Posted on 2nd October 2023

Why don't I write more about my work

I've now been a software engineer for over 15 years, so why haven't I written more about it here? Firstly I have actually written a fair amount about my work over the years on several different blogs. Secondly much of my 'professional' info is already on my LinkedIn and you can see a few open source contributions of mine over on GitHub.

However the reasons go further. Having mainly been a coder in my career implementing both back and front end aspects of software, I've found the work fairly transient. It's not just the lifecycle of software itself but also the tools, processes and companies involved that come and go rapidly. 15 years may or may not sound like a long time to different people, but in the world of technology things move very fast and a lot can change in that time.

Maybe some code I've written is still out there serving tens, hundreds or even thousands of users. But a lot of it won't be. Some of the companies I've worked for (and customers I've worked with) no longer exist due to acquisitions or liquidation. Much of the technology stack I started developing with will be no longer supported. Some of the cloud services I've integrated software with will have become defunct. That doesn't mean the products I've helped deliver weren't a success. Many will have served their purpose for a period of time and then will have either been gracefully or abruptly 'sunset' depending on what happened to them.

While most software professionals like myself will likely have updated their own knowledgebase and skills over the years, the technologies they have used in particular for a lot of what they've done in the past fades in relevance quite quickly. At that point writing about the context of their application is probably the most interesting aspect remaining.

I do find the transient nature of the business unfortunate. I've always strived to do what I can to increase the longevity of a system that's working effectively for its users and I pride myself on having a dedication to keeping users happy all the while I'm engaged with a particular product they use. In recent years I've orchestrated major updates and even total rewrites of software. Some of these I've helped to support and maintain for several years.

I've worked for organisations and customers in a large range of areas including: healthcare, defence, publishing, manufacturing, construction and finance. From companies most people have heard of to small organisations, I have a fair amount of experience writing code and also working with people from different backgrounds.

Some of the products, projects and features I've worked on are suitable for writing about. And I might write about those I find most useful or interesting to others in future. But the truth is an awful lot of what we do in the tech industry, particularly as developers, is of very niche interest. That's not to say it isn't worth writing about, it's just that we all lead busy lives in today's world so there always seem to be other more important things to do.

I prefer writing about more enduring stuff or simply just things I'm into. That may well include more about my work and my intent to learn a broader set of disciplines. But it also might just include some frivilous updates about renovating our house, my passion for classic / retro cars or our Shetland Sheepdog, who knows?

All I know is we're all human and I find trying to cultivate too 'targeted' an online profile results in people picking up on the fact that you're only really presenting a facade, when in reality the multi-faceted nature of you being a human makes you much richer. You'd be surprised how many people would rather get to know the real you rather than your social media persona. Even some of those scouring your online profile from a professional perspective.

In short I don't post a lot about my work because that's genuinely me - I find snippets of my career interesting and enlightening and talk about it a little, but not a lot. That doesn't mean there aren't things I've accomplished in my career I'm proud of and I don't find some enjoyment in what I do for work. But whether I decide to write about it is another story. However if I do get the inspiration to write about anything like that, this blog is where you will find it.