>tech companies to compare themselves to a profession that faces literally life and death situations
I think you have a narrowly defined scope of “tech”. What about the software that controls the Da Vinci robot in the operating room? Do you want someone to say “eh, code quality checks aren’t my job?” Or the person writing flight software for aircraft? Or the safety critical software for a power plant?
The point being, yes, perspective is important but it’s a difference of degree not of kind.
Fair enough on the Da Vinci robot because it's a turn-key product. But I can tell you that people change production code on the fly in safety-critical applications (particularly in the industrial controls space) much more often than many people would be comfortable with.
A better healthcare example may have been, would you be comfortable with people changing the building automation software that controls operating room air exchange rates or oxygen delivery systems?
But again, this isn’t really about software devs so it should extend beyond just SWE roles. It’s about positional duties, regardless if you write code or deliver meds to patients.
All of these systems run into schedule and cost pressures that often causes people to feel overburdened. I don't actually think they are fundamentally different.
I think you have a narrowly defined scope of “tech”. What about the software that controls the Da Vinci robot in the operating room? Do you want someone to say “eh, code quality checks aren’t my job?” Or the person writing flight software for aircraft? Or the safety critical software for a power plant?
The point being, yes, perspective is important but it’s a difference of degree not of kind.