Ask HN: Is any senior dev reasonably happy with their job?

My first two jobs were in environments exactly as you describe, and hadn't a clue how lucky I was until I worked under the "because I said so" cloud.

It's a different world nowadays. Switching jobs every 1-3 years is more the norm now than being a lifer (for most industries, not just software dev). They're probably coming from the perspective of the time they lived in, and don't realize that the world has changed quickly around them over the decades. And the younger you are, the more expected it is.

My parents are the same way.

I'm reasonably happy. I don't know if I meet your definition of "senior dev" but the word "Senior" appears in my job title.

I work for a biometrics software company. We all work about 40 hours a week under normal conditions, more if and when circumstances warrant it. Our boss was previously on the team and promoted from within; he is also excellent at shielding us from distractions from above if we do not need to know about them. I am paid slightly less than the median for a person of my relative experience, but that is mainly because of the drift that happens when you work at the same company for a number of years, and I don't mind much because the environment is quite nice. Everyone is polite, professional, and is a valuable part of achieving our company's objectives (we employ less than 100 people). Despite working primarily on a product that has been around a long time, I am always doing something where I am learning something new. I get 3 weeks of vacation every year (but rarely use all of it) that I can use pretty much whenever.

If you are actually somewhat decent at writing software and live in or near a competitive market, I would encourage your to be as selective as possible when it comes to "working conditions", but watch out for gimmicks that are designed to keep you in the office, like free meals. I'd also stay away from any companies where excessive overtime is commonplace (it's a sign of poor management), or where there are lots of attempts to portray the company as more than just a company (it can be a sign that they will not respect boundaries between their desired identity for you and your individual will).

I'll give you a tip, if it helps. So, early on in my career, I'd be in big companies with big products. The little feature or whatever I'd work on just didn't seem all that important to me. I didn't care what my managers thought. I didn't care about the company. The stock price didn't matter because I only had a few measly shares worth nothing. Everything about the situation felt like a waste of time. I'd stay up late at night working on side projects, only to be tired at work and, again, too tired to complete the side projects I felt were more worthy of my time.

Somewhere along the way, I decided I wanted to make a product for myself. Something complete, contained, and ready to release to market -- good or bad. It was that process of trying to make something stable, complete, and market-worthy that let me understand the grind. The last 1% is so much more awful than the first 99%, and it's in those details where all the "mental gains" are made.

Today, there is no shortage of opportunity to get a feel for what it takes to make a complete product. Whether it's the app store, a functional web site, or just anything that gets, oh say, 1000 users. You just need to go through the abuse of completion once to get an appreciation for the grind. Once you know what you're in for, then you'll be more selective about what to start. Moreover, the end goal will make the grind seem like a logical step instead of endless toil -- this is where the grind is understood and appreciated.

Just my opinion and experience! Hopefully it helps.