Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#161

Post by reificator » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:25 AM UTC

skellera wrote: post #147

reificator wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's are the arguments against version control here (if any)? * I don't understand it * You're overcomplicating things * We're not using any of that free shit here * It doesn't say Microsoft or IBM * The last guy we hired that tried to use it was smarter than I was so anyone else who tries is a threat to my leadership. (because everyone knows you can only manage people who have a strict subset of your own knowled…

Why didn’t you just recommend Azure Repos? It’s a great product and fits what you need. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-au/services/devops/repos/

* Azure means cloud and cloud means no

* It didn't exist at the time, but there was an on-prem that MS offered a few years back. It was forced on another department with no version control experience. It lasted about two weeks.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#162

Post by breathtakingjob » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:28 AM UTC

In my country we have a two main employment contracts. One with full benefits and one with partial benefits. Second is usually used for your first contract or for hiring students on half time job.

In my IT department, everybody gets two monitors, unless of course, your contract is a "partial" one. Then you get work with one monitor, regardless of doing the same job everybody else does. They buy you second one, after they sign you with the full contract...

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#163

Post by rossdavidh » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:28 AM UTC

throwaway58129 wrote: post #64

I didn't know this format was a thing and am so very excited to discover it. I hope you folks enjoy reading horror stories. I got a job as a Software Engineer in my current company 4.5 years ago; friend-of-a-friend sort of thing. The company had an apparently disastrous piece of software that was their main LOB. They had gone through pretty much every local consulting agency - at least once, on a few occasions they h…

So, uh, you know that there are other employers who pay well for developers just now, right?

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#164

Post by imgabe » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:28 AM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #72

I don't want to be fired. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with. But I can just smell that we are about to hit a sticking point with how I don't do on call (it was never mentioned in the interviews or part of my contract) and I don't respond to work after 5pm. If it does come to that sticking point I'm trying to figure out how to be the most assertive and diplomatic. I.e. How do I convey that I badly wa…

> How do I convey that I badly want to keep this job but those new terms are a non start?

You don't convey that you badly want to keep the job. You keep that under wraps. The terms are a non start. End of story.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#165

Post by dvtrn » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:29 AM UTC

I wouldn’t hate it. They’d be doing me a favor if there were more mouths than mine to feed.

A company merger resulted in lots of engineering talent leaving with multiple unfinished projects and very little documentation. We’re at a point now where only 2% of the original team remains.

I was hired to complete these projects and clean up the technical debt left behind. That priority shifted to work on new products. That priority changed again. It changed a third time. Now I’m being tasked back with coming back to cleaning up the technical debt and security mitigation’s I was originally hired for after a weekend outage that affected the wrong client. Suddenly the critical infrastructure weaknesses I pointed to needed our full attention and system reliability became the first class citizen I long argued it should be.

Except every time I make progress on patching up and stabilizing one system, a new hole springs in the dam.

I’m the Dutch Boy of DevOps at this place.

Despite recent increase in funding, management refuses to backfill any of our open vacancies, project management refuses to budge on timetables, and as a result we’re putting out fires daily with water guns and spray bottles.

Meanwhile we’re on our third VP of product in two years, and our second Director of Infrastructure.

Two years more later and I’m well beyond the threshold. Hoping there’s an offer letter coming soon after interviewing the last few weeks.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#166

Post by tomlock » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:29 AM UTC

rjplatte wrote: post #114

reificator wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Listen. If not using version control is a problem for you, you're already more hirable than a lot of developers I've seen. Learning is always important but don't use that to procrastinate. You don't have to go straight to the best job in the world. Just find something better (and do your homework to verify) and take it.

I'm in a small city, where not much work is available. I need to pad my resume a little more to make the work I do more attractive, but the reality is that LAMP devs aren't in high demand near me. I apply to several jobs daily, but not much is around. I'd appreciate pointers on how to improve my prospects, but the last place I interviewed was a seedy adult entertainment company, and I wouldn't have taken an offer if…

If you're 18 and already know why version control is a good idea, you're very hireable in any number of cities/remote!

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#167

Post by throwaway7137 » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:31 AM UTC

whynaut wrote: post #53

throwaway7137 wrote: post #42

Getting told by my director that the product manager thought it was rude when I answered a question by sending them a link to the answer in the relevant documentation. I guess this is why nothing else at this company is documented, because why write things down when you can waste multiple people's time repeating things.

Not the rudest but it is basically saying RTFM. I deal with it like, here's the info you're looking for, but in the future you can read here instead of having to wait on me :) The idea being to present it as a benefit for them and not an unburdening for you.

Tried that approach and got told I was condescending.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#168

Post by lunaru » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:31 AM UTC

rjplatte wrote: post #100

I'm the sole developer working on my current project, which is overhauling a massive DOS era application, as well as overhauling an early 2000s era CRM/business management tool, that almost all of our work happens through. Did I mention that the DOS application is a HIPAA billing application that must meet all HIPAA guidelines as well as write EDI X12 billing files? I'm very junior, been coding for ~5 years, 3 profes…

I didn’t see any contact info on your profile but if you’re looking for a Rails gig, let’s chat. Ping me at my profile email.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#169

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:31 AM UTC

ken wrote: post #133

reificator wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's are the arguments against version control here (if any)? * I don't understand it * You're overcomplicating things * We're not using any of that free shit here * It doesn't say Microsoft or IBM * The last guy we hired that tried to use it was smarter than I was so anyone else who tries is a threat to my leadership. (because everyone knows you can only manage people who have a strict subset of your own knowled…

> It doesn't say Microsoft or IBM GitHub does, now, though I really hope that isn’t necessary for a company to adopt version control.

And Visual Source Safe and TFS did previously.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#170

Post by systematical » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 1:32 AM UTC

I do! I work at a failing startup. I find the direction and strategy of the company lacking. My advice is often ignored or they wait years and then claim it as their own. Sluggish sales. Sluggish revenue. Haven't been profitable in the 5 years I've been there.

I'm looking for a job but I rather just be laid off and collect unemployment for a while. I've been working for 17 years with no employment gaps. I'm tired.