For sure, some teams are way better at estimating than others, and I don't think it helps when a team has the attitude that estimates are some sort of corporate bullshit.
No other engineering discipline has this level of immaturity. Sure, estimates in other industries are also notoriously hard, but you don't see this utter disregard for them you see in software. And, I bet you donuts that every "software engineer" here as demanded estimates from other fields and felt angry when they were missed.
"When is that bridge going to be finished?" "When is the road work going to be completed?" "When is my house renovation going to finish?"
Estimates are important. And yes, they are hard, but there is spectrum of skill levels at doing them well.
Outside of HN commenters, anyway, I don't think I've encountered a dev that doesn't understand the importance of estimates and that thinks they're nothing but BS. Most make honest attempts at accurate estimation.
However, most devs I've worked with were also very aware that estimates themselves have such a large margin of error that they can be considered a bit bullshit even though they are necessary.
No other engineering discipline has this level of immaturity. Sure, estimates in other industries are also notoriously hard, but you don't see this utter disregard for them you see in software. And, I bet you donuts that every "software engineer" here as demanded estimates from other fields and felt angry when they were missed.
"When is that bridge going to be finished?" "When is the road work going to be completed?" "When is my house renovation going to finish?"
Estimates are important. And yes, they are hard, but there is spectrum of skill levels at doing them well.