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

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

#581

Post by marmaduke »

franze wrote: post #577
md5wasp wrote: post #162

Hi there, I did the exact same thing as you (at Google Sydney), before eventually deciding that I must strike out into the wilderness. In the few years since I left; I worked as a solutions architect managing a team, a team lead, a remote dev, and now in a startup. Front-end, back-end, flip-side, all the ends. So I've been deliberately trying different angles of my career to see what suits. I'd describe this process…

> If you stay at Google, make the most of it by progressing deliberately in your social life. If I'd've stayed, I could have comfortably raised some kids with my wife by now - but that's still on the todo list. Uh oh. Unseen Risk Fallacy Just because you don't experience risk, doesn't mean it does not exist. The company just hides risk from you, but it's still there, culminating without feedback. As raising a child i…

> Uh oh. Unseen Risk Fallacy

a bit off topic, but couldn't identifying fallacies in arguments be automated? how much better would the discussion be if comments were labeled with likelihood of fallacy?

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

#582

Post by pedrosorio »

Galanwe wrote: post #338
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…

> 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 There is so much wrong in this sentence. First, there is no more “meat grinders” in the US than in Europe. I worked at Microsoft and Criteo in Europe, and the slacking there seems to be on par with what OP describes. You mention 40/80k per year being pitiful? This kind of remu…

> The kind of stock options you get in big tech companies is not what you think. You can expect some hundreds/thousands dollars per year, that need 3/5 year to vest until you can have them in full.

Did you mean tens/hundreds of thousands per year? Vesting monthly or quarterly? Because that's what "big tech companies" pay just in stocks in the Bay Area.

https://www.levels.fyi/

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

#583

Post by NeverFade »

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #525
NeverFade wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most startup CEOs don't make much. Depends on the startup and what stage it is. If it's a successful startup, then the CEO is sitting on a pile of stock that will likely be worth millions. If it's also a later stage startup, then likely he is making at least as much as his senior developers on top of that. Either way, he's a much better bet if you want to be a millionaire's wife some day. Also, executives typically…

Of all the women I know, not one of them aspires to be "a millionaire's wife".

Funny coincidence, I never met such a woman either!

I did meet plenty who just happened to only date men who make high six to seven figures. It was a serial coincidence!

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

#584

Post by avocado4 »

mindcrime wrote: post #208
ec109685 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn’t read his whole post. They’re bored. Their value to google is high enough to keep them employed but the job is beneath their capabilities. The failing for google is not providing this person a path to do more or at least understanding their ambition to do more.

Their value to google is high enough to keep them employed but the job is beneath their capabilities. That's what we call "the perfect job." It pays the bills, but leaves you the maximum amount of (mental|emotional|psychological|spiritual|whatever) energy to work on the things that really interest you ... outside of work. Of course different people will approach this differently, but I don't want my job to be interes…

Pro-tip: don't tell or show this sentiment to a potential employer if you ever look to switch jobs. This is probably the worst possible mindset for an employee to have from employer's perspective.

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

#585

Post by istorical »

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…

Don't move anywhere without visiting several places for at least 1-2 weeks each. Trust me on this. You may have a picture of a place but being there can be very different.

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

#586

Post by NeverFade »

philosopher1234 wrote: post #561
X6S1x6Okd1st wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree. Being interesting as a human and working on yourself is so much better than trying to get credit for being "respectful". That's like saying: "look I shower every day!" Be interesting.

What do you personally do to be interesting?

I personally moved to locations that don't have 50%+ more single men than women. That seemed to have made me a lot more, uhm, "interesting".

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

#587

Post by pedrosorio »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #187
dhuyrv wrote: post #130

You remind me myself a few years ago: a talented, but bored slacker who didn't see any point in investing any energy into that project. Turns out I was right: the project didn't go anywhere after I left and investing any extra time would be a clueless thing to do. So what's changed since then? Have I found meaning in work? No! I've become a professional slacker who knows all these psychological tricks, knows what bod…

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…

> Reading OPs problem and some posts here where people are too bored of making ludicrous money left me with a bitter aftertaste that life really is unfair and success in life is more linked to the lottery of birth and opportunities available to you than any amount of hard work. Not hating, just saying.

Just FYI, large US tech companies have offices in Europe and they also hire people from Europe to work in their US offices, so if you really want it, "lottery of birth" is not an insurmountable obstacle.

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

#588

Post by TheGallopedHigh »

marmaduke wrote: post #581
franze wrote: post #577

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you stay at Google, make the most of it by progressing deliberately in your social life. If I'd've stayed, I could have comfortably raised some kids with my wife by now - but that's still on the todo list. Uh oh. Unseen Risk Fallacy Just because you don't experience risk, doesn't mean it does not exist. The company just hides risk from you, but it's still there, culminating without feedback. As raising a child i…

> Uh oh. Unseen Risk Fallacy a bit off topic, but couldn't identifying fallacies in arguments be automated? how much better would the discussion be if comments were labeled with likelihood of fallacy?

This would be a tall order for any NLP algo. I would hazard a guess and say no, not yet.

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

#589

Post by kamranahmedse »

I would never understand this "bored at work" thing. To make it interesting you have side projects and things outside work. If you are working for someone then the "boringness" is something that you have to deal with. Every job that you will have will become boring at one point or another - there will be repetitive tasks but it doesn't seem logical to keep switching every few months. If I was in your shoes and this was my situation, I wouldn't jump ship and rather get involved in the interesting opensource projects or work on the interesting stuff of my own.

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

#590

Post by surfsvammel »

This also sounds like a bit of imposter syndrome. I’m sure it will be fine and that you’ve actually picked up more than you realise. You should definitely leave and try something new. It seems obvious that you are not happy with the current situation, just sitting off time at work.

Don’t start prepping to much, just do it. Jumping in is the best way to get moving.

In these situation, I always tell myself (or if it is the board of directors / leader group at my company that is being a bit too risk averse): ”Ingen minns en fegis” (Swedish, more or less “No one remembers a coward”)

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