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Facebook Exec Explains Why Technical Skills Aren't Enough To Be a Great Engineer (geekwire.com)

Posted by msmash on from the beyond-math-and-science dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Facebook's Regina Wallace-Jones, who is in charge of protecting 1.6 billion people on the social network, says math and science skills aren't enough to tackle challenges at a firm. "Don't let anyone tell you that engineering is only about math and science or that engineering expertise is all you have to offer the world. Your experiences and your perspectives can help inspire a company to find a different approach to a problem or encourage someone else to speak up," she said. "The impact of engineers goes well beyond the mobile apps, the gadgets, and the security systems that we build. The quest to engineer meaningful solutions... is not just about math and science, it's about making amazing solutions for real people in the real world. It's about pushing mankind to its outer limits by inspiring the world to imagine bigger solutions than our hands can hold."

7 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. It is all a rat race by ickleberry · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nothing is ever enough for these corporations while there are still dollars in circulation that don't belong to them. Facebook is about making amazing solutions to fill Mark Zuckerberg's pocket, nothing more, nothing less. "Real people in the real world" my bollox

    1. Re:It is all a rat race by Aighearach · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, the crap about "pushing mankind to its outer limits" is hard to read. Is that really what engineering does?

      Obviously, understanding the humans and the use cases is more important to being a great engineer than just math; the math is just a base requirement, not the job of engineering.

  2. H1b and the will to work 80 hours a week by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    H1b and the will to work 80 hours a week is what they really want.

  3. Yes, but... by Raenex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Facebook's Regina Wallace-Jones, who is in charge of protecting 1.6 billion people on the social network

    Who's in charge of protecting 1.6 billion people from the social network?

  4. This... by fyngyrz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The quest to engineer meaningful solutions

    This... coming from Facebook... is just about the funniest thing I've seen in several days.

    "meaningful"

    Ah ha.

    Ha ha ha ha. :)

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    1. Re: This... by fyngyrz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Billionaire != meaningful.

      --
      I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  5. Well duh ... by Tetch · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Regina Wallace-Jones apparently said:

    "The impact of engineers goes well beyond the mobile apps, the gadgets, and the security systems that we build. The quest to engineer meaningful solutions... is not just about math and science, it's about making amazing solutions for real people in the real world"

    Regina, this is not news. Any software engineer worth their salt (i.e. with a natural aptitude for computer and software engineering and science) knows this. The whole problem with our industry is that management has seen fit to offer jobs to just about anyone who wants to "work with computers". Worse, they employ the ones who *don't* even like the work ... they just want the money (they've heard there's good money in IT), but actually detest the work ... you'll never get inspirational work out of them.

    Could it be that you're one of those managers who think they have a monopoly on intelligence and insight ? Some of us have known what you've just said for a decade or two, but management didn't want to listen, because "the numbers". Now that your numbers are looking good, some of you are stumbling on our prior art as if it's new and deep wisdom.

    --
    If you don't pray in my school, I won't think in your church.