Who Said System Development Is Desk Work? — The Reality of Building Systems in a Mud-Stained Suit

Whoa… was this a job where you fight the floor before the keyboard!?

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■ Is System Development Just Sitting at a Desk?

“System development is basically writing code in front of a computer, right?”
When I hear that, I pause for a moment.

Yes, that’s part of it.
But the reality on-site is far too gritty to be defined that simply.

I’ve led and worked on multiple system projects.
If anything, I’ve been more on the management side.

But I’ve also written code.
Built servers. Designed databases—of course.

“What about networking?”
—Of course, I’ve done that too.

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■ Before Wi-Fi Was Everywhere

Today, Wi-Fi is taken for granted.
But 10+ years ago, it wasn’t.

Development environments were mostly wired.

You plugged blue LAN cables into HUBs.
That was the foundation of infrastructure work.

But reality wasn’t that clean.

If everything was neatly blue, you were lucky.
Yellow, white, and random old cables from who-knows-where—

The site was chaos.

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■ The Reality of a 200-Person Project

At a 200-person scale, things change dramatically.

We set up makeshift tables.
Naturally, the network couldn’t keep up.

We connected multiple HUBs from routers,
then extended LAN cables from there.

But of course, we ran out.

So what do you do?

You buy LAN sockets,
cut long cables, and reconnect them.

Not “adding”—but building.

That was the reality.

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■ Meetings by Day, Craftsman by Night

During the day: meetings.

Progress updates, issue tracking, client communication.
Pure management mode.

But at night, everything changes.

In an empty office,
you keep making LAN cables.

Holding pliers, crimping connectors.

Before you know it,
you’re less an engineer, more a craftsman.

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■ The “Real” System Lies Beneath the Floor

And the work continues.

LAN cables don’t run on the surface.

You open the raised floor (OA floor),
and route them underneath.

Pull up carpets, lift panels,
thread cables through.

You can only do it when no one is around.

So—late night or early morning.

Finish quickly,
close the floor, lay the carpet back.

—Wait, forgot to tighten a screw.

The next day, the floor sinks with a “thud.”

That, too, was everyday life.

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■ Your Suit Gets Dirty

Before you know it, your suit is covered in dirt.

Dust under the floor,
oil from cables,
the heat of the site.

“System engineers = clean work”

That image couldn’t be further from reality.

But this is the reality.

And I believe this is the essence.

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■ Business Insight: Why the Field Matters

There’s one thing this experience taught me:

Systems are never completed on a desk.

Understanding structure means more than code—
it includes the physical layer.

Network latency,
unstable connections,
real-world constraints.

Systems designed without this knowledge
will eventually fail somewhere.

In the DX era,
those who understand this “gritty reality” hold real value.

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■ Why I Still Choose This Work

Honestly, it’s not an easy job.

But the moment a system comes alive—
when 200 people start moving at once—

That feeling is unmatched.

A sense of accomplishment you’ll never get
from just sitting at a desk.

That’s the true appeal of this work.

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I can do this! I’ll take the first step tomorrow