The reality of working in tech: We're not hired to write code (2023)

> Feels sorta pedantic.

Absolutely not. A Nascar driver isn't hired to drive to the grocery store. Or to run errands. Their not hired to drive leisurely. They're not hired to be the safest driver. They're not hired to drive the absolute highest speed either (and crash). Their hired to win races. And it's important to understand that.

The difference is that in Nascar it's very visible to everyone when a Nascar driver is driving in a way other than what they were hired for, it's not as clear for a programmer. Not to mention success as a programmer also means doing many things other than programming, including knowing when to say "we shouldn't build this".

But they're also not hired to simply "win races". You don't hire them to tinker with the car's engine, invent a tire-traction-enhancing additive, lobby for rules changes that favor your team, subcontract the driving to a better driver, or play loud music to disrupt the sleep of the opposing drivers on the night before the race. You hire them to drive the car well enough to win, because driving is the skill you hired them for.

You don't hire them to drive Ubers, sure, and likewise you want your programmers to be building things of high value. But you also don't expect them to just walk into the CEO's office, sit down in the big chair, and say "Actually, rather than writing code I can contribute more value from here, so today I'll do this job."