MovieReferences
4 HN mentions · mentioned in 4 months, 2021–2025
0:23 · 243K views · May 16, 2012
A short clip from the movie Office Space in which a character insists he has people skills.
Quoted as a joke in threads about engineers, dev advocates and job hunting.
4 comments from Hacker News
This is what I do. It's a role for a techie with good communication skills. Some are more marketing and some are more technical (I lean towards the latter, and think the former are pretty ineffective). A good dev advocate/tech evangelist/dev relations person helps external developers learn about a company's platform (APIs, SDKs, etc.), and also helps internal developers and product managers learn what sort of issues or ideas devs have. The job itself usually entails speaking at conferences or meetups, videos online, blog posts/tweets, sample projects, sales support/white glove assistance to big customers and general enthusiasm. When asked questions, a dev advocate should either have the answer (because they know the platform inside and out) or know where to find it. They also should have access to the internal decision makers to help them plan new features and opportunities. In large organizations, you might even speak at internal events, helping the left hand understand what the right is doing. Because it's not a dev position or pure marketing, it's an easy position to dismiss or misunderstand (" I deal with the goddamn customers so engineers don't have to. I'm a people person, dammit!! " [1]), though as time goes by this is becoming less the case as tech companies realize how important they can be. 1. this video
Location: USA Remote: No preference Willing to relocate: Yes, to any major US city Technologies: JS, Linux, AWS, blockchain, Three.js (see resume) Resume: [LINK] Email: resume4@mailcyr.(USA TLD) I've had an interesting, bi-modal work history: One-man MVP army - I have a lonnnng history of taking ideas and turning them into solid, functional reality: web tech, embedded systems, blockchain tech, graphics, audio, etc. With years of experience, I've become adept at developing quickly while minding security and scalability for the next phase (building out the engineering team). Do YoU nEeD a TeChNiCal CofOUndEr? Here I am! Technical sales - As startup B2B sales teams grow, they often need technical assistance explaining the product or creating semi-bespoke solutions (that DON'T tax the engineering team) to prospective and existing customers. I've been this guy at multiple companies and it's a really good fit for my skills and personality. Oh no. Did I become this guy? this video
> So I get funny looks when I suggest that engineers should go talk to people in the business, and write design docs. I've gotten more than funny looks. They get downright mean or irritated, because to them it sounds like you're trying to take their job away. Remember, these are the people who bring the requirements to the engineers.They have people skills! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?! this video
I wonder how hard it is to become such a person. Just start telling people you're looking to be one, and I imagine they'll give you their business card in case you manage to become one and they need you in the future. Of course, people skills are necessary... this video