Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#551

Post by CiPHPerCoder » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:55 AM UTC

greenie_beans wrote: post #434

barry-cotter wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been a teacher. It’s basically just a job. If you want meaning have your own children. I have no idea what proportion of software engineers consider what they do meaningful but the team who work on Google Scholar have done a great deal for me and I’m not even an academic. The drivers at Uber and Lyft and their riders have almost all had their lives improved by their existence. Amazon has made the experience of b…

I'm not sure I agree that Amazon has done meaningful work in the world of books. They've crippled the book industry. They've ran a ton of brick and mortar bookstores out of business, which has effectively destroyed community centers. There are other alternatives to Amazon that have "made the experience of buying books so much easier". Visit powells.com or alibris.com. And what they've done to the publishing industry…

> They've ran a ton of brick and mortar bookstores out of business, which has effectively destroyed community centers.

Can you really blame Amazon for destroying community centers because they put bookstores out of business?

Bookstores aren't the only viable community center, after all. Most cities and counties have a public library that's supposed to exist for the community's benefit. Additionally, in rural parts of the US, the only real community center you used to find was a church, not a library or a bookstore.

Personally speaking, my community centers exist on Signal, WhatsApp, IRC, Mastodon, Slack, Twitter, Telegram, and Facebook. (And I neglect half of those entirely.) I don't see any need to have a physical watering hole.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#552

Post by zerr » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:56 AM UTC

sytelus wrote: post #424

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This blows my mind that in the US one can make such insane money in tech while still being a slacker and retire early with a dream house bought and paid for while in Europe devs are slaving away through SCRUM powered meat grinders burning themselves out for a 3% salary increase on a pitiful 40-80k/year, no stock options, without any hope of early retirement or owning a decent home without a 30 year loan or financial…

If it makes you feel better, op is not representative of developers in US. He is not even representative of people at Google or other big tech. Most people do work their ass off, some even on weekends and holidays. You are looking at a "lottery" winner and thinking life is unfair to you. In this case its not even lottery because such slacking off in your most productive young years severely limits your career choices…

Europe is big and very diverse place. Uber driver in midwest (US) makes more than a senior dev in Spain, Italy or Greece.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#553

Post by mdonahoe » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:57 AM UTC

I started writing about my own experiences with boredom at work, and it evolved into a blog post. I'll spare you the details.

My advice for you: just apply to other companies anyway and wait for an offer that excites you.

The worst thing that will happen is you'll get rejected and the particular interviewers will think less of you. You can always re-apply later.

Meanwhile, start watching Google Tech Talks during your spare work hours and tell your boss's boss that you'd like a challenge.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#554

Post by BuckRogers » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:00 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #403

ahs1 wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My advice would be work hard, save your money, travel when you can to better locales to improve your social life, but with the eventual goal of permanently moving out when you've saved enough. If you pick your destination within the USA well, dating prospects will improve greatly, and if you look worldwide (and can overcome the language and immigration issues), it could improve dramatically. The Bay Area will seem…

Move to South East Asia instead. Burgeoning tech scene, some incredible nature, dating is considerably easier, both with locals and other expats, health care is first-rate and a couple of orders of magnitude cheaper ... "a rural state" sounds like all the worst bits of living in the US.

I'm from a rural state and while I've been to I've been to over 12 countries and lived in 3 US states, my rural home state is the best kept secret in the world.

My wife is from Latin America, and while it's cheaper down there, none of those countries are as good of a deal as the rural US. More developed, safer, better public services. Can be nearby a major city for work.

I do like southeast Asia, my cousin's wife is from Thailand and I have a lot of connections there through her, they own a chain of hotels there. But I would prefer Latin America. It's a western culture for the most part, which if you're from Europe or the Americas, is less jarring in more ways than people realize. There's some indigenous elements, which actually enhances the culture, they're very cooperative and team players. I love Latin America, at least as much as I love Anglo America.

Just wanted to add two more cents in there, because there's good things about every place. Everything in life is a trade off!

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#555

Post by stickfigure » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:01 AM UTC

dx034 wrote: post #540

keiferski wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Argentina is not a third world country.

Neither is South Africa. Their standard of living (in the right areas) is probably comparable.

Hmmmm. The murder rate in Argentina is 5.1/1000, lower than the United States. South Africa's is 35.9/1000, making it the 9th highest in the world.

"I'd love to retire to South Africa but I'm allergic to something in the air - bullets."

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#556

Post by EdwardDiego » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:03 AM UTC

OJFord wrote: post #522

EdwardDiego wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A Trump loss would be presumably be to one of the avowed socialists running Oh bless, the tendency in the US towards labelling people still right of the centre by most countries' standards as "socialists" for being left of the Republicans is cute.

