Be a 1x Engineer
“10x engineer” is a dangerous idea
You’ve probably heard about “10x engineers.” They’re engineers who produce more code, faster than the average engineer.
It’s not really clear how you’d measure 10x or 100x. Lines of code… Time to solve a problem… Features shipped… The 10x engineer is more of an idea than an actual, measurable phenomenon.
So should you try to become a 10x engineer? Is it a goal worth striving for?
The idea is flawed and dangerous — in many ways.
Being a “10x engineer” is a bad idea & shouldn’t be your goal. Here’s why…
Don’t be a 10x engineer
The 10x archetype is highly correlated with some undesirable outcomes for engineering teams:
- Write code all day, often overtime
- Believe your other team members are “slow” or “B players”
- Think that you’re the “only person who understands this feature”
- Become defensive and self-righteous in PR reviews
- Don’t discuss your coding decisions with the team — just go rogue and implement what you think is best
- Get frustrated with other developers when you’re pair programming
- Write code that’s difficult to understand because you think you’re smart
Be a 1x engineer
When you add a little humility to your career, you end up being a better team player. Even if you write more code than others, do so humbly:
- When the work day is over, go home
- Have interests outside of work besides coding
- Be well-liked by your team
- Contribute to team decisions via RFCs, sprint planning, and architecture discussions
- Write solid, comprehensive unit tests that make your code reliable
- Offer and accept good feedback in code reviews — giving credit where credit is due
- Take time to get coffee or lunch with coworkers and develop relationships
- Read the docs before asking a question
- Update the docs when you get an answer
Rewarding curiosity & creativity
Aiming to write clean, comprehensible code with your team is a great goal. Being curious about software, code, and how it all works is an excellent trait. Striving to get better at your vocation is important and well worth your time.
But don’t aim for “10x.”
The archetype has become a cancer. It encourages bad behavior by giving a false sense of superiority. It’s much better to just focus on being a “good engineer” and leave the rest behind.
The inspiration for this post
This is my take on being a 1x engineer, inspired by 1x.engineer.
If you liked this post, you’ll like that simple, delightful website. It’s a crowdsourced list of what makes a “1x engineer.”
More resources
DeveloperPurpose.com — Building a software career with meaning & purpose
Working for FAANG is a terrible goal — Why you should avoid big tech
Software development groceries — Illustrating good coding practices, using the metaphor of a grocery store