My Regrets as a Software Engineer

[@TeamMD0]

My greatest regret as a software engineer is not getting up often. Back pain is serious!

[@strussell05]

One of my favorite KZbinrs...great content!!

[@gingervitislive6020]

I got an Algoexpert ad while watching Forrest talk about algoexpert. Solid marketing.

[@chrisschuller7055]

Is that some peasant joke that I'm too KZbin Premium to understand?

[@Abomin81onVlog]

Learning in your own time is expected in so many different jobs outside of software. A lot of people don't do it regardless of industry but I think it's more a personality trait than an industry requirement.

[@cochaviz]

Hey man awesome video! Really interesting as a computer science student! Quickly wanna press on #2 as it seems to be a growing issue nowadays. True that it is satisfying to be able to do a task without thinking about it and impressing people, and besides that, it can be incredibly fun to work on your own projects and get better and something you love to do! However, for anyone starting out on a job, you got hired because they think you can do the job they need you to do in the hours that they give you. You should work hard in the hours that you have to work, but, please, don't go home, and spend your nights practising on company related issues just to get better that job. It seems like nowadays companies are expecting programmers to work outside hours to finish a project, or to show how much they care. You don't need to do that, and if your team expects this you are free to walk away. Like in the video (except for artists, actually: dancers, musicians, painters etc. although they rarely work in full-time contracts) it's not a common thing te end your working day to then go start working again. And honestly I think that should never happen. I'm not saying don't program! I'm saying don't work. If you're secretly an indie developer by night working on the next Holo Knight, keep it up! That's incredibly respectable! What I'm saying is that you should never feel obliged to work over hours. And not doing so is something you should never regret or feel sorry for. A company hired you because they think you have potential. Nobody knows everything, and learning is part of working. Don't burn yourself out, and set your borders. Rant out :)

[@mrdbourke]

Loved the idea of working on things from a customer perspective. Sometimes you’ll code something and have no idea why but when you’ve got an idea of how it’s going to be used, then things start to make sense.

[@DataProfessor]

Thanks Forrest for the great video! Great solid advice! 5:37 That was me in the early years of my career 7:05 Great idea! 2 birds with 1 stone. Leveling up and producing YT contents at the same time. Forrest, I think you're getting 3 birds with 1 stone, you're leveling up, producing YT contents and Twitch streaming! Great job!

[@alexbritoofficial1608]

You should read "Cant Hurt Me" by David Goggins. I personally think, continuing to learn after work, should be mandatory. Especially, in this field. Software Engineering is a craftsman work. The more you know and get a deeper understanding of your craft. The more you'll become a better programmer. This is what separates the average programmer from the guru.

[@joebahn7391]

Love the video! You mentioned what other profession requires constant learning even when home, teaching! At any level teachers are always learning to do better on the next lesson. They are also not getting paid for this time!

[@Yesitsmedaphne]

I regret being too much of a general programmer. While it can be a strength having familiarity with many languages and frameworks, it becomes a weakness as the years of experience increase but not the expertise.

[@QuickFixHicks914]

Forrest you are the truth man. All your videos are authentic. A lot of time I feel pressured from over learning because feeling like you have to be a master coder for an entry level position. Thanks for food for the brain.

[@sushanthreddy4857]

For learning after job hours, I think that would be every scientist or engineer or doctor or researcher/professor or anyone in the knowledge field as knowledge is our asset. Besides I personally atleast like to consume and acquire more of that knowledge when I can so win win IMO.

[@mandisaw]

All professions, really, not just "knowledge fields". Secretaries/office assistants have to practice typing, building tradespeople have to read up on code changes, and anyone who owns a small business is basically "on the clock" at all times. The work you do 9-5 benefits your employer. The work you do afterwards benefits *You*.

[@fknight]

This is an automated comment to display likes & dislikes for the video you're currently watching, since KZbin decided to disable the dislike count on videos. Views: 53982 Likes: 2713 Dislikes: 39 Ratio: 98.6% Last Updated: Dec-29-2021 KZbin, please don't ban or shadowban me. I learned how to do this from your own docs. Lol thanks.

