by Imustaskforhelp | 2026-02-03 09:43:39+00:00
Good Luck!!

I think I may be reading onto this a bit deeper but I feel like sometimes people don't appreciate Software Engineers because a lot of it (still?) feels like (black box?) to the public.

Everyone instinctively knows to appreciate a Doctor. They save lifes, so do Nurses, Paramedics, Firefighters, Army and so many more on which we can live a stable life on.

We all know what each of them do by heart. I feel like all of us can imagine a scene of them saving lives.

But the idea of a CS engineer saving lives is really hard to have a universal picture for. Much of our effects are downstream.

Right now, I am thinking of a Hospital which saved money by using Open source technology to hire more doctors & nurses which can save lives.

I am not sure if I can think of any way where it directly saves lives but it really impacts life so so much.

Now, Discord is something which I don't really appreciate that much but (personally prefer Matrix) but I can see something like discord being used by people to connect to each other and even seek therapy (when the hospital system is booked/overcrowded) and those help the impulses that people might have. It's not the best system agreed but I do feel like it's underappreciated if you ask me.

Maybe the people who write websites/code for non profits for them to be visible and get funding for their right causes (red cross etc.) are some engineers.

I do wish that when you write into this. It isn't some superhero CS engineer saves the world. I wish for it to finally conjure/create an image of how CS engineers can have an Impact on the world.

Anecdotally, I wanted to go into finance but then started using Open source/Linux. I then pivoted into CS engineers. Do you know what my dream was? (still is?) to work on an open source project while being on a beach reviewing commits / writing commits :]

I really respect each and everyone who open source things. You can actually see my struggle about impact. Quite frankly, I don't know how to say this but I am really not interested by money (and if I am, its to have impact down the line or well survival). I just want enough for myself and have a very decent line of knowing how much (usually) & wish to help others then just for the sake of it or perhaps I am too ideal :]

This submission is essentially what I really wish: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45558430 [Ask HN: Why are most people not interested in FOSS/OSS and can we change that]

I would genuinely read your book if you can show if CS engineers can have positive impact because I do feel like CS engineers have power & power corrupts many of (us?)when we feel like the benefits of working towards mass dystopia individually somehow both lifts us from the moral repurcussions and also pays us in power/monetary value (which is essentially what society is going towards, one really can't be moral because our society is now favouring power over all means and even a facade of morals is feeling bleak at this point)

How I feel like this is the ability of being fair and sustainable within CS (which is usually not really preferred imo because I mean we are in a VC [ycombinator] forum and the idea of growth over everything else even at money burning is quite common in tech)

So I guess my point is how I really end up this whole thought process (which once again ironically is something that I have done a lot in HN) is to essentially summarize on being fair & transparent & sustainable within any business I might ever do. I wish to be reasonable & I will be honest about how much money I get to hopefully someday do things that click with me [the beach idea sounds lucrative again :) ]

The reason I say all things a lot is to really have some accountability if I might ever do something which can be considered scummy.

Because the way I am thinking is that if I ever do anything scummy for money (the lure of dark side being too much) and people call me out respectfully. I will try to revert it as much as possible. So I guess I can be considered selfish for writing this comment :)

Though I guess if I give a picture of saint (because I felt like I may have given too much of it, I mean I am only human after all), that would be wrong too. I am still motivated by survival/the need to feel important/respectful within my community/extended family/having money to have hobbies in the first place/buying a house for myself.

It's just that I really want enough & I feel like having more than enough might help sometimes (the definition of enough itself can change) but its that I really wish to have some good positive impact before I die to essentially not have regrets. I wish to have less regrets before death.

Witold Pilecki's my hero in this sense. His quote is something I deep down wish to live by. "In the hour of death, I feel joy rather than sorrow" & Honestly, I wish to feel complete before death. Not having regrets (or many regrets, you will still regret things no matter what you do but one can only try to minimize it, have a good intention in life) is something which to me essentially satisfies Pilecki's quote and essentially somewhat of a philosophy of mine & while at it, have a meaning of life for myself. I am a bit of an existentialist :)