Being a Software Engineer at a Hardware Company

Giving you a snapshot of how overloaded a software engineer can become when he’s working for a hardware company:

My current projects/tasks/research items:

• On my current product:

  2. security:

     • Support for test tools for our next printer family that’s currently in test

     • New server function responsibilities

     • Updatest to a spec that’s 3 months out-of-date

     • Unit tests that I haven’t written

  3. bug Reports: 7 outstanding (probably will get more)

  4. Field issues: none (for now)

  5. General technical leadership responsibilities: 30mins-2hrs / day

• My new project:

  2. Work on a prototype (with 2 other guys)

  3. Setting-up a new build system for the project

  4. Represent my team with several committee’s and working groups

  5. Trying to teach myself 3 new technologies

I just took a second to write on my current responsibilities and it’s amazing. I feel like I’m floundering in the storm here.