[loloquwowndueo]

From TFA : “if the office coffee machine broke down, how would the candidate react? Would they try to fix it, or would they wait for the office manager or the founder to do it instead?”

I guess we know what kind of candidate you would be :)

The engineer in me would at least try to characterize the problem. It might be something simple! And to flip your argument around, if it’s something you can fix in a minute, it’s going to be more expensive to call someone else to do it.

[throwaway173738]

Typically when you buy an expensive percolator it comes with a service and supplies contract that gives you callout times and weekly deliveries. Why would you risk breaking something that cost thousands of dollars and risk voiding that contract?

Even something as “simple” as a commercial percolator has a lot behind it that we might not know about. Unless it’s a water line issue I wouldn’t touch it.

[Aaargh20318]

> The engineer in me would at least try to characterize the problem. It might be something simple! And to flip your argument around, if it’s something you can fix in a minute, it’s going to be more expensive to call someone else to do it.

The engineer in me would report it to the office manager so they can deal with getting the right people to do it.

We have fancy/expensive/complicated superautomatic coffee machines at work. I know nothing about how those things work. I also don't know if that machine is even owned by the company or if it's leased. Do we have a service contract? Are we even allowed to touch it when it breaks?

Now, if it was my personal machine and it was out of warranty, sure I'll have a look. But knowing nothing about this machine my instinct would not be to tinker with it, but at the very least first get the answers to the questions above. I'm sure we all have experience with well-meaning laypeople trying to 'fix' a problem and making it worse. I don't want to be that person.

[collingreen]

> I'm sure we all have experience with well-meaning laypeople trying to 'fix' a problem and making it worse. I don't want to be that person.

So much this. I feel like the article is selecting for the d-k peak of mt stupid; unearned confidence without a deep understanding of the situation.

[loloquwowndueo]

> I know nothing about how those things work. I also don't know if that machine is even owned by the company or if it's leased.

Engineering is also about knowing stuff. If you don’t know these things about the appliances you use every day as part of your work routine, and it seems you can’t be bothered to even find out, that also speaks to what kind of candidate you’d be.

[Aaargh20318]

> If you don’t know these things about the appliances you use every day as part of your work routine

TIL the coffee machine is an essential part of my 'work routine'.

[hooverd]

I don't trust most software engineers around physical machines.

[JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B]

As a software developer, I don’t even trust my own code. That’s why I rely on unit tests, integration tests, specifications, and 20 people who have never programmed in their whole life.

I still don’t see how it’s related to coffee.

[JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B]

The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?

Same shit.