[@samuelmiller]

My regrets as a software engineer: being a software engineer

[@bensuggs8431]

@@Stefan-o6d obviously. If you choose something you don’t truly enjoy because of money/opportunity you are setting yourself up for a world of pain. Put the effort in to find what you truly enjoy and pursue that wholeheartedly

[@ToughCreatures]

@@bensuggs8431 dudr this is not realistic, say this to my taxes

[@bensuggs8431]

@@ToughCreatures ok hello taxes. You shouldn’t pursue something you don’t enjoy because are setting yourself up for a world of pain. Find what you truly enjoy and pursue that wholeheartedly.

[@kevinwang5225]

@@Stefan-o6d u can choose cs as your major and pick whatever u are most interested with or passionate about as your minor, so u can get the best of both worlds :)

[@jamescross]

@@Stefan-o6d before going down that route, try learning some basics to see if your interest grows. if you can't get interested in it, you will burn out. originally i wasn't sure i would like it, but after doing tutorials for a couple of weeks I got excited and it was one of the best decisions i made.

[@ThePro499]

I’ll be honest I’m more of a network guy, however I’m taking a intro C++ class in college and I’m absolutely having fun coding. Thanks for your videos and tips

[@taneemishere]

The last regret...... I can feel that buddy loving the contents plus mirroring my feelings as well.

[@CodyEngelCodes]

Really great video, thanks for making this Forrest!

[@ProduccionesLukaz]

Damnn, you hit every single point! Even the writing everything down thing lol. I just would have loved to see this a couple of years ago though. Nice video :)

[@miscmem.6057]

Thank you for sharing, you WRITE DOWN everything. Going the Self-taught has been hard trying to compromise what not to write. 😖 Now I'm going to write down everything, that's the best way I can truly remember something. Keep up the great content! 🙌🏽

[@itsrasterize8898]

i relate to you! i graduate in college 1&half year ago but i dont have the confidence to apply a job because that the recruiter will not satisfy to my skills so now i am working relearning some languages **Sorry for my grammar**

[@josehidalgo5803]

Hey man really love your channel and content. Definitely a new subscriber and thank you for posting the learning material. I feel like nobody really wants to help people and here you are wanting everyone to learn and progress. Thank you ! 🙏🏽

[@zanidd]

You have some pretty good advice in your regrets. Sometimes the most simple/obivous things are the things that we don't do

[@typecraft_dev]

I can totally relate to the regret of not getting enough help. When starting out, it was hard to learn things on my own. I found I made the biggest leaps in knowledge when I asked other people in the community (Slack, People at work, IRC, etc...) how to do XYZ. It's something I wish I did earlier in my career

[@frostsmaker8966]

I am also incompetent in my first task. They want me to build a system for the product transaction and I can't get it done in a year. Yes, like It should be done in 3 months. Can you imagine that? how incompetent was that? Yes, I have met certain problems. First, my laptop didn't support virtualization vt-x or amd-v (for the mobile app). The laptop is from 2009. The second one is I just dive into software engineering, I go to college and that task is in my first year. I try to teach myself as much as possible, that is not enough. Thirdly, the system is not as easy as I thought, I need to be able to create and utilize my own SMS gateway for user verification, I could use some paid API but the problem is a cost. They are pricey if you compare them with your own sms gateway. Fourth, not only the sms gateway, but I also need to utilize a virtual number that supports a few retails for payment method and confirm the payment, Fifth, I need to choose which technology to use as a backend and frontend, I'm still growing and I can't decide which technology to use as I don't want to regret my choice by choosing the wrong one (there is nothing wrong choose whichever for you, the problem is you had to learn again for a different framework and it takes time also the truth it is better if you have many experiences with a different language. But, it is just time-consuming. So choose one framework stick with it for 2 years and you will be good at it). Sixth, the project is done by myself alone, it is big and I should work on a different project and combine it together using some api to communicate with each other. Yes, the worst experience I have ever got, so before you dive into it and accept some job make sure that you have enough experience and can deal with a system they asked you, otherwise you could lose your face at the bottom disappointment.

