The past 12 months have taught me that a life mostly without peripheral colleagues is amazing and also that I should have gotten a dog years ago.
Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
11–20 of 43 posts
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#12By this time last year I was starting to enjoy my first summer with a driving license, finishing the first renovation on my recently bought home (no mortgage!), choosing a venue for getting married in September, and earning a decent salary (while working from home) for the first time of my life. Things were looking good!
I started to make plans: renovate the rest of the house, taking my extended family on a trip, and maybe eyeing a second house as an investment.
I was fired the first day I set foot on the office as soon as I got back from my honeymoon on october. No explanations beyond "you cost too much", when I had got the raise without asking. No negotiation, no talking about new arrangements. I got depressed, and then angry, and then depressed again... you get the idea.
I tried to keep myself current, freshen up my skills with some new languages, but I've been unable to think about coding since then. As soon as I see a screenful of code I get angry again.
And then 2020 and you know what happened. Fortunately I still had some savings. The fact that I feel like this and still have it better than many, many people makes me sad, and compounds on the frustration.
So TL;DR: what have I learned?.
- Don't get too invested in your plans.
- Control your expectations.
- So much of life is outside your control.
- F*ck "where do you see yourself in five years?"
(edit: reduced typos and profanity)
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#13It’s chaos out there, be good.
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#14I've learnt that changing stacks gets exponentially more difficult as I get older.
I've also learnt that even the good companies that say they care are just as terrible as the rest. My company touts in interviews how they never lay off employees (contractors they will) and they essentially laid off 3000 employees recently. They have continually eroded benefits since I joined. They also don't care about your career and will use you on dead technology and then outsource your job so you have to start over.
I guess the biggest thing I learnt is the world is a shitty place and I'm screwed.
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#15By this time last year I was starting to enjoy my first summer with a driving license, finishing the first renovation on my recently bought home (no mortgage!), choosing a venue for getting married in September, and earning a decent salary (while working from home) for the first time of my life. Things were looking good! I started to make plans: renovate the rest of the house, taking my extended family on a trip, and…
How did you buy a house with no mortgage?
Sorry to hear about your job. If you can prove that they fired you because they didn't want to pay the increased benefits costs since you got married, then you might have a case.
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#16I can work remotely productively, even with kids at home and that I am more productive than being in the office. I've learned that I can be very fast in changing environments and being able to do my job from home after the very next day I've started working from home, without disruption, on a new, unconfigured machine. I've also learned that interviewing for jobs has become something horrible, with most ghosting and…
I find that even with 12 kids, working from home is productive. The difference is that I can go do a bit of work between other tasks. If I have an hour to spare and need to walk to work, about 50% of the time would be walking. It just isn't worthwhile. At home, I can put the whole hour to use. Also at home, I know I'm there for emergencies, so my wife can go out to run errands.
You have 12 kids?
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#17I've learnt that changing stacks gets exponentially more difficult as I get older. I've also learnt that even the good companies that say they care are just as terrible as the rest. My company touts in interviews how they never lay off employees (contractors they will) and they essentially laid off 3000 employees recently. They have continually eroded benefits since I joined. They also don't care about your career an…
I think we are at a tipping point - my dad had a single job all his life, for 30+ years. While the organization he worked for wasn't great, they also didn't actively sabotage their own employees (benefits etc) as far as I know.
At this point, people with skills have a choice - they can start a business, freelance etc which come with their own problems (healthcare in the US especially). Even if a small % of the current wage slaves try this, and even if some of them succeed, it might at least start a movement. Maybe it is already happening. I see a lot of people realize that most employers are the same and they don't care about anything other than short term profits and are branching out on their own.
Another option is to unionize, that is not easy either.
This world has a severe shortage of good leaders (I am struggling to name even half a dozen world leaders that are worth anyone's respect). If communities organize locally and help each other, we can tackle big problems with a lot more ease. This is happening with food though - there are communities that are trying to grow their own food where they were previously dependent on imports.
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#18I especially learned to despise the medical profession for all their lies during the pandemic, but I also had confirmation that all politicians were cowards and corrupt. I also learned how to camouflage a stock market crash into a giant social engineering experiment of concealment.
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#19looking back to the whole 12 months: - a job is mostly a way to earn money. the joy and pride about your work are within yourself and not in your employer. you can do amazing work at any place. it's up to you to always try to be better an improve yourself, your work and your job. - the mood/vibe and the work load otoh are very important. if an employer overloads you then it's wise to look around. - simpler architectu…
> the joy and pride about your work are within yourself and not in your employer I just wish I realized this sooner. No one else is responsible for your career progression, job satisfaction and personal fulfillment other than yourself. A recent experience I've had was to initiate a conversation with my boss for five years that I've been unfulfilled with how I haven't been receiving actionable, meaningful feedback for…
Damn that must have been a tough discussion to start. I've been burned by similarly brave moves. I, too, consult the inner stoic, and with increasing frequency it recommends silence.
Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?
#20I can work remotely productively, even with kids at home and that I am more productive than being in the office. I've learned that I can be very fast in changing environments and being able to do my job from home after the very next day I've started working from home, without disruption, on a new, unconfigured machine. I've also learned that interviewing for jobs has become something horrible, with most ghosting and…
I find that even with 12 kids, working from home is productive. The difference is that I can go do a bit of work between other tasks. If I have an hour to spare and need to walk to work, about 50% of the time would be walking. It just isn't worthwhile. At home, I can put the whole hour to use. Also at home, I know I'm there for emergencies, so my wife can go out to run errands.
You have 12 kids?