

doing some Advanced AI research Big Data

analysis perhaps but that's about it

every other type of development math is

the least important thing so if you're

math challenged don't worry about it for

99.99% of jobs you won't need math

another huge myth is algorithms oh you

got to know algorithms

no again algorithms is one of those

things that fall in the the

0.01% category of development it's not

important and there are libraries that

you can access for most algorithms if

you ever come across them in terms of

efficiency and applica another big

here's another big myth in software

development oo my apps have to scale

they have to scale no scaling is not an

issue for 99.9% of development the only

time scaling becomes an issue is maybe

if you work at Google and you got to

process you know ter flops of data I

don't know if that's a word Tera flop

you got to process a lot of

data for the vast majority of business

apps the uh bottleneck the bottleneck in

terms of uh

runtime speed that means as the app is

running uh the bottleneck is database

access so if you have a properly

structured database and typically it's

going to be a relational

database and you know how to write

efficient queries and know how to

effectively write queries so for example

I know if you're running an e-commerce

store and somebody comes to your site

Amazon or something and you got to

download you got to display all the uh

all the mouses that you have uh

available for sale how you query the

database to grab all that Mouse

information to present it to the user on

the

page uh how you do

that um how you write that query has to

do with some you know do you pull out

all the records do you pull out 10% of

the records it really depends on the

query side depends on a bunch of factors

so that's where VP optimization really

comes into play is understanding how to

logically write a good query and it's

not just a technical execution in terms

of how efficient your your SQL is but in

terms of you know is this strategic

really it's it's strategic in terms of

okay how much should I pull out what are

we typically looking at blah blah blah

you know do we you know do we do a

caching layer or not again caching is

for most people are not that important

anyway the point

being is that there's so much emphasis

on stuff that is so marginal meaning not

that important in the software world

that it it wastes so much time for

people this Wast so much time at the end

of the day if you want to get into the

development world as quickly as possible

you have to concentrate on what I would

call the key fundamentals once you have

your fundamentals then you're ready to

jump in the game into the game and like

that Google engineer you will find

yourself learning new things on the Fly

and it's not a big deal trust me once

you have your fundamentals down learning

new technologies new languages on the

Fly is no big deal so the big mistake

you don't want to make is to get caught

up in tutorial

hell where you're being pulled into

you're being

pulled in many different directions

because this nerd says you got to learn

this you got to learn that you want to

get in the ring like me when I wanted to

learn a fight actually getting into

actual

fights was far more important than me

trying to find the next school or the

next teacher the fights were so much

more

uh effective in terms of pushing my game

forward that's how it is with uh

coding the

more real code that you write that's not

doing school projects but real code the

far quicker you're going to become a

good developer and a competent developer

so if you take anything away from this

video number one don't learn Ruby number

two if you want to learn how to fight

get into a street fight don't do it

number three learn your fundamentals and

get out of tutorial hell just start

writing code don't worry about knowing

everything because there's nobody out

there who knows everything it's

impossible like I've been doing this for

decades and I can tell you is I forget

much more than I currently remember but

I don't care because I know that if I

needed to learn a particular language I

would just learn it it's not a big deal

and in fact in my last few years as a

freelance developer I had no

expectations about what language I would

use for a particular job I would just go

into the job I look at the requirements

and then I would choose a technology

accordingly sometimes I would use

something I was familiar with at that

time I was doing a lot of java other

times I would learn some weird funky

language that was very specific for the

particular job at hand was no big deal

at first I was resistant to learning new

languages because I was like a zealot I

was a Java Zealot that's a sign of a

noob when you're like oh only this

language is good that's a noob but when

you get more mature and you understand

the lay of the

land and you go okay I'll learn this

weird stuff here and I'll learn that

there ah this job Python's probably

better this job Dart may be better and

this job about just you know do a little

PHP the only thing I won't do is Ruby

hey I'm Uncle Steph I Mentor people in

the ways of code

freelancing personal finance a whole

bunch of other things

essentially I teach you what I've

learned over the last three decades as a

developer and

entrepreneur and I pass that on to you

guys like any good uncle should there's

an old expression if only I knew then

what I know now if only I knew

then when I was much younger if only I

knew then what I know now I would go

back in time I'm Uncle Steph I would go

back in time and say cousin Steph don't

do this you're wasting your time do that

turn left don't turn right that kind of

thing so my idea behind this Channel and

my mentoring program Shameless promo

Uncle step uncle.com

I just try to transfer my Decades of

experience to you guys to make it easier

for you guys you

know one of my uncles was very uh

helpful to me in terms of Life advice

and so I'm just passing it back I'm

Uncle Steph I'm here to help so if you

have any questions any disagreements

about anything in this video please uh

post them below all right cheers oh code

long and Prof it