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?

#761

Post by csorrell » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:05 PM UTC

JohnBooty wrote: post #508

samplatt wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>everyone else is so incompetent because he doesn't try and still looks good I'd argue against the "talent lottery" idea. Over the last 10 years as a software dev I'd argue that the 10x "rockstar" dev certainly exists, but it's almost always a case of situation/environment matching an already-moderately-talented employee extremely well. I've seen a lot of slackers suddenly explode into a powerhouse when given the rig…

Yeah I've been anywhere from like 0.5x to 10x in my career. Guess what changed? Sure wasn't my IQ or work ethic. Generally, the "10x devs" are the ones who got to do the initial greenfield work. They are the ones who understand the system, including all the undocumented domain knowledge that has been embedded into it over the years. Ironically this actually rewards incompetence at times. If you do that greenfield wor…

>Generally, the "10x devs" are the ones who got to do the initial greenfield work. They are the ones who understand the system, including all the undocumented domain knowledge that has been embedded into it over the years.

I think this is exactly right. Especially when working on large projects with complex business logic.

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

#762

Post by balladeer » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:06 PM UTC

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…

I have been in two such developer roles - combined around 8 years. I am currently at the second and every morning I struggle with the idea of not going to office and quitting but this job is what puts food on the table.

I don't even want to be in the software field. Whenever I have tried to think about it, write it down, brainstorm I have come to one vague connotation that I'd be interested in something that's a combination of art/history, architecture, product, UX. I have tried finding masters, PhD in fields that would appeal to me, tried to search for jobs and I have found none. There are some (very remote) - but at my experience level they either look for experience in the field of higher education.

I have to leave this job and I am planning to move to some other software company - preferably some big org where I can look for something that's a fit for me or something closer. But I won't even know whether I should do that. Some evenings I just try not to think about it.

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

#763

Post by kungtotte » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:07 PM UTC

hycaria wrote: post #751

kungtotte wrote: post #729

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, we are able to buy real estate in a decent location. We live not far outside Stockholm where prices are really high compared to the rest of the country, and we had no problems buying our house. My salary is ~twice the median income for this area, and by any measure we're at the upper end of middle class by Swedish standards.

Not far outside is a very lax definition. A 500K Mortgage (affordable with aforementioned salaries) gets you a 2 bedroom in good neighborhoods in Paris, 3 in lesser ones. Sure, if you're ready to go 20 km away you can get a rather nice house at that price (say 100-150m2 with a garden of variable size), but at the cost of commuting 30min-1hr everyday. Anyways, I wouldn't consider someone establishing outside of an eur…

A 2 room apartment in central Stockholm, 40m2 starts at $303000 right now (that's a current listing).

https://maps.app.goo.gl/PnrNuo2k3LsgaeG89

That apartment is 44km as the crow flies from my house, 55km by car (45-50min of driving).

Is your definition of "high middle class" really if we're able to afford central Stockholm housing?

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

#764

Post by genS3 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:08 PM UTC

kungtotte wrote: post #750

theodric wrote: post #743

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American who has spent 16 years in Europe (Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland). > $80K goes a lot further in Europe than it does in the US. I would like to see evidence supporting this assertion. Luxury meats are about the only thing I can think of that are more expensive stateside.

We pay $100 per month for daycare which is open 6:30 to 18:30 if we need it for that long. School costs us nothing out of pocket. Our grand total out of pocket medical costs for our kid thus far (turns 4 in March) is around $500. Including any medication we've ever bought for him. Half of that $500 went to spending Monday through Friday at the hospital when he was born, in a hotel style room with three meals a day in…

yeah surely your family has good dental for paying only 500$ medical costs.

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

#765

Post by bg117 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:10 PM UTC

thrownaway954 wrote: post #613

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." THIS all the way. When we are young, we think that we will be remembered by the company that we worked for and the people that we worked with. The sad truth is that in 99.9999% none of those people will rememb…

sure you will agree that are people in this world who lead far miserable life than you. just relax and try focussing on hobbies, social/community work/... To err is human but to realize that you made mistake, you are already on the right path to a better life.

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

#766

Post by nixarian » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:11 PM UTC

SamPatt wrote: post #697

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-...

The book "The Red Queen" by Matt Ridley goes into depth about how men and women choose their mates, based largely on evolutionary biology. People treat it like a character flaw for a woman to choose a man based on wealth and status, but why? A woman committing to a relationship likely means pregnancy and that requires resources and protection for years and years. That's how it's been for hundreds of thousands of year…

Because SHE CAN MAKE HER OWN MONEY. That's why. How do you not see that? And status doesn't always equate to money, yet status is what is selected for, not money, exactly. Money is just a status symbol. Women who make enough money to not need a man often STILL select based on wealth.

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

#767

Post by tanilama » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:12 PM UTC

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…

Only in Google probably...Other companies aren't that kind.

And remember the tech haven't had a downturn like in a decade. Hard to tell if this kind of slacking will endure one TBH.

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

#768

Post by jfengel » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:13 PM UTC

krageon wrote: post #712

glangdale wrote: post #692

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, first of all, lose that sense of entitlement. It's hard to think of much that's less appealing than petulance. It's also a pretty great way to blind yourself to what 'league' you're actually in. A number of my tech friends have wasted an extraordinary amount of time chasing women absurdly out of their league because they've been convinced that "having a decent job", "being well-spoken" and "eating with their mo…

> lose that sense of entitlement When you are told you need to meet specific criteria to achieve a goal, it's not entitlement to expect those criteria to lead to that goal. When trying to get people to listen to what you are saying, try not to start with a put-down.

I'd say it's precisely entitlement to expect that fulfilling criteria will lead to a goal. Entitlements like that come from pervasive societal messages, and getting over them is hard. You can't see it until it's pointed out, and that is always going to come as a blow.

It's even harder to fix the overall messaging than it is to realize it in yourself. But each person who realizes that they have been sold an entitlement, and gets past it, is one more person who can say, "No, all of the assumptions you've been sold are wrong."

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

#769

Post by nixarian » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:15 PM 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…

Was she unemployed or low income at the time? Does she currently make more money than you? Were you ambitious, and display that ambition to impress her? Having a humble wife is fortunate, yes, but it really is all relative.

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

#770

Post by JohnBooty » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 3:18 PM UTC

neuronic wrote: post #756

JohnBooty wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. This battle was lost way, way back in the 90s when we collectively decided that everything on the Internet should be free. I think it's one of the great lost opportunities in human history. I don't know what the "correct" course of action would have been, instead of making everything ad-supported and mostly terrible. Some kind of very very seamless micropayments? Maybe there was no "correct choice." Maybe "free,…

Watch VR when it (or rather if) it takes off. Then ads will truly be squeezed into our eyeballs in the most literal sense.

It's never taking off on the scale of the internet itself.

It just doesn't pass any kind of common-sense test. People don't really want to spend large portions of their lives wearing goofy headsets, seeing things nobody else can see. Even if (when) we shrink the screens down to the size and weight of regular eyeglasses, I don't see it. It is not compatible with anything else... you have to completely cease all other activities and utterly devote yourself to your VR experience, sealing yourself off from the world.

VR definitely delivers a pretty awesome experience when done well, don't get me wrong. I think it will hang around and have its fans. But, game-changer? Never.