[@ALee-2DAnimator]

My mistake: Not exploring all avenues of software engineering outside of web dev...... Anyone here ever looked into anything other than web dev? I honestly feel like becoming an embedded systems engineer. For me, creating applications is cool, but ultimately to work on things such as new physical technologies; embedded systems is necessary... I don’t think we reach outside of web dev enough.

[@rickarmbruster8788]

good idea! im a C++ dev and i would miss the depth honestly

[@powderriverfarrier]

Generous that you're sharing what you learned from your personal experiences. Rather than having regrets ... think in terms of being grateful for learning from those experiences that brought you to the place you are today ... a very successful person who is obviously admired as evidenced by the number of subscribers. Keeping a positive mindset goes a long way.

[@basedneeble7350]

Regrets are good :) it means you learned something. and when faced with this situation again, you will act differently.

[@leightonpitman5193]

I’m about 4 months into my first job as a software engineer and I find myself feeling really similar to the first point you brought up. When I get stuck, I hesitate to ask for help, because I want to see if I can figure it out on my own. Sometimes that can cost a lot of time though, and I’m in a situation where I wished I’d just gotten some help right away.

[@PaulJK95]

+1 for writing everything down. Wish I had kept myself way more accountable on doing that

[@umantabassum4868]

Thanks for sharing your regrets. It's a great content for me to implement in my coding arena..

[@hussamal-qahtani5730]

I am confused about choosing computer science or software engineering 😩😕 What should I choose??!

[@ketameme8534]

You'll never know if you let someone choose for you. Do some research on the two and see which one fits you best. :)

[@babadook1283]

Computer science (at least at my school) is really the study of algorithm implementation for computers and computer software. Software engineering is the study of applying engineering principles to software development. Most of your core classes are probably going to overlap, but really it depends on what you want to do in the professional field. Personally I think that CS is better, as anyone can learn about development pipelining and every company handles things differently anyway; whereas Computer Science will focus (albeit only slightly more) on the understanding of computers and computer algorithms. In my opinion (again, this will vary depending on school curriculum) CS is a more rigorous degree and will give you more marketable skills right out the gate. Every SE student is capable of working with parent/child object relationships and memory management, not every SE will be able to write an algorithm to efficiently inverse a binary tree, whereas a CS student will be able to do both provided your program isn't crap.

[@jonathanhernandez3628]

Computer science

[@clarence6491]

A computer scientist is like an architect (theories and best practices) and a software engineer is like a carpenter (actually build). Good software engineers know best practices when building a software. Computer scientists generally look into research for improving current practices or discovering new ones.

[@eslam6052]

Love you man my greetings from Egypt

[@danieljohnkirby9412]

1:44 This is probably the most important skill to develop in your first few years on the job. You don't want to spin your wheels for hours but it's also important to do hard things and then learn from them. 4:30 Addendum I'll add here. You know you've got a good job when learning in your spare time feels like fun instead of "Ugh, I wish I could be writing code like this at work"

[@krzysztofzabolotny4802]

Great content Forrest

[@duccm]

i tried to learn more in my spare time too. however there is a problem when my work is not very stressful i could easily focus on learning but when the working is not going too well, i kinda spend my spare time to relax and watching youtube rather than open vscode and doing some extra learning

[@sunnycopper9653]

we all have that problem!

[@carsongutierrez155]

Great to see you back, mentor!

[@DimitrisTheo]

Mistake number one: Not watching forrestknight’s mistakes

[@pablitocodes]

Yo Forest! Instead of ensuring you do updates, instead disable manual updates incase the update causes issues. Sometimes updates actually just crash your system.

[@samueldepauw4704]

What are your thoughts on hobbyist programmers? I like to do some programming but I don't like to work as a programmer. For me it would take the fun out of it.

