I Would Not Have Hired Arrogant Software Engineer Edward Snowden

I was originally going to post that I was conflicted in my feelings about Mister Snowden.  But Wizard, I think you firmed up a few things for me.  If this sounds negative towards you personally, I apologize.

Too many times we are so worried about being a team player that we fail to say what we think. Often this is because they don't want to know what we think.

There's airing grievances, and then there's violation of trust.  Mister Snowden went WAY over the line into the latter, well beyond any need to fulfill the former.  As a SysAdmin, he was given access to data with the expectation that he would know how to remediate that for himself.

Clearly, he doesn't understand that.  He didn't need the hundreds (or more) of documents that he took with him.  The court order would have proven his point.

I've lived in environments where criticism was quashed, and I've lived in those where the feedback, even if I didn't care for how it was used, was welcomed and listened to.  And I've been comfortable with my status as a team player in all variations of that.

We've all heard the saying that familiarity breeds contempt.  Well, I'm twisting the context a bit, but the more familiar I become with Mister Snowden, the closer I feel to contempt.

Now spokespeople are trying to tie him to the Chinese, who he even admits he's considered asking for asylum.  Even if he acted alone, I'm with Alison.  What he revealed about the call log collection court orders and ISP data mining has ignited a conversation that I personally believe is at least two decades overdue.

But the ends don't justify the means.  And if Mr. Snowden has trouble finding an I.T. job, it won't be an industry blacklist that does it.  It will be the arrogance with which he annointed himself in carrying out this "mission."

Whatever position Snowden held, he betrayed the trust placed with him, to keep safe his employer's data. He was bound to this by contract as well as oath. 

As for arrogance, a dash of it is useful in high pressure/high performance jobs, where self-confidence bordering on recklessness is a useful attribute. It crosses the line into destructiveness when ego outweighs talent and self-importance is greater than the actual position. Snowden embodied the latter. Whatever talent he brought into the organization was eclipsed by a higher sense of self. Duty and responsibility came second, maybe third or fourth. 

Nice article Alison... I agree with you on how you feel about arrogance. Arrogance = rudeness and that has no place with me. You can be confident and speak your mind without being arrogant.

I'm sorry, but I still don't see where Snowden is arrogant.  Evidently it's because he has the balls to stand up and put his life where his mouth is?  Too many times we are so worried about being a team player that we fail to say what we think.  Often this is because they don't want to know what we think.  And from what I gather, Snowden tried to air his issues but was basically told to STFU.  That situation is one that a lot of us are familiar with.  BTW, I think it takes some extraordinary skills to be a good Sysadmin.  (...was a Sysadmin in a very responsible position for eight years, on call 24/7)

Ombra:  I doubt he was developing software, creating some unique, value added game changing software for the firm, or doing anything other than managing the security, creating and managing accounts, and ensuring the stability of the systems.  Something that, by his account of his salary, was grossly over the fair market rate.

I see your point, but systems administrators do important work too. 

As for his high salary: I expect that was because of the sensitive nature of the data he was privy to, and his presumed high degree of trustworthiness. So that's ironic. 

Honestly, it's hard to see why being a genius is valuable in a systems administrator. It's honest work, and it requires intelligence, but it does not seem to be the kind of work that more intelligent people necessarily do better. And it requires a certain amount of rotework and adherence to routine, from which more intelligent people or more likely to be distracted. And more intelligent people are more likely to engage in aberrant behavior -- as we've seen here. 

Sysadmin work benefits from a high degree of emotional intelligence. You're spending a good amount of your time dealing with users who are upset when something went wrong. 

I'd compare systems intelligence to nursing. I have an enormous amount of respect for nurses, but it does not require the genius that, say, making an oncology breakthrough does. 

Hmm, I had seen the software engineer title but will double-check for accuracy. If indeed he was a SysAdmin, then it's even odder that people tolerated that kind of arrogance and, as you say, paid that kind of salary. Seems very high for that type of work, although I guess adding the top secret clearance does add to the payscale. 

I even agree with most of what you've written about the intrapersonal work relationships but feel compelled to point out everything I have read or heard indicates Snowden was a SysAdmin and not a software engineer.  It may be an insignificant observation to some, but I doubt he was developing software, creating some unique, value added game changing software for the firm, or doing anything other than managing the security, creating and managing accounts, and ensuring the stability of the systems.  Something that, by his account of his salary, was grossly over the fair market rate.  This is however govt contracting to the equivalent providers of the banking sector's "too large to fail".  In doing so, he violated a trust of authorization that SysAdmins must have to do their job when he used the access for a purpose that the authorization was not intended to cover. 

I completely agree, Mitch. When I first started writing about technology, some of the smartest people I met were also the kindest, spending extra time explaining what a particular piece of tech did or what a phrase meant. Only once or twice was someone condescending, a lesson I've told many a cub reporter in several industries over the years. Most experts enjoy sharing their knowledge and educating others about their areas of expertise. 

I've worked with a lot more arrogant people who think they're geniuses than those who actually are geniuses. 

And the geniuses I've worked with have been pleasant people. Often for colorful and volatile values of the word "pleasant."

And then there's Steve Jobs. As accomplished and brilliant as he was, I am coming to the conclusion that he could have accomplished ten times more if he wasn't a jerk. Yes, his genius was often saying "no," but you can do that and still not be a jerk about it.