Twitter weighs in on the “10X engineer” debate

Earlier this week, a debate erupted on Twitter surrounding the qualities and traits of a “good” engineer.
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The now-viral discussion was started by Twitter user @skirani. In it, he describes his version of the “perfect” employee, which he calls a “10X engineer.” This is a person who:
So far, the thread has generated more than 4,300 “likes” and more than a thousand re-tweets.
While some agree:
Great thread! Some more pointers:
— Sarang Lakare (@SarangLakare) July 13, 2019
– They know vi and use vi keys everywhere
– They don't use default browsers or IDEs (they would always be experimenting)
– They would talk hours and try to convince you about their choice of browser or IDE
– Prefer to do things from command line
Others have different views on what makes a “perfect” engineer. Some say a “10X engineer” lacks collaborative skills, which can be damaging to a company’s long-term goals.
Is this a joke? No one wants to work with someone who can't communicate, thinks they know everything, can't mentor or interview, and doesn't attend meetings or work predictable hours. Also I can't think of anything less relevant to your skill than a laptop screen background?
— Emily Kager (@EmilyKager) July 12, 2019
Good god, this is terrible advice. I’ve worked with 10x engineers in the past, and they’re only seen to produce so much because they stop everyone else from contributing. They become the bottleneck, the blocker, for the entire team.
— Oldham-Made (@OldhamMade) July 12, 2019
10x engineers write overly complicated code and don’t have time to document anything. When they leave you hire another 10x engineer to rewrite your application in Go or Rust. Repeat ad infinitum until you go under.
— William George Cook (@WGeorgeCook) July 13, 2019
Others believe that “10X engineer” traits are indicative of a toxic work environment.
Every time I've seen anyone being pushed to deviate towards any of these attitudes, it's an effect of overwhelmingly toxic office culture driven by men who should never be allowed leadership positions in the first place.
— Alda'; DROP TABLE thjodskra; (@aldavigdis) July 13, 2019
Lastly, some Twitter users say the “perfect” engineer is actually “imperfect,” but can accept help, admit fault, and work with others.
Great engineers help build reliable, understandable systems. They remove complexity & lead us to systems that anyone with baseline skills+ can operate and extend. They are low ego, not into heroics. They’re hard to spot when tech ❤️✨rockstar dudes✨and not quiet competence.
— Jim V.o.R. aka General Pesky of Wu-Tang (@JimYoull) July 13, 2019
"10x engineers"? This is super toxic and not a tech world I would ever sign up to join
— Andrew Hoefling (@andrew_hoefling) July 13, 2019
A good 10x engineer will spend 5% coding and 95% teaching and mentoring the team.
They will always take time to meet with people to make sure they get it right and everyone understands
I don't agree at all with this list. 10x is a VC/valley perpetuated myth. The best engineers are usually good team players, mentor their team members, and write great code but also hack stuff together when situation demands it. And no they are'nt 10x better than their peers!
— Gaurav (@gauravbhatnagar) July 11, 2019
What are your thoughts on the “10X engineer” debate? Feel free to comment below or head over to Twitter to weigh in.