The editor accidentally came across a self-analysis of an engineer approaching middle age, and couldn’t help but feel that every industry has its own struggles. Below, I would like to share this with everyone for mutual encouragement.
Currently, I work at a venture capital company using JAVA for mobile app backend development, with a pre-tax salary of 12K. In Shenzhen, this salary is at the bottom for someone my age. A 37-year-old man in Shenzhen should at least have a net worth of over 5 million, be a boss of a certain company, or a tech expert leading a team, earning over 30K a month, with a car and a home, and a happy family. However, I haven’t reached the standard of a Shenzhen man. I married a wife my mother doesn’t like, and my mom throws tantrums every day. Now I have to move out and no longer live with my mother because the house isn’t mine; it was bought by my sister in 2004 when it was only 4000 per square meter. I now don’t know where to go, but for my wife, to be a man rather than a dog, I will continue to fight for survival. I just feel that at 37, still writing code, especially working overtime with people born in the 90s, is quite hard to adapt to. It’s exhausting. A month ago, I was still pulling all-nighters, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. It’s too tiring, really too tiring, and I don’t know what to do if I change careers. I previously lost everything in business, and the psychological shadow cannot be erased; I feel that programmers are not suitable for doing business.
Nowadays, electronic engineers are valued equally with barcode technology talents and R&D engineers. We face a talent shortage in the job market, and there will be a situation of vacancies waiting for suitable candidates for some time in the future.
“Engineers are scientists; engineers are artists; engineers are also thinkers.” A great engineer once expressed such a sentiment.
Indeed, engineers are those who use natural sciences to create engineering. Engineering is both material and conceptual. Many immortal projects, great inventions, and extraordinary technical solutions are often only seen for their splendor, while engineers should see the soul of design.
Therefore, we should deeply understand that “engineers are also artists and thinkers.” Engineering design itself is an art and a crystallization of the engineer’s thoughts. A precise mechanical device, an efficient and robust program, a complex and flawless circuit, all reflect the thoughts and souls of outstanding engineers. Sometimes, you might even think that their lives have been integrated into the design.
The most important factor in becoming an outstanding engineer is “to love one’s profession.”
Indeed, life is never easy. The following sharing is also something we often encounter in our daily lives.
“Xiao Ming, I’ve been writing code for so many years, and I don’t want to write anymore. I’m thinking of doing something on my own. A friend of mine works with a toy manufacturer. I suggested he combine the Internet of Things with electronic toys to develop some smarter toys. He asked me to write a planning document, and if it’s feasible, he would find investors. He is quite familiar with Company M, which is very interested. He invited me to work on this project together…”
Old Gong is 33 this year and has been programming for 10 years. His knowledge accumulation is sufficient, and although he can write code well, he has not been promoted to management. Now with a three-year-old child and a mortgage of several thousand a month, the pressure is indeed very high. If he can take this opportunity to start his own business, that would be great.
He analyzed for me: “Combining the Internet of Things with toys can allow the content of toys to be updated automatically. The target customers are children under five, which seems very promising. Parents are very willing to spend money on their children, so if the investor is willing to invest, it would be a preliminary success.”
I was very glad to see Old Gong have the opportunity to start a new career. I spent half an hour browsing his planning document, made a few suggestions, and wished him success.
As we were about to end the conversation, Old Gong suddenly asked me, “Xiao Ming, you’ve been in this for twenty years, what are your thoughts?” “There are no good opportunities. If you get this started, you can invite me to join, and we can make money together.” “Sure…”
After sending off Old Gong, I didn’t leave immediately, and couldn’t help but reflect on his question. Old Gong had a misconception; he had ten years of experience, while I had only five years of coding experience. When I worked with Old Gong, I had just started coding, and I was 36 at that time, while Old Gong was apparently only 28.
I had done many things before. When my daughter was just born, I partnered with friends in business for four years, and that year I just closed the shop. My parents couldn’t help take care of the child due to health reasons, and my wife was a treasure at her family. Among the six siblings of the Lao Tai mountain family, my wife was the only girl and the youngest, so she was pampered and didn’t lift a finger. Therefore, I stayed home to take care of the child for two years.
After my daughter went to kindergarten, I had more free time. I started to think: should I do something? Although my wife is easy to support, the expenses for my daughter are quite high. Kindergarten tuition, snacks, toys, and clothes all require money. Most importantly, my daughter often needs to go to the children’s hospital due to asthma. After coming out of the hospital, comparing the prices with the supermarket, everything seems cheap, and I must consider how to support these two.
