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Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

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Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#21

Post by dacracot »

holydude wrote: post #6
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #5

You're not trapped by anything but the paycheck. You might ask yourself how much money it would be worth giving up to work in a better environment. Then see if you can find a job that pays at least that much, with an environment that is considerably better than where you are.

The problem is you never know if it is going to be better or worse. My experience is that it is mostly the same everywhere. What changes is the paycheck, company logo and the faces

The grass is always greener syndrome is very real. The reverse interview process is very hard to parse. It usually takes several months to know where you will be in the bell curve of work environment between "living hell" and "wow, I enjoy my work".

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#23

Post by cookiecaper »

So a few things. First, while it's not easy when you're highly paid, there usually are ways to get close to the same compensation somewhere else. You may have to be willing to come down, but you can usually find someone else to get you in the same ballpark. It just takes a lot of work (months). Building out a strong network is really important for this.

Second, politics is a constant any time you have more than 5-6 people involved. You must acclimate to this. It never goes away, and people are basically the same wherever they are. You can't escape this reality. Separating yourself from it just makes you an easier target (and having a high salary does that naturally anyway, so you don't need to get any bigger). Wherever you go, this will be the case.

When I was younger I used to hop around a lot; when the political situation would get hairy I would just nope out and move on to somewhere else instead of playing the game. Not only does that gets harder as you get more senior and enjoy more perks and comforts from your employer, but it makes for an unstable personal situation and most importantly, it doesn't really change anything. Your next employer will soon begin having all sorts of ugliness too, and you need to be able to navigate it.

You're probably going to be better off learning to play the political game and operate from the inside than to move somewhere else. It may take some hard work to counteract impressions made before your political awakening, but these skills are critical.

Take over. Don't let the inmates run the asylum anymore.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#24

Post by cookiecaper »

watwut wrote: post #17

There are two important factors: 1.) is this dead end career or rather it will be possible for you to find another job later? A lot of money now in exchange of having trouble to find another job later on is a bad deal. 2.) How does the shittiness affect you personal life? If it makes you constantly angry and lashing out at girlfriend/boyfriend, you risk losing her or at least damaging the relationship. Factor that in…

You neglect the scenario in which the overpaid employee could be married with dependents. When your kids depend on your paycheck, this is not such a simple matter, and making trades for "a lot of money now" doesn't seem like such a bad deal. When you're young and uncommitted, you can afford to make moves on airy idealism. You can't when you have something important riding on it. This is true even if you have a lot of savings or "runway".

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#25

Post by carsongross »

All jobs suck in their own special way. Improving your response to your environment (stoicism, seeing the humanity below the artificial surface of the company, seeking out the good people at your work place and working with them, etc.) is far more important for personal happiness than a specific job in the vast majority of cases.

Given the uncertainty we are facing in the world and economy, a high paying, secure job and a low burn rate seem like a very good situation.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#26

Post by joeclark77 »

I find this question interesting because over the past year I've been reading everything I can find in the library about work, the history of work, pride of workmanship, craft, job satisfaction, motivation, and so on. There are two schools of thought (at least). On the one hand, some people strive to find a great job that's instrinsically stimulating and motivating. On the other hand, that can't be a universal human need: the world needs ditch diggers, too, right? So the other angle is that it's not what work you do, but why and how you're doing it that matters. Are you finding/creating challenges at work and growing in your skill? Are you using the excess money surplus for worthy causes, or are you squandering it on empty entertainment and vain pursuits?

I don't know which view is right, but the philosophy is fascinating.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#27

Post by martin1b »

You have a classic case of the golden handcuffs. Been there couple of times. You have a couple options:

1. Ride it out and make it a better place. Be the person who improves Con #2. Usually, it takes a lot of time but it can be done by slowing making improvements toward a new stack. That will phase out Con #3. Help define Con #6 so you have some vision. Con #6 is caused by Con #1. Develop your resume with side projects OR using new stack at work (new stack in production code is worth much more in an interview)

2. Look at another job. You're right when you say other places are the same, but not all. If you find yourself preferring to be sick than to go to work, then it's hi time to change (been there) as you're not doing yourself or the employer any favors. You may need a change of scenery and the money is not worth it at that point. If necessary, take a money hit and move on.

A lot of it boils down to either money (which will come in time), or enjoying your job. If you're lucky, you can get both.