• Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    As a software engineer I often think about how laughably useless my skillset would be in any kind of survival or societal reset sort of situation.

    • superkret@feddit.org
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      2 months ago

      At least you can analyze problems logically and break down complex procedures into small, manageable steps.

      SharePoint admins are really fucked.
      Anyone building a system that’s similar to what they’re used to, in a post-apocalyptic society, would be laughed at, then shot.

    • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      You’re a software engineer. You at least know the very basics of digital electronics, and can probably work your way backward to rudimentary power supplies.

      You are far from fucked.

      Mathematicians though? Oof I worry about them, if they did anything too practical they’d be physicists.

      • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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        2 months ago

        That’s where you’re wrong bucko!

        I’m a software engineer skilled in devops, Linux and web applications! I spent much of today making Jira tickets and drawing diagrams!

        I’m so fucked

        • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          You know I can’t remember for the life of me if the CS students at my college had to take Digital Electronics or Microcontrollers.

          I was in computer engineering, so those classes were required.

          • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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            2 months ago

            We did microcontrollers in college. But it was like understanding advanced algebra, where I studied enough to pass the test. So it’s real far back in my brain.

            If you put a piece of green carpet and a microcontroller in front of me, there’s a 50/50 chance I won’t know the difference.

    • ulterno@lemmy.kde.social
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      2 months ago

      But if you were isekaied at the start of the apocalypse, which, let’s be honest, is more likely than you surviving until post-apocalypse, you could become a monster magician!

      On the other hand, if the apocalypse were Skynet…

    • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, and in my case I can’t even claim to be particularly good at math, logic, or problem solving (except in the narrow domain of technical problems). All my skills are geared at turning the handle at the bullshit machine. But without that machine I don’t have a whole lot going on…

      Which is quite sad when you think of it. I wish I could contribute meaningfully to my larger community while also supporting my family financially.

    • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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      2 months ago

      Yeah I guess? Is that your only skillset though cause I do tech work, but I also do a lot cheap large batch cooking, grow my own produce and can provide immediate first aid and medical care, all of which, I think, makes me pretty useful.

      Plus a minor hobby in botany specifically poisonous plants makes me somewhat useful for what not to eat.

      You are more than just your work.

    • big_slap@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      you would just be able to repurpose the way you think logically into something else. I’d say you would be more ahead than a lot of others in a catastrophic scenario!