I finally chose microcontroller programming because I had done some related work while doing business with classmates. At that time, this job type was the most feasible. I also asked Brother Tao to recommend some job opportunities for me.
“Xiao Ming, Huawei’s programmer age limit is 35. If you can’t be promoted to a higher position after 35, you must leave. Writing programs is a youth job; after 30, it’s basically over. If you were doing traditional Chinese medicine, that would be the prime of your life, and you’d be even better at 70. I suggest you do something else…”
I believe what Brother Tao said is true; at that time he was at Xi’an DT, a company on par with Huawei. He knew this best, and I thought about it for a long time. Right now, there are no better opportunities, and the monthly fees for my daughter’s enrollment and medication cannot be avoided. According to Brother Tao’s theory, I can’t last long, so I might as well take it one day at a time.
I contacted a company myself and became colleagues with Old Gong. He worked on upper computer software, and I was responsible for hardware products. We worked together for over a year and then left that company. Old Gong probably didn’t realize that I wasn’t good at this job at that time. In a daze, five years have passed. Brother Tao retired from DT because he was over forty and opened this café. Nowadays, labor costs are high, and when there are slightly more customers, he has to step in personally.
“Xiao Ming, what are you thinking? You haven’t blinked for half a day,” Brother Tao asked me.
“Five years ago, you advised me not to write code, but I still did. Now I need to think about future matters,” I replied.
“After you wrote code for a year, I also thought about this matter. Looking back, I didn’t consider this issue from your perspective. At that time, I looked long-term; in today’s China, programmers are still young, and I thought your career cycle wouldn’t be long, so I opposed it. And you were facing a family livelihood issue, so you were considering immediate matters.
You ultimately made a decision based on your actual situation. That is what I admire about you, being practical rather than abstract, so you solved your immediate concerns. If the problem is not fundamentally solved, it will always exist. Old Gong, at 33, is already considering giving himself a chance to break through. Now you are also forty; the shop next door is for rent, and I know the owner very well. Why don’t you open a restaurant? Your noodle-making skills are exceptional…”
After serving my wife and child for over ten years, my cooking skills are already comparable to my mother’s. My skills in making Qishan noodles have received praise from my wife and daughter.
“Great! I will drink coffee at your place, and I’ll take care of your meals.”
“That’s good! Although my parents are from the south, I love noodles the most, especially Qishan noodles. Your skills are far superior to those along the entire pedestrian street, and you will definitely earn more than what you make at your job.”
“Thank you! Come over to my house for dinner another day.”
As soon as I arrived at the office in the morning, a colleague in the workshop called to ask me about the resistance value of a resistor in a product. My computer hadn’t started yet, so I couldn’t check the document. I happened to have a product at hand and looked at it for a long time, only to find that I couldn’t clearly see the printed markings on the 0805 resistor. This problem never existed before! I had to find a magnifying glass to take a look; could it be that my vision is declining?
This is not a government agency or state-owned enterprise; if you can’t do the work, the boss won’t keep you for a minute. At that time, I chose this job for the sake of my family’s livelihood. This job indeed brought me income and paid off my mortgage. A few days ago, I replaced the refrigerator I had used for over ten years with a new one, marking a significant milestone in my family’s living conditions.
Although my physical condition is not what it used to be, I can still solve some problems relying on the accumulated knowledge. Moreover, I still have time to learn new things, so the immediate concerns are not too prominent, and the situation is relatively stable. In this relatively stable situation, I must face the issue of future concerns. The country’s pension may not be enough for my expenses, so it’s best to prepare early.
In the afternoon, I mentioned my vision issue to my wife, and she said:
“Don’t worry; I will set up a small school and tutor high school math. You can be responsible for cleaning, guarding the door, you can keep accounts, and you can even cook, and you can help out as a teacher or assist in grading homework…”
“Stop! How much can you pay me?” I countered.
“How about three meals a day?” my wife joked.
“You should find someone else; how could I possibly take on so many jobs?” I was a bit angry.
Li Taibai said, “A thousand pieces of gold can be regained after being scattered.” I don’t believe that. But I believe that “everyone is born with a purpose.” After resigning, Li Hui opened a studio, writing code, drinking tea, painting, and planning projects for some units. It’s much freer than working in a company. Recently, he launched a product and asked me to write the application document for him. Actually, this kind of life suits me quite well; I will give it a try!
I chose this job due to immediate concerns, and now I can prepare for future worries.
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