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Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#91

Post by scarface74 »

report-to-trees wrote: post #51
User23 wrote: post #8

Anyone that's been in tech at the FAANG tier for two decades and doesn't have at least one to two years of runway not including retirement accounts is observably terrible at managing money.

Most small shop tech jobs in smaller cities pay very little comparatively. The OP said they were currently at FAANG, not that they have been at that level for 2 decades. Having worked with lots of people with over 20 years experience, a lot of them stuck with a single company their entire career and are making nowhere near FAANG.

I just started working for a FAANG at 46. I’ve had three to six months savings in the bank since I was 23 working as a computer operator.

There is not a day since then that I have lost sleep about losing my job. I’ve always found jobs quickly.

My expenses starting next year should be lower than they were when I was making less than half as much in 2016. I’m voluntarily helping my younger son out in some ways until he turns 22

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#92

Post by scarface74 »

fshbbdssbbgdd wrote: post #16
User23 wrote: post #8

Anyone that's been in tech at the FAANG tier for two decades and doesn't have at least one to two years of runway not including retirement accounts is observably terrible at managing money.

If you get used to making some money and think you can rely on it, you might make commitments to spend it. Then if your income drops, suddenly you are at risk of breaking those commitments. This can happen at literally any income level.

Then “Don’t do that”. My income has more than doubled since 2016. My commitments haven’t changed nor has my budget. For reference, in 2016 I was making $115K.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#93

Post by scarface74 »

cirrus3 wrote: post #71

Yes, I do, but I've worked at the same small (relative to a FAANG) company for over 12 years (20+ years working professionally). During that time I've proven myself have good ideas even when they are controversial, perform above average, and admit when I've been wrong or failed. I probably get paid less I could elsewhere, and there is probably some big fish in a small pond effect going on, but part of the the reason…

Keep thinking that…

Facts on the ground change all of the time. Never get complacent or fall for the “we are family” bullshit.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#94

Post by wereallterrrist »

eh9 wrote: post #77
wereallterrrist wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And? Thats fking pathetic and nearly every single healthy, unburdened FAANG engineer should be deahtly embarrassed to find themselves in such a situation. But for those reading this who are "crying in bathrooms", what does it say about your lifestyle thst you likely made 2-3x my salary, and yet i walked away from tech for years while youre somehow fearful of making ends meet? I eat what i want, i have money for more…

You’re mad at the wrong demographic. Direct your anger higher up, not at people working and not at regular ass people who are willing and able to save, but also have life obligations that make that difficult. The upper middle class isn’t the actual enemy, despite their accessibility & visibility to you which, I know, can be grating.

I know that, I also know who enables them and is ignorant of the score, because theyre blinded by rampant thoughtless consumerism. I know which ones have a hope of being convinced and have a self-interest in a better path. (And I tried to word the op carefully enough to leave exceptions for )

But maybe I should be more careful in how I speak. Class consciousness is key and I didnt know any better until I did.

But also I know whats it like to live in a nice, newly built 2br apt in the second most expensive tech city. And I know how to make that work, coasting, on ~60k/yr, without free meals, without free orca cards, without free shuttles across town. So when i see 5year xooglers that i know made 300k+ the entire time, my head starts to pulsate.

When I think about how i can draw what i draw off my (big tech co) stock, and then I think about those same xooglers, and their stock benefits...

It just feels like these conversations are borderline dishonest with the handwaving and intentional lack of discussion of specifics, and any consideration of the meta of how this tragic, unthinkable event is discussed here compared to other topics related to labor.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#95

Post by rcarmo »

User23 wrote: post #8

Anyone that's been in tech at the FAANG tier for two decades and doesn't have at least one to two years of runway not including retirement accounts is observably terrible at managing money.

FAANG only pays well in the US. Those of us outside have to do with “above market rate”, which is a fluid concept.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#96

Post by 28304283409234 »

moomoo11 wrote: post #84

It’s a job dude. You sign the offer letter for 300k plus TC and you’re just a resource. Do it well and you can leave any time you want for something else. You’re not forced to work for 300k lol. Just hop ship and make 400k. You’re working for a capitalist machination. You want something deeper start your own company or do something else. These companies don’t care about you. The “cool tech” you build is just an icing…

Oh if only I could upvote this x1000.

Watch the documentary "The Corporation". It explains perfectly what is going on.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#97

Post by 28304283409234 »

sdwr wrote: post #78
flandish wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not though - when you look at what really “drives” the relationship. You trade your labor for money in a system designed to keep us so anxious, we will accept as little wage as possible, by the same capital owning class. We are subject to their desires as they are bound, by law, to choose profit for shareholders over employees. We are their subjects. “Ain’t no war but class war” applies to us in tech as much as…

I know the feel, but I also think this is misplaced anxiety. Work can be difficult, stressful, feel pointless, etc, which is why we get paid to do it. And you need some level of stress to get over the hump and get it done, to fight off complacency. The problem starts when we start blaming the person telling us what to do, for having to do it.

The problem starts with putting in charge those people that do not understand what needs to be done.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#98

Post by musicale »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #50

Interestingly I’m a few years over 30 years info my tech career and it was avoid 10 years ago I could see the fnords at last. There is no safety, there never was. There’s no golden ring, there is no winning, there is no camaraderie, there is no value in promotion, the respect of your peers is meaningless, and it’s all just a sham to get you to expend more of your soul for less money. Once I had pierced the ceiling in…

> it’s all just a sham to get you to expend more of your soul for less money

This is a concise and accurate summary.

Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?

#99

Post by Gunax »

eh9 wrote: post #72
whythre wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is probably the most charitable interpretation of the phenomenon possible. I do not think it is about holding people accountable at all, I think it is a new way to enforce shifting social norms that allows people to judge others without being ‘judgy.’

Please name a single instance of an individual being “cancelled” for anything but bigotry, hatred, violence, or dangerous rhetoric. I’ll wait. People aren’t being cancelled for speaking their minds. They’re being cancelled when speaking their minds is literally offensive to small and large groups of people. Almost every time someone is complaining about cancel culture, what they’re really complaining about is being h…

I don't think an answer will satisy you because anything can be bigotry.

Or more aplty: the problem is we have a deep divide in what constitutes bigotry. A significant portion of Americans oppose gay marriage, and a roughly equal portion would consider that bigotry.

You cannot run a society that way.

Im not necessarily trying to say you're wrong. Rather, I am trying to infuse some humility and shades of grey into a situation that I think you're portraying as black-and-white.

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