8LU - Are we *really* engineers? by Hillel Wayne
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN uses it as the reference for whether software is really engineering and how it differs from other disciplines.
What it is
Hillel Wayne reports on interviews with 17 people who have worked as both software and traditional engineers. He argues the fields are fundamentally the same and have much to learn from each other.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2020 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Recommends exdsq · 2020-06 · on “Why do so few people major in computer science? (2017)”
Absolutely! Some companies are great at this but most (from my experience) use the term but there's 0 'engineering' involved - it's just hacking bits of code together and hoping it lives long enough for a customer to sign off on UAT. There was a good talk on this subject last week - here's the recording if you're interested [this video]
Cites hwayne · 2020-07 · on “Cold Showers: For when people get too hyped up about things”
I used to think this, and then I interviewed people who did both traditional and software engineering professionally, and now I'm not so sure. I did a first draft of what I learned here: [this video] I'm hoping to have a written version by the end of September.
Cites godelski · 2025-04 · on “The reality of working in tech: We're not hired to write code (2023)”
I really think you should read Dan's post in full . Because you really did make the error him and Hillel discuss. I think it'll also help interpret my point and the gp to my comment. We're not thinking in a framework where CS and Eng are all that different. Or skip to this part of Hillel's video[0] I've been an aerospace engineer. Worked there before coming over to CS. And I can certainty tell you that yes, someone may ask you to split a floor in half. There's nothing really preventing you from doing this. There's buildings with more levels than there are ordered floors. It's a 15 floor building, but you label your floors 1-14. Such an area can be used for things like running conduit or even
Cites godelski · 2025-04 · on “The reality of working in tech: We're not hired to write code (2023)”
> and I have experience with construction as well. Just so we're clear, construction isn't engineering[0]. The difference does matter specifically in what we're talking about. > If your implication was followed in software (i.e. try to predict the future and introduce hidden floors, service floors and such) — and it sometimes is — we really end up with worse, more complex software that has technical debt built in from the start. But again, I think this belies you. Yes, I've made the assumption that you either didn't read Dan's blog in full or listen to Hillel's video, but can you blame me? This sentence is something they both explicitly discuss. You don't have everything figured out in engin