>"don't bother me with shit, just pay me a salary"
Well I'll admit this is me. Albeit previously I would have to generate working solutions meticulously to get my code reviewed and merged, as is normal. And it would be good work I could be proud of because _I_ wrote it!
But now the same people who would scrutinize me also outpace me with agents (the good developers you refer to) and also continue to scrutinize me. I recognize my own mediocrity in the face of my peers. So I don't know, I don't really care about my work quality anymore, the incentive of "do enough to put bread on the table" is now a much higher bar that I am struggling to meet.
This year has made me realize salary work really isn't a proper incentive to fully apply myself because being stuck under these guardrails and leadership decisions are a huge turn off. More than ever.
When you put a person who cares inside of a culture that doesn't and just wants to get things out to meet short term goals and figure out the cost later, you get this. Working on some projects its reasonable, but on others, especially services that customers really depend on where the cost of failure is high, it really is short term thinking. If speed is the only moat a company has, its just going to be death marches.
This situation sounds very similar to mine.
I'm also like: why would you give the execs more productivity for no additional pay? The puritanical love of work and individualistic competitiveness in the US is so counterproductive to any sort of gains in livelihood for the average person.
I'm not too familiar with the US workplace, but don't you have salary negotiations? Wouldn't you want more leverage for arguing for a higher salary, if you're unhappy with your salary? I'm also curious what work structure makes you feel like you're working for execs, rather than for your clients/customers/end-users. Surely you want the people who use your systems to have a smooth experience?
Making end users happy is a side effect. My own well being comes first.
You postulated this in another reply to me so I'll say here, why would I seek to make end users happy and work myself to the bone when leadership reaps the awards?
Even with salary negotiation there is almost no commensurate compensation you get under any employer that matches the value you bring to the company. That's how it's designed of course, by taking a base wage you trade off the risk of your income stream suddenly failing.
I am at that point now where that risk does not seem so scary anymore, which is odd to me. I never thought I'd consider taking the risk before. And I am learning that founders are usually driven by the feeling that I have.
Not really. American Corporations have successfully changed the culture to a point where asking about salary is considered a flaw to the worker. It somehow demonstrates a lack of loyalty.
Things are getting better, but HR still routinely preaches that you should never share your salary with anyone else. A lot of times they infer you will be fired for it.
Salary negotiations are sort of constrained to cost of annual living increases, or promotions. outside of that, you are not expected to ever talk about salary. ever.
I somewhat agree, but one is lucky to have any work at all these days, which unfortunately takes precedence.
This is the "got mine, fuck you" attitude that is part of the reason of a political shift to the right. And the worst part is, I get it, it's just also at odds with my more social leaning values.
Like, I don't mind paying taxes and social contributions, but I'm at a point now where I have to dip into my savings on the regular to match the monthly expenses and there hasn't been anything going in there for years.
I try to discern between the GMFY crowd and people who are just burnt out or dealing with life, because I have sympathy for the latter. Thankfully, the GMFY's will often be vocal with their dirtbaggery and let you know exactly who they are. They seem blissfully unaware that everyone is watching them and they are trashing their reputations.
I think the swing to the right is due to nation-state propaganda organs being defunded or replaced worldwide. People are naturally change averse, so either conservative or reactionary. Without the constant 'nudges', you're getting to see people's prickly natures coming out more.
> The puritanical love of work and individualistic competitiveness in the US is so counterproductive to any sort of gains in livelihood for the average person
History shows that it isn’t.
I'm always curious why people who don't care about work or tech spend time commenting on career sites and topics
Because they used to care.
Just because I am not happy with my employment situation doesn't mean I don't care about tech. I am privileged to even say that my job hasn't sucked all the joy out of building projects outside of work. None of this is a prerequisite for me ranting :)
Do you care about your users? If you care about tech, I'm sure you're as dissatisfied with the current state of broken and invasive software as the rest of us. I don't know the exact nature of your work, but don't you care about the experience of your clients or end-users?
Would you take a bullet for your clients and end-users?
Burning yourself out to patch over unsustainable working conditions is a slow bullet.
100%. I've been combating burnout over the last year or so. A saying that has stuck with me recently is "you don't need to set yourself on fire to make others warm." Trying to fix things by yourself in a massive bureaucracy is nigh impossible, so I've resigned myself to stop going the extra mile for the sake of the health and wellbeing of myself and my family.
Many smart people get bored and get all the joy sucked out of them when living and working under circumstances.
Some people enjoy the challenge and may compensate outside work hours, often doing overtime without compensation, that often implies less of a life outside of work or work concerns, promoting their personal branding, conferences, etc.
Just because these people exist and get rewarded does not mean their work environment is not predatory.
I like tech
Thank you for this honest take.
Thank you for posting. I felt almost like I was reading my own thoughts. You're not alone