[@zacgndjdh6828]

I personally think you should look into simply free lance on the side, you have no boss, and it’s just what you have been doing, plus money!

[@christopherprobst-ranly6284]

Software Engineering is special, that's right. Software engineering is probably one of the most complex markets out there. If you only work for being paid, you are wrong in the software industry. Most talented, dedicated, and bright developers, sooner or later, start their own business at some point. It's not a rule but it happens relatively often and for a good reason. Software engineering is not a 9-to-5 job, it's more like arts. There are times where you just sitting there and reading, googling, doing nothing. And then there are times where everything works out by itself. If you are not focused and dedicated, you will lose in the long run and at some point, you are being replaced by someone better. There is only one way out: Be very good very fast, so that you are promoted quickly and do some form of leadership. That's the only way out of the competition.

[@shawcampbell7715]

loved the vid!!! Currently using the recources you recommended to learn python , its great!

[@kappyh1]

I write my TODO list for the day on the paper(or if I need to write some the algoritm too).The tips, things I learn, setups and other stuff I just write down on notion.

[@jensij22]

Just began learning Programming. Wishing a alot to see ahead

[@Sara-tp6zd]

Precious content 🙏 thank youu

[@redtela]

What other professions learn at home, off the clock? Teachers, solicitors, doctors/nurses, pretty much anyone that is an instructor in their field (think, fire marshals, first on scene medics, etc), and those are just the ones that immediately fall out of my brain. Pretty much anyone that takes their job seriously, and enjoys it, wants to learn more in their "off clock" time. Note, the "junior" roles in any job don't understand this, I just felt like I was lucky to get in the door back then...

[@engineermyworld]

Thankfully lots of things you're happy about here as well!

[@baller27204]

Lot of helpful stuff in this video! Way too many commercials though lol I felt like I was watching cable trying to get through this. I get it though make that $$$!

[@imho2278]

Teachers work all day, stay back marking and correctiing. Drama, language and arts teachers have to keep practicing their skills out of hours because the Education Department only offers paid course work in Maths and English. French teachers have to do their own training out of hours at courses they pay for. You can easily do 5 years training on Saturdays at the local Alliance Française, then add uni, then add exam prep. Teachers never leave the classroom, mentally.

[@pnut4048]

Hindsight is definitely 20/20, but learning from it is the important part.

[@roastxbeefx7744]

- asking for help - time management - not forgetting to feed myself - getting sidetracked on way more fun projects 4 things that still haunt me as a software engineer.

[@erikrosvall4387]

Great tips! What brand are u using on your notebooks? Keep up the great work!

[@susangrasso9486]

Teachers have to learn on spare time all the time

[@joaogabrielfjob]

Great content as always 🔥

[@shashankdaima]

Forrest what are the things that a dev should take care while coding foe eg best data structure, design patterns architectural design approaches? Can fill more into this. Please

[@tristoncooley9402]

Here's a question. Why is there a sense of elitism in the programming world? I am a new programmer and I use python, yet when I try to communicate with other programmers about my projects they scoff and act as if it's not gunna work or be effective

[@TheFootballPlaya]

can you give an example?

[@cristiancordova6955]

It is because programmers are very proud fellows, being proud myself. If you explain what you are doing, others might conect the dots and think it might be easy to do it. Also, it might they don't understand anything you talk about, it happens Either way, just stay away from those kind of people.

[@mladjo2505]

He's lost control! :-) Look at the keyboard.

[@OniByFame]

I felt that pain about Windows, was also the breaking point for me switching to Linux. Only thing I use on windows now is for gaming 😭

[@sahej97]

Super great list Can really relate with all of it

[@Zachhhx]

What's that song at the end? It's nice. Also followed you on Twitch, can't wait.

[@freddzn6320]

Please algorithm push my mans video 🙏

[@dus10dnd]

What other career will you spend your time getting better at your work outside of your work??? Any job at all where you want to be the best. You do get paid for it by becoming better and more marketable. Literally the best in every field... they do this.

