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Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
401–410 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#402> Do people regularly run into coworkers like me during their career and simply ignore it because they find it too awkward to criticize them? Yes exactly this, especially at larger companies. I know a few of those developers, and they sit right near me... They find a way to make any task take forever... If it was a smaller company they would be called out, but at my [very, very] large company - its very hard to get f…
I had a coworker at a government job that clocked in doing no work for 6 months. They were going to PIP him when I left but he's still there now.
reminds me of this gem on a previous thread similar to this from 8 months ago:
> My supervisor said to me "This guy can spend 100% of his time trying not to get fired. You can spend maybe 2% of your time trying to get rid of him. Who's gonna win?"
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#403Earlier quoted context omitted.
The alternative is to embrace minimalism / the FIRE lifestyle and hopefully skate by long enough to not have to work by the time the company folds and live off of investments -> then into retirement). I think most "underwork" on the job is a motivational issue and stems from one of a few overlapping reasons: 1) No way to promotion/advancement (dead end job) 2) Overqualified and bored 3) Unclear goals, no feedback, an…
I've read about the FIRE theory time and again. For some reason, I don't buy it. I fail to believe in the plan that consists in building enough FU money to then "be free". Free to do what? What was the plan originally? I think the real meaning of life is to do what you care about today, _with the constraints you have today_.
(I think) very few people intrinsically want to work for someone else, in pursuit of someone elses goals, for monetary compensation. Most people do that because the monetary compensation allows them to meet their basic needs and pursue their own goals in turn. In this context, 'be free' means chopping out that extra step and removing the need to work for someone else - You have the necessary means and can now pursue whatever goals you personally have independent of needing continual financial input from an employer, for which in return you must dedicate 40+ hours of each week.
For some people, they might start their own business and be their own employer. Others might still go for part-time work in something they enjoy but couldn't support them financially. Others might remain in full-time employment because knowing they can quit at any point removes a large stressor and makes the work itself enjoyable. Others might move to a shack in the woods and spend their time growing food and posting drivel on the internet.
Edit: I've missed out here people who genuinely want to be a small cog in a large machine, working towards a greater collaborative goal e.g. someone working at spacex. That has to be a pretty big motivator for some people in some sectors.
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#404Please indulge my curiosity. This might be wildly unrelated but... how attractive are you, physically? Are you thin? Are you taller than most people in your peer group? Do you more or less resemble the "dominant" demographic where you live? That is, the same gender presentation, ethnicity, etc. as most of your government and business leaders. Are you a citizen of the country where you live?
Would love to hear your hypothesis, care to share it?
It isn't hard to infer. This is about confounding effects of non-professional tangibles. Human judgement is often influenced by non-technical qualities.
eg You'll find that the advantages offered by being attractive is tangible, but never quantified. It can allow you more stable employment, as unfair as that may seem in the abstract.
This is a little off-the-path, but is additive. Domain experts, for example, often get a lot of leeway in performance reviews because it isn't always needed. If you're hired on as a DB2 expert, you're golden because DB2 is a sub-standard database and you get to answer questions in the most forgiving manner while doing almost nothing - "it doesn't do that" "that's not available" "there is no standard practice".
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#405There's this idea that half of the value created by a company is produced by the square root of the total number of employees. So you're experience is probably typical.
In my experience, most developers fall into the category. Outside of the startup world, there's not really this huge push to move quickly. Established software works well enough that most companies can afford to have highly paid professionals dillydally through most of the work day. As long as everyone is doing something each day, and the right people can shift into low gear when urgent action is needed, things will move along pretty smoothly.
People who are both very competent and can sustain large volumes of work tend to gravitate towards startups. There's really no point in working 10x faster than everyone else at an established company because someone else is going to be the bottleneck.
> Have I just been incredibly lucky and every boss I have had is too incompetent to notice?
They are probably just as good at BSing during meetings with their boss as you are in standups. They either talk up the accomplishments of other team members, discuss future plans, or some other team is the focus of the conversations that week.
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#406Are you me ?
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#407[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#408Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I know a few of those developers, and they sit right near me... In fact, this is so common that I can name the exact people at several jobs I've had. And I could mention them to my coworkers and they'd know exactly what these people's reputation are. Our feeling toward them is a mix of being impressed and being embarrassed. Impressed because there's something to be said for someone who works the system to their adv…
What’s the point of building something cool just so your CEO can have all the credit & profits while you’re stuck with a shitty market rate salary and some stock options if you’re lucky?
Potentially leverage, if you can swing it.
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#409I work really hard, but I might be an anomaly. I can't get much done in the time many people might. My brain is bad at focusing on things, so it takes a lot of effort to engage, become productive, and then stop. There's a lot of time build up inertia, but then it's difficult to reduce that inertia as well. As a result I'm fairly inefficient by default. I have a practice of never billing for inefficient time. I don't…
This is why contracting was exhausting to me. lunch? Pause the clock. Get up to get a coffee? Pause. Go to the bathroom? Pause. Not typing but thinking about a problem? Pause.
It got old fast thinking about every fleeting second of my finite existence.
Re: Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
#410Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of workers in technology are getting paid in equity. For many, it makes it more than acceptable. It's not really anyone's place to tell someone else that the way they're making money is unacceptable without knowing all of the details. I put in 60-70 hour weeks routinely. I work at companies I founded and own. I don't make overtime. Is my work schedule unacceptable? What is the percentage of equity between 0% an…
I think it should be obvious that that's not what I'm talking about. If I'm employed to work 40 hours a week, I'm not going to work more than that on a regular basis.
What if you are employed "full time" with the expectation that that means substantially more than 40 hours (and your compensation package includes equity in the company)?
That is the (commonplace) situation that I am describing, that almost all of my friends and acquaintances in this industry (developers) find themselves in.
They don't find it unacceptable, or they'd go do something else.