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Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

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Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#371

Post by tylerl »

hamiltont wrote: post #314
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…

Contrasting point - I dislike the thought that folks who've "got it good" should just stay quiet and never complain because they are much better off than others. To me, this is immoral and ineffective. Everyone in a shitty position has a right to speak up. You're absolutely right that some people cannot exercise that right - they can't risk losing what they have. That is unfair to every single person in that situatio…

> _Everyone in a shitty position has a right to speak up._

Yep. But they _don't_ have the right to make anyone else care. Say whatever you want about your own problems, but if your situation is comparatively better, then don't expect people to give a damn. And complaining is not without risk. It's not uncommon to make your situation _even worse_ by speaking out when your problems are comparatively light.

Speaking up in a situation where those who take notice want to help you, that's real courage. Speaking up such that those who notice don't care, that's just whining. The only significant difference is how others interpret your situation, and the primary factor is how your problems compare to others.

And you're right, that's not fair. Sorry.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#372

Post by eropple »

perl4ever wrote: post #289
eropple wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's bull. But it has the ring of truth to it, to me, and I've worked for a few healthcare startups. A lot of developers think of themselves as "just developers" and a lot of people are brutally incurious about the world until it hits them in the face.

Yeah, but the world generally hits you in the face by the time you turn 18 or maybe even before.

About some things, sure.

Not necessarily medical privacy.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#373

Post by bonquesha99 »

Sometimes it's nice to step away for some perspective and start again fresh somewhere new!

People do actually read these comments so please give it a shot (even with a throwaway) just to see what's out there at least:

Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? October 2019 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21126012

What do you have to lose, you want to be fired anyways!

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#374

Post by spookyuser »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #230
blotter_paper wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>having been expressly forbidden from using ANY VC by the CEO Well that's really fucking stupid of them. Maybe they're worried about evidence of old HIPAA breaches existing after the system gets updated, and doesn't want to explain that logic? On your local development station: mkdir repo cd repo git init --bare cd .. git clone repo project_folder cd project_folder cp -r ../ /project project Congratulations, you now…

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/505467/can-i-store-the-g... you dont need to copy files, just tell git to store its data in another dir

Wow thank you so much for this. There's some stuff I've been working on which I want to sync to Dropbox as I type but without the .git being synced too. Up until now I've just had to deal with the .git files being synced with Dropbox. But now it looks like I finally have a way of moving the repo!

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#375

Post by shantly »

reificator wrote: post #140
rjplatte wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You said you're 18, you're young and hopefully don't have kids, so apply in other cities as well. Yeah it's scary. But if the job is good enough, and the pay is good enough, then you've got to figure out why your bullshit reason for staying where you are outweighs both your mental health and your career prospects. EDIT: And don't forget remote options.

God, at 18—or hell, at 22—showing the fuck up and not seeming entirely incompetent is a big deal. Show up, be engaged, do both consistently, and anyone who's not a total piece of crap will be all over giving you more responsibility and mentoring you up to bigger and better things. Total pieces of crap may still be interested, but it'll be in exploiting you (as in current situation). Oh, and ask questions. No one expects you to know diddly-squat, so ask away. Ask about stuff that's not part of your job description at all. People will tell you all kinds of stuff, and, incredibly, the whole exchange will make them like you more.

Phenomenally small amounts of give-a-shit go a long way for youngsters. It's basically their superpower, if they're willing and able to use it.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#376

Post by donretag »

I once worked for a company that was purchased and we were tasked with signing new employment papers for the new owner.

When HR asked why I still have not signed the papers, I said it was forthcoming and BTW, can I collect unemployment if I don't? Mysteriously enough, half hour later I get an email from the CTO. :) So I told him I want to get laid off since the company was terrible. He promised to fix thing, but of course nothing happened and I ended up quitting anyways a few months later.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#377

Post by shantly »

lunaru wrote: post #168
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.

Seriously, the GP comment makes me wish I had a job to offer, not just due to sympathy but because any 18-year-old who is even sort of managing to tackle that problem and also knows that lack of VC is a serious red flag is probably worth an interview.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#378

Post by cryptonector »

Nobody. Perhaps you want to be laid off when you know your employer may be about to lay off some employees, you'll have an easy time finding a new gig, and the severance will be nice. But if you want to quit, then quit, and whatever else you do, don't get yourself fired for cause, ever.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#379

Post by journalctl »

_bxg1 wrote: post #11
anon4lol wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not. They should do what I do -- silently "crop dust" the other cubicles as I drift past on my way to an unimportant meeting. But seriously, I have a cubicle-mate that goes through a box of tissues every two days. He is constantly grunting and blowing his nose. He also spends 15 minutes brushing and flossing in the bathroom twice per day. I say 15 minutes, because he has his phone propped up with a timer. Every…

I had a similar experience with a mechanical keyboard so loud I could hear it through my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. Fortunately a spot opened up in a different room and I jumped on it.

I have a very loud keyboard, and if ever there’s someone new sitting near me, I ask them if it will be bothersome and then stress that it’s no trouble to replace it. Of course, there’s a chance people are just being polite and I should replace it anyway, but it’s a small room and half the time I’m alone in it anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Who Wants to Be Fired?

#380

Post by carapace »

toop43 wrote: post #69
throwaway29488 wrote: post #2

Not with the job in particular, just want to take a break from tech especially from being a programmer. Tired of staring at a screen for 80% of my awake time and constant puzzle solving. Sick of people in this industry making you feel you're not smart enough, that you're not enough no matter how many times you prove yourself in past work.

> Sick of people in this industry making you feel you're not smart enough, that you're not enough no matter how many times you prove yourself in past work. Dealing with this in the heavy right now. I've built a lot in my 10 years as a programmer. Infinitely, and automatically scaled application server based on load. Hasn't crashed or had a single downtime ever since release. I've built mobile applications 100% myself…

voilà
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