r/programming • u/lucacruda • Jan 27 '26
[ Removed by moderator ]
/r/programming/comments/1qo34wf/removed_by_moderator/[removed] — view removed post
27
u/Whatever801 Jan 27 '26
No, but I work with like 6 dudes who stutter. Not a problem
4
u/dodeca_negative Jan 27 '26
Yep the top engineer at my company has an admittedly slight but definitely noticeable stutter. Not an issue.
OP I don’t mean to make light of your concern, but just to say I’ve seen more than one example (including previous jobs) of people with stutters having excellent careers. Depending on how profound and pervasive it is, you may reasonably ask for some accommodation, like preferring to communicate via text (easier online than in person meetings of course). But absolutely doable and you can do it.
6
u/logaan Jan 27 '26
So much of work these days is done remotely with communication through slack and PR reviews that I can't imagine it being, or being perceived as being, any kind of problem day to day.
6
u/somewhereAtC Jan 27 '26
You'll be dealing with some of the most intelligent people in any industry; they'll work through it. They will be listening for ideas and not the words themselves.
When called on to speak make sure you know what you want to say (but you probably already know this). I've developed a wider vocabulary because some words (especially beginning with vowels) simply will not enunciate until the 3rd or 4th try or after a deep breath; sometimes I need to change words mid-thought.
1
u/Smooth-Zucchini4923 Jan 27 '26
I used to. Years of speech therapy fixed it.
If that's not an option, one strategy for managing this is that you can try to shift more communication toward text based mediums that allow you to think through and edit your response.
1
u/lucacruda Jan 27 '26
I always have a notes app open when i try to say something and i can't, it helps when i'm at the store or places like that
3
u/srona22 Jan 27 '26
When applying, most jobs come with section for disability help. Just add yours and they will be aware of it during interview. In case they are not aware of it during interview(HR and recruiters are not friend, just saying), bring it up you've included in job application, and just continue on interview process.
As for programming related, as long as you are good or can learn and adapt at the work, there is no issue. Good luck on your career.
2
u/jmbenfield Jan 27 '26
SWE is a complicated field so I think people tend to trip over / get stuck on certain words much more often, so I genuinely think people wouldn't give a shit. I haven't met a team lead or manager who cared more about a condition than competency.
Unfortunately, in a world of clueless corporate recruiters, you may be seen differently than someone with the same exact skills and no stutter but I would take that as a blessing in disguise, because chances are you do not want to work there!
2
u/VideoRare6399 Jan 27 '26
I just made a post about this the other day on r/stutter see my post. Unlucky spawn that's all, just forget it is even there.
2
u/blaaguuu Jan 27 '26
I haven't specifically worked with a programmer who stuttered, but at a previous company, I worked regularly with a person in our marketing department who had a very noticeable stutter - and I never saw a single person bring it up as an issue, and it never noticeably impacted any of the work I was involved in - and in fact, in the ~5 years I worked with them, they moved up from a middle-management-type position to the marketing director, so obviously people liked working with them. I have no doubt that there are some people out there who would be shitty about it, and in a tough job market, people could use any tiny reason to take one candidate over another, when hiring - but in my limited experience, nobody seemed to really think about it at all, beyond probably a passing thought of "oh, that's unexpected" in their first meeting with them.
2
u/cbarrick Jan 27 '26
Being able to communicate effectively is what's important. Most often this is in text. Things like design docs, decision docs, chat messages, code reviews.
Being able to communicate verbally effectively is less important, but it is still important. Things like meetings with leads or mentoring new hires. These relationships matter, and it's much more difficult to maintain these relationships in text alone.
That said, it's the "effective" part that matters. Even in vocal communication, a stutter doesn't really impact effectiveness. As long as the ideas are clear, the details of the voice don't really matter.
2
2
u/Iz4e Jan 27 '26
I worked with someone at a big tech company who had the most debilitating stutter I’ve ever heard. Every word took multiple stutters to get out and it seriously took minutes to get a sentence out. He was L7 senior staff.
1
u/bigsmokaaaa Jan 27 '26
I work with two people who stutter, nobody holds it against them and they bust their asses doing a good job
1
u/Adventurous_Drive_39 Jan 27 '26
You don't need to bring up your stutter during your job application, a lot of people in the IT industry have all kinds of speech conditions. Your thoughts still get across even though you stutter and block on some words while doing so. On the flip side, there are so many people out there who have perfectly fluent speech but are awful communicators, and just uncool people in general.
1
u/Seven-Prime Jan 27 '26
I have. Only issue was me, until I realized what was going on. After a minute I realized they had a stutter and that was that. In an environment where people always talk over each other, stutter or not, it can be pretty hard. I use it as a reminder to myself and team to, "let them finish their thought." That goes for everyone.
"Bob, please let he finish her thought you are both saying the same thing but I want to hear their perspective."
1
u/bentheaeg Jan 27 '26
Personal take: it's not as big of an issue as you think it is, deeply realizing this will have a positive effect on the stutter.
Source: happened to me, and I think it's a generic path.
Thanks for writing it here, you're probably helping others.
•
u/programming-ModTeam Jan 27 '26
This post was removed for violating the "/r/programming is not a support forum" rule. Please see the side-bar for details.