[@mohammedishaqahmed1603]

I still don't know how to use git hub and stack overflow

[@nl8163]

just google anything you want using the search it doesn't need to be stack overflow exclusively and just search on google how you have to use git hahahah

[@zacgndjdh6828]

Their just websites haha

[@mandisaw]

For Git, read the docs, create a small repo, and practice. For SO, read the "Welcome to StackOverflow", and maybe check out some of the meta boards.

[@Bigfared11]

Hello Forrest, which technologies did you use while working as a software engineer?

[@johncerpa3782]

Thank you for the valuable information

[@Plexx08]

I was recently looking into getting my MS in computer Science, I have never studied anything Computer related but the directory told me I just had to do a couple of prerequisites to get into the program. Do you think it is a smart decision or should I try and attempt another Bachelors degree and then move onto the MS degree?

[@crystal14w]

I thought I watched this but then I saw it was uploaded 5 hours ago 👀

[@OnceAJay]

These are really great lessons for life overall

[@bianchialex]

Genuine question: I want to major in computer science (to eventually become a software engineer) but the program at my school is downright bad. I am yet to hear a good review. I could transfer but it would be more expensive and take me longer to graduate. The other option is economics with a math minor. I would graduate a semester faster and the classes would actually be enjoyable. From there I would consider a coding boot camp but a couple years of disciplined teaching myself might be good enough from what I have heard. I am determined to work for the best company possible, youtube being the dream. So when it comes to an enjoyable econ major vs a bad, more expensive, computer science major; do you think that the label of a B.S Computer Science on my resume is worth it?

[@jefmasereel4956]

If you're serious about learning to code, sometimes it can be more valuable/interesting to also specialize in a field of interest where you can get an insight into the applications of software. With that economics+math program I'm sure coding you will not only come across some coding, but you'll also know more about economical/financial models and the business context. You could in theory choose any major in a domain that speaks to you, and then slowly build the coding skills required to create new value in that domain. As a CS major you'll certainly have all the fundamental coding chops, but for any employer you'll need to learn about the domain on the job. TL;DR : if you are interested in economics and seriously committed to learning CS on the side, I think that can make you very valuable in the right job position. If you're not that interested in economics and the CS pogram still sucks, go for another major and start looking for new value creation opportunities as you go.

[@bianchialex]

@@jefmasereel4956 I am really passionate about economics. I am also majoring in philosophy but that is enabled by an associates degree I got in high school so it is only taking me 1 extra class. I think it would always be possible to go and get a masters degree in computer science. By the time I pay the extra time and money to transfer I might as well take the faster undergrad and get the masters. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

[@jefmasereel4956]

@@bianchialex Sounds like a plan :) good luck!

[@MrFerrari458gto]

I'm currently in my 4th and final year of computer science with IoT. It's been tough I won't lie we started with approx 136 students were now at approx 25. Couple that with the lack of any help or clarity from the college it's been rough. Some lectures have been amazing and others just leave you to fend for yourself hence the drop out rate. I've decided to go down the route of engineering/electronics once I graduate which is a perk of a comp science, the versatility you obtain is unmatched. If you decide to go ahead with it and the reviews are poor you'll be well able I'm sure, but it will be challenging. As long as you find a group of people to work on assignments with you should be fine. And if you don't like what you've been doing after the 4 or however many years you can always branch off into a different discipline. Edit: Also forgot to mention we don't get to select what modules we pick, adding to the difficulty greatly. I'm not sure how it works whever you live or if you can selectively pick modules but we never had that opportunity.

[@CalvinMannII]

if you center that picture or fill in that white color in the lower right hand corner it will increase watch time. videographer. just trying to help

[@mlem7108]

Hey, How do you deal with looking at a screen all day? I'm suffering with it, any tips appreciated.

[@Algotify]

Lol wrong proffesion

[@albinsjolin649]

Yeah wrong profession for humans. I use glasses against blue light, but I would prfioritize getting payed more and then working one or two days a week and then being outside for the rest.

