Stereotypes of a Software Engineer

[Maninder_R]

About the author

Sam Healer works at HPE's Bristol site. He has been a software engineer for 5 years professionally, but has been involved in programming for 17 years. He always seeks to bring programming into other areas of his life, from music and comedy to secret santa campaigns. 

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It’s easy to believe the stereotype of what a software engineer looks like. I sure did. I joined HPE straight out of university, a master’s degree in computer science in hand, ready to sit down and crank out code all day because, after all, that’s what developers do, isn’t it? Nearly five years later, I don’t think my past self could ever have imagined what I’ve been able to do in my time here.

A lot of it is all still code, of course. As my time at HPE has gone on, one of the things that has stayed constant is how much I get to learn. I’ve been exposed to so many new languages and technologies, building increasingly large and complex systems, and taking on more responsibility for designing these systems from the ground up.

Sometimes it’s not the code I thought I’d be writing. One of the perks of the job is our monthly hack days - time set aside for us to work on whatever we want to. This doesn’t even have to be strictly work related; over the last couple of years, I’ve spent hack days writing code to generate video game music from different code, or building an app to generate infinitely variable music for running outdoors. Sure, none of this is anywhere near my day job, but it keeps me fresh, keeps me thinking, and I always learn something that comes in handy down the line.

I do occasionally spend hack days closer to home and these can be even more fruitful. In October 2018, a few of us made a proof of concept model adapting one of our products into a new technology. Two years later, I was one of the tech leads turning that hack day project into one of HPE Storage’s flagship services. Last February, I got to fly to Orlando to present another hack day project I worked on at HPE’s own Tech Con, which was an incredible experience.

Some of the best bits, though, have very little to do with the code at all. For the last few years, I’ve been running the software engineering intern hiring for the Bristol site, where I’m tasked with designing the assessment centre and bossing around managers and interns alike. Once hired, it is my job to mentor the new intern each year, which is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

For me, all these things are important for two key reasons. The first is that these are all things I never really knew I wanted out of my career but something that HPE provided the opportunity for. I was lucky to join the Bristol site at the same time as a lot of other Early Career engineers, so I’ve got an incredible network of peers. I’ve had managers who encourage me to branch out into new ventures and support me when I do so. I’ve had the chance to work with senior engineers and architects who have been generous with their time and attention, something that has proved to be a natural part of the culture at HPE.

But really, these things are important because this is what the stereotype of a software engineer should look like. The coding is one thing, but it’s so much more than that. I’ve found that it’s about being able to communicate your ideas to other people, to find new ways of solving problems, and to help those around you do the same.

Maninder Randhawa
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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