You Do NOT Have To Code In Your Spare Time To Be Successful

Do Doctors practice surgery on the weekends?

This is an interesting though after reading a tweet about Engineers and Doctors. Unfortunately, this was a tweet read in passing and one which I did not have the forethought to save somewhere because it keeps rattling around my brain.

As a follower of the beg, borrow, or steal philosophy, I have co-opted this idea into my own, but it is always best to give credit to the originator. In this case, I did not save it so in not having that information, I apologize in advance, random internet person.

The message went something like this (recalling in my own words):

Why are Engineers always getting asked what side projects they are working on? Why is there an expectation that a good Engineer always needs to be working on work outside of work? We don’t ask Doctors if they perform surgeries on their days off or over weekend breaks, so why is it so expected of Engineers?

This idea has settled in the back of my mind especially during a current cycle of hiring for an open position.

Why do we assume that to be the best in the field of Engineering requires duplicated, extra effort outside of the workplace?