I think labor market incentives distort a lot of engineering decision-making especially at smaller companies, where the boss heard that React is hot and decides Solution X should be built with React.
Developers eager to develop their skills, increase their rates and advance in seniority end up focusing on the new hotness because of this.
Engineers who want to increase their impact and scope should focus first and foremost on the skill of making smart tradeoffs between technical realities and the requirements of other business functions--aside from simply writing code, this is what engineering is indispensable for.
Beyond that it pays to go deep in your mastery of a particular platform, the dependencies underlying it, and related technologies--all of these enhance your ability to design solutions.
Unfortunately the reality is there are very real financial incentives to keep jumping to the new hot thing every year.
> Engineers who want to increase their impact and scope should focus first and foremost on the skill of making smart tradeoffs between technical realities and the requirements of other business functions--aside from simply writing code, this is what engineering is indispensable for.
I have recently started contracting in London, and this is 100% what I have found in my younger colleagues. Trying to do everything "the right way" without keeping in mind at all the business constraints has created a total reciprocal distrust with upper management - which in turn isn't at all able to explain how being able to do that makes you a much better developer for the real world, not for some fantasy world where time and resources are infinite.
I think labor market incentives distort a lot of engineering decision-making especially at smaller companies, where the boss heard that React is hot and decides Solution X should be built with React.
Developers eager to develop their skills, increase their rates and advance in seniority end up focusing on the new hotness because of this.
Engineers who want to increase their impact and scope should focus first and foremost on the skill of making smart tradeoffs between technical realities and the requirements of other business functions--aside from simply writing code, this is what engineering is indispensable for.
Beyond that it pays to go deep in your mastery of a particular platform, the dependencies underlying it, and related technologies--all of these enhance your ability to design solutions.
Unfortunately the reality is there are very real financial incentives to keep jumping to the new hot thing every year.