Majors also emphasizes that hiring engineers is about composing teams, not just filling individual roles. She argues that teams composed exclusively of senior engineers are not high-functioning, as there is only so much high-level work to go around. The best teams have a range of skill levels, where everyone is challenged and pushed to their boundaries. Majors concludes by advising on hiring junior engineers, stressing the importance of providing them with a conducive learning environment.
Key takeaways:
- Generative AI will not replace the need for junior programmers as software engineering is an apprenticeship industry that requires constant learning and doing.
- Being a senior engineer is not just about writing code, but also about understanding, maintaining, and managing a large body of software in production over time.
- Hiring engineers is about composing teams, and the best teams are ones where no one is bored and everyone is challenged.
- Organizations should ensure they are in the right shape to hire junior engineers and provide them with an environment where they can learn effectively.