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Structure of session

I don't want to just talk at the front of the room.

I don't have the answers. We all want/need to hear what everyone has to say.

Drink+snacks. Need some food, etc to relax people. ???

I will introduce each Section. We'll workshop each one; the workshops will report back.

I’m going to talk for 5min about myself, and about the session. I’ll introduce the Topics (Here&Now, Work, Work 2, Life, Priorities). My notes contain the sub-topics and some answers to the issues in these Topics but I won’t be showing them that. I’ll say that I want them to: analyze (moan, dump luggage); discuss; and then come up with actions to issues on these Topics.

There will be a station (flipboard chart, table with A0 paper) in each corner of the room. I’ll send 20% to each station. They have 10mins to analyze, and then 10mins to come up constructive ideas. I’ll ring a buzzer at each 10min. 20min at their station in total.

Then they are random shuffled and sent to a different station. Repeat analyze/dump.

Once everyone’s done a few stations, the stations get to report back to everyone.

We will then wonder amongst the Groups, we will all write down concrete actions on their Posters that will make us happier.
So, everyone will go away with a small list of things they can change to make themselves happier.

Me

  • 5', 10'
  • Start with my Bio: work, home. What makes me happy, unhappy?
  • The one thing you'll come away with: a menu of Actions to make you happier.

Here & Now

Who's Happy now?

  • Why have you signed up?
  • If you are happy, why are you happy? Do you feel Valued? Useful? Busy?
  • If you're happy, maybe you can think of a way to change your situation.
  • Happy when work is going well.
  • Maybe you don't want to be happy? "Refusal to win"
  • Take away: you each will have a small list of actions you can take to make you happier.

Do you want to be a RSE?

  • Are you a failed researcher? Or you wanted to be an engineer from the start?
  • What's your motivation?
  • Good Things -> Optimist, or Optimist->GoodThings? Our attitude to the situation.

Work

Your Researcher and you

  • Perfect is the enemy of the good. Researcher vs Engineer motivation. Scientist might only want to make this code work for just this paper; or they might only want to solve the ideal problem. Programmer might want to over-complicate.
  • How do you deal with a Researcher who can code? With a Researcher who can't code? Who thinks they can code?

You & your Manager

  • AG vs JB. Researcher vs Engineer Manager.
  • What happens when your manager changes? (This might not be a common scenario for RSEs.)
  • I went over my Manager to a "Uncle" Manager. ==> Importance of contacts/networks.
  • How to manage your Manager: It's an active project.
  • AManager always wanted to talk about his project. Tactic: write down the three things I wanted to talk about on his whiteboard.
  • What happens when your friend becomes your manager?
  • AS and JC: tried to remain friends. JC moved away.
  • Kate & Zoe: tried but couldn't be friends any more, issues of trust.
  • the effect of the hierarchy is inevitable
  • What happens when your new manager has no idea how to manage? Parkinson's Law.
  • Matrix Management: pluses and pitfalls. ARM, MSRC.
  • JB's deal: JB will watch out for me; JB will try and give me work that makes me happy 3/4 of the time.

Your project

  • how do you join a Project?
  • Should this RSDE be on that project? How will these decisions be made? Who will make them? Very different situation from commercial engineering product organizations.
  • How you join a project? Up to you, up to your manager?
  • Who's the Lead Researcher on that project? Are they generous, or a Lone Ranger?
  • Can you start a project? Does it have to be a Researcher who does?
  • Are you able to complete the project before moving to the next one?
  • Can the RSDE be coached on the topic? Will they have a chance to learn?
  • It needn't be you stuck here. But you could be the mentor, the counsel.

Your Head of Dept and you

  • RSEs value wrt Researchers
  • RSEs as "resources"

Travel

  • SI: train+tube in London. Bike in Cambridge. Now Bike or Walk. Shorter, not necessarity better.
    • But no judgement here, no blame. First World Problem.
  • AS story. Swapped from car to train. "My family says that I'm far less grumpy". IT guy, so pretty grumpy at best of times.
  • Walk > Bike > Train > Car.

Work (holistic)

Your work

  • work with others. Work with others outside your lab. (Might not always be possible.)
  • AudienceSurvey: Ask about their team sizes.
  • work with others of wide backgrounds (not necessarily coders)
  • work on something useful. Prob will be the case here.
  • Work on cool things.
  • Work on open source. ditto.
  • Work on things that matter.
  • Ignore or automate dull things like infrastructure.
  • Flexible work: from home, Part time work.
  • Several projects on the go at once:
  • SLAyer and BMA. Had to split the week in the end.
  • How is your performance judged? Bugs fixed, SW produced, papers authored.
  • Commercialization of your work

Learn something new

  • Conflict between your Project Manager and You.
  • Find a place where you can learn something new. Me: schannel server in C++.
  • Using current, different, cool tech.
  • Mentor. Your mentor; you a mentor to others.
  • Do different things, different types of projects (APT).

Your pay

  • Happy with your current pay? Do you know you are being paid equally (gender, race)?
  • BH: bioinformations paid more than scientists at Sanger: "They wrote the code a long time ago. Now they get paid for algorithms they didn't invent, running on data they didn't collect."
  • vs a Bank.
  • How much is enough?Can you downshift for more happiness? Move to Thailand?
  • AudienceSurvey: anonymous survey, put postit note into box, your salary rounded to 10K.
  • free things (cake, t-shirts, lunch) make us happy

Your career

  • Do you have one? Do you want one? Do you stumble from project to project?
  • Opportunities: manage other RSEs, Senior & Principal RSE; vs SDE in a product company.
  • Transition to Researcher

Getting Things Done

  • ToDo lists and systems: GTD, Productivity Ninja, outlook calender.
  • Are you on top of things? Are you drowning?
  • Should you be organized? More organized?
  • "you will never get everything done"

My RSDE lunches

  • sell to your manager. Don't invite them.
  • Let off steam.

Life

Have a Side Project

  • Could be Technical.
  • Definitely non-technical. Hobby, Allotment, Pets, Music, Sport.

Big Side Project: family

  • AudienceSurvey: age, partner, children.
  • Family keeps you grounded.
  • Children re-prioritize your life.
  • Good or Bad? Just different. But you grow as a person.

I run Scratch Day at my children's school

  • Do you do something like this? Should you? (Does your job have the flexibility to do this? )
  • Reminds me why I write software; Makes a difference to kids; useful; another social circle.

Look after yourself

  • Exercise, diet, sleep
  • Dad Film Club (suits introverted men, need not involve beer)

Step outside your comfort zone

  • "It's Not if you get injured, it's when you do" Coach Sommer. SLS mobility drills.
  • Nicholas Taleb's Anti-Fragility. Ido Portal application to movement.

Priorities