I'm not American, but the Democratic party self-describes as social-liberal. Of course people can agree or disagree with the ideology, but only you here seem to have attached stigma to the word. (Though the same could have been said for 'fascist', which certainly now has widespread stigma attached, and most proponents have stopped self-describing as such.)

> I'm not American, but the Democratic party self-describes as social-liberal.

Social-liberal isn't socialist. I live in a liberal-social democracy, but very few workers own the means of production here.

> but only you here seem to have attached stigma to the word.

American society as a whole has attached a stigma to it. Claiming otherwise is either disingenuous or ignorant, I'll let you take your pick as you listen to the dulcet tones of Ronald Reagan disclaiming the dangers of socialised medicine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYrlDlrLDSQ

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#557

Post by NetOpWibby » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:04 AM UTC

BuckRogers wrote: post #549

username90 wrote: post #538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Women find men with more money to be more attractive. It isn't the only factor, but it is a significant factor like for example height. > "A man can move himself two points higher on the attractiveness scale we used if his salary increases by a factor of 10," study author John Speakman told The Times. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/01/women-are-more-...

I found my wife when I was unemployed. I wouldn't have it any other way. As a result, I remind myself to never forget it, and be extra good as a husband. Relationships are hard enough, if you're using your income (I had none, was on unemployment), or inheritance (I have none) as a carrot, you're in for a rude awakening someday. Apologies to Red Green, but while I'm not wealthy, I'm just a run of the mill software dev…

Finding a spouse when you aren't well off or rich is the wave. From what I see/hear from my friends, dating is grueling. I've been with my mine for almost a decade.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#558

Post by molmalo » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:09 AM UTC

ahs1 wrote: post #388

cantrevealname wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> make the most of it by progressing deliberately in your social life Ironically the Bay Area is among the worst places on Earth for improving your social life if you're straight and male. I noticed that you don't live in the Bay Area, you're married, you probably meant a much broader meaning of "social life", so your experiences are likely very different. But the typical clean cut, well-spoken, hard working, respect…

> My advice would be work hard, save your money, travel when you can to better locales to improve your social life, but with the eventual goal of permanently moving out when you've saved enough. If you pick your destination within the USA well, dating prospects will improve greatly, and if you look worldwide (and can overcome the language and immigration issues), it could improve dramatically. The Bay Area will seem…

With 1M USD, a really good place to live would be Buenos Aires, Argentina.

OK, this will sound like I'm from a travel agency, hahaha, but here's why:

If you are single, spending just 1200 USD per month here you can live a middle-high class life, renting a cool and spacious apartment in a nice neighborhood, good health care, gym, car, dining out. (To give you an idea, most of the middle class singles would spend half that amount...)

There's a very nice tech scene (lots of startups, and several unicorns), where having a work exp. in SV companies is an instant door opener.

Climate is temperate, (lots of sunny days year round, average weather 8C winter / summer 29C).

Huge restaurant scene, very cosmopolitan city, with ethnic restaurants of all kinds (lots of euro, american and asian origins). Also, some of the best meat in the world, at very good prices.

Lots and lots of cultural activities.

Huge mass transport network. You really don't need to own a car, (but I prefer having one, just for convenience... specially if you want to improve on your social side). European looking city. But as a most big cities, it can get chaotic in rush hours depending on where you live.

And lastly, considering your quote: you have LOTS of pretty girls, that love dating foreign guys.

Although I should warn you there's very few Asian-origin girls... and almost no [black | Indian | Middle Eastern] girls, comparing to the Bay Area. It's mostly euro-descendants or latinas; so depending on what you are looking for (if you are that specific/picky) it might be a concern.

It's the kind of place where with 1M, you can afford to not work actively anymore (e.g. living off rental income, or investments abroad).

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#559

Post by alkibiades » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:09 AM UTC

tmpz22 wrote: post #188

Does anyone else feel like a 3rd or 4th class citizen reading posts like these? How is someone supposed to "compete" financially or socially when there is a magic gate with so much privilege on the other side?

first step is to get out of competition mindset and focus on improving your own predicament.

i'm sure many would feel they are 3rd class citizens compared to you

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#560

Post by ikeyany » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 7:11 AM UTC

kqr wrote: post #537

CydeWeys wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percentage of software engineers are doing "something meaningful"? That seems like a small number, no? Contrast with teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers, etc., almost all of whom I think would say they do something meaningful.

All of those you list as doing something meaningful can multiply their efforts if only there's a good software developer upstream from them. Software developers invent the tools and environments that enable other people to do more efficient work. Sometimes it enables entire classes of meaning work that weren't possible before. How can that not be meaningful? For better or worse, everything is driven by software these…

Many jobs in our society enable others to do efficient work. From the bus drivers that get Google employees to work to the teachers that work 60 hour days educating future doctors and lawyers--it's hard to say that engineers are particularly special in this regard.