[@trevor2830]

@@albinsjolin649 is it that easy? Persons working this job come across as slaves who are chained to a screen

[@albinsjolin649]

@@trevor2830 I wouldnt say easy, if you learn your ass off it can be done in 2,5 years in Sweden if you have your own company.

[@trevor2830]

@@albinsjolin649 damn u just put another spin on it there. I think they are many misconceptions to this job where persons think it'll make money and you'll have family time or down time for other stuff but if you have to own a company or overheat your brain to have that time if I understand you correctly is bonkers. That's fighting for freedom so to speak...I appreciate your insight btw

[@daibach7749]

Please do a video on model driven development!!

[@nathanielowusu7688]

Can you make a video on best laptops for computer science majors? I’m going into this major for fall of 2021 and I’m trying to decide the best laptop to last me through college as well as a little bit through professional life

[@solidwaterslayer]

i don't ask for help, but only because I haven't given up yet... which isn't sometimes a good thing. 8 hours later, then I ask for help only to see my advisor solve it in 2 minutes...

[@predaytor]

Did you try wsl (ver. 2)? Or maybe Arch Linux is more full filled?

[@gilcaplan5765]

hey, what do you do about debugging code, when you just can't find the issue? you should make a discord server:)

[@Klayperson]

start dropping printf() at every line :D

[@gilcaplan5765]

@@Klayperson lol might need to automate that process

[@antoniocapece1391]

Have you tried uploading your dotfiles on GitHub, so you will always have your Arch Linux configuration to clone on whichever machines you want?

[@ABHINAVVASHISHTH-im6mq]

i made a website hosted on github and i want to know how can i monetize it or add ads in it ....google adsence is not responding ,you know any other way.....

[@snowsol]

You Can Write After You End Writing In Your Notebook a Table of Contents

[@DM-pg4iv]

Oh man, I ask for help now. I learned that banging my head against the table is a waste of time. Oh man yeah backing up my VM life saver.

[@mohammadrakib2809]

I rellay love your vidoes, sir ❤️❤️. I am from Bangladesh, Now I am 2nd year student. I am really confuse. Should I focus on competitive programming or development now??

[@CodingWorm]

engineering classes can be hard

[@0dyss3us51]

Software jesus is back happy to see you again :)

[@Sebastian-zs8cp]

how Many Time spand you or you all for Learning after finsh your study being in economic competition?

[@nylagaston1418]

I am getting my AA in computing and info tech: software programming and I am pretty excited. Any tips?

[@dalyaalmawed4219]

Ever considered working as a model?!

[@jamescarter5466]

... can't remember when my laptop last did updates..... back in a mo

[@mohammedishaqahmed1603]

Still a student yet still helpful

[@JavedKhan_7777]

How your college courses work, I want to know the difference between Indian and American system 😅

[@taz8253]

India’s should be better. American education sucks

[@JavedKhan_7777]

@@taz8253 they all are same 😅

[@amsyarsyariman8092]

what's the next thing you'll be regretting in future video? not getting bofa?

[@MM-pw2xv]

7 minutes into the video and I have seen four ads and one algoexpert product placement....

[@kbytex]

4:49 Graphic Designer, another...

[@WaspLife]

Best advice I can give is take that knowledge and slide into offsec. Really.

[@andresndergaard1712]

Good stuff

[@rasmusl2067]

Why don't you photograph your old notebooks and run them through an OCR for searchable notes? It works like a charm :)

[@iluvuvibez6644]

If no one can't help you, hire someone.

[@bitehunter122]

I apologize, but I could not watch that 51-minute video ad. I watched all your other ads, though. I have to hurry and eat breakfast because the pest-control guy will be here from 10a-2p and the Walmart grocery delivery person will be here from 10a-12p. 🙏🏼

[@AlirezaBagherzade-u8m]

very good 😉

[@rohanmathewalex5470]

Can you mentor me. I am new to programming.

[@mrx-qi8th]

Paying is not good for all the works done in software engineer

[@sanderso373]

great vid

[@buraksurumcuoglu8303]

Anyone knows the intro song?