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

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#301

Post by brongondwana » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:33 AM UTC

house9-2 wrote: post #207

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…

> working on non-version-controlled code, having been expressly forbidden from using ANY VC by the CEO Version Control is a basic requirement of professional software development in this day and age. You could try explaining to your CEO it would be like telling a carpenter they can't use a hammer to build your new house. Or just take the initiative and use Version Control without telling them. In my mind it isn't som…

Apparently (according to a carpenter friend) - if the carpenter uses a hammer on a modern build it means something has gone wrong - they're normally using nailguns or similar to put things together - hammers are to bash them back apart again or knock them into alignment if they weren't done right the first time.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#302

Post by TaylorAlexander » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:33 AM UTC

seizethecheese wrote: post #267

I sure hope this format doesn't take off. Having worked as a dishwasher, line cook, pool manager, business analyst, software engineer, and startup founder, I have to say software engineer was, by far, the most coddled job. How about this: I'm a line cook, and I can't afford to be fired. I make minimum wage, and burn or cut myself badly at least once per week. I'm not allowed to take the day off and have to work throu…

I think there is room to recognize that line cooks don’t get treated as well as software engineers while also discussing unfair treatment of workers in any field. Abuse of software engineers is not unimportant simply because other workers have it worse. We as wage workers can work in solidarity with others to fight abusive labor conditions in all fields. Absolutely the service workers need representation and fair treatment and the situation for service workers is far more urgent, but that doesn’t mean we should not discuss the plight of software engineers as well. All workers should be free from exploitation.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#303

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:34 AM UTC

seizethecheese wrote: post #267

I sure hope this format doesn't take off. Having worked as a dishwasher, line cook, pool manager, business analyst, software engineer, and startup founder, I have to say software engineer was, by far, the most coddled job. How about this: I'm a line cook, and I can't afford to be fired. I make minimum wage, and burn or cut myself badly at least once per week. I'm not allowed to take the day off and have to work throu…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#304

Post by jpeg_hero » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:38 AM UTC

tayo42 wrote: post #255

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…

On call is shitty and I wish it wasn't accepted they way it is. Either hire people to work around the globe, or people that want to hire in shifts or accept that your product isn't going to be on 24 hours a day.

Even Facebook does on-call. So money can’t solve it. If you wrote the code and it breaks you’re kinda the only one that can fix it (in a hurry)

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#305

Post by seizethecheese » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:38 AM UTC

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #302

seizethecheese wrote: post #267

I sure hope this format doesn't take off. Having worked as a dishwasher, line cook, pool manager, business analyst, software engineer, and startup founder, I have to say software engineer was, by far, the most coddled job. How about this: I'm a line cook, and I can't afford to be fired. I make minimum wage, and burn or cut myself badly at least once per week. I'm not allowed to take the day off and have to work throu…

I think there is room to recognize that line cooks don’t get treated as well as software engineers while also discussing unfair treatment of workers in any field. Abuse of software engineers is not unimportant simply because other workers have it worse. We as wage workers can work in solidarity with others to fight abusive labor conditions in all fields. Absolutely the service workers need representation and fair tre…

Yes, good point. There should be room for any field to advocate for improving their collective well-being.

I still hope this type of thread doesn't catch on. The comments here skew negative and entitled, in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#306

Post by HeWhoLurksLate » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:38 AM UTC

tmaly wrote: post #192

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…

That was an awesome story. Thanks for posting. HIPPA is a huge deal.

*HIPOO

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#307

Post by JBlue42 » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:38 AM UTC

athriren wrote: post #257

sjg007 wrote: post #219

Why would you want to get fired at the limits? Why not talk to your managers or you know resign.. I mean if you get fired you don't get unemployment benefits.. I think you mean you'd rather as to be laid off. Getting fired in the best case means taking a moral position against the company that is righteous... Does being laid off mean you were lazy?

In California, so long as you do not get fired for misconduct you are (generally) eligible to collect unemployment benefits whether you are fired or laid off. The definition of misconduct in California law is actually quite narrow—there are four standards and you must meet all of them in order to be ineligible for unemployment. Obviously this is only one state in a large country in an even bigger world, so this may n…

Sad thing is that the money from unemployment hasn't gone up for years. $1800/mo pre-tax. I was pretty pissed when first on it that the feds tax the unemployed, seems like kicking someone when they're down, but at least in CA there's no state tax, which I learned occurs in other states.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#308

Post by brokenmachine » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:39 AM UTC

etxm wrote: post #89

oldsklgdfth wrote: post #4

My office mates audibly fart throughout the day and act like it's normal. Pretty sure it's not.

Brutally shit yourself and scream “game over, I win, motherfuckers” and moonwalk out.

I love the use of the word "brutally" here.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#309

Post by Rapzid » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:39 AM UTC

acdha wrote: post #182

perl4ever wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The story exceeds my suspension of disbelief. What particular jumps out at me is the backwards details - nobody off the street knows what "TPA" means, sure, but everybody who's ever gone to see a doctor knows what HIPAA is, even if they think it's called "HIPPA".

I think you are rather over-estimating the degree to which people read those standard forms: it’s akin to expecting everyone to read the full text on the “Are you sure?” dialog before clicking OK.

I ONLY know of HIPAA from my work. Maybe it was on a medical form.. I don't visit the doctor much, can't recall.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#310

Post by alexk » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 3:41 AM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #297

alexk wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you that line cook is a very hard job and I have nothing but respect for all the workers out there facing daily harsh conditions. Having said that, I also understand that mental problems caused by stress at work, the abuse and pressure some intellectual workers face is as real and dangerous, however is less visible. That's why I think that people reading this should not underestimate those dangers and lo…

Honestly, I've done a lot of jobs, some manual, some not, went to university, all of it. Anything that pays well is easy compared to a job that pays shit. The possibility that a missed shift means missing rent and potentially being homeless is far more stressful than any amount of mental 'abuse' or physical strain.

I did not mean to compare different level of hardships people can face. What I mean is that when someone feels pain and suffering they should look for a change whenever it is possible, regardless of the outside perception of their position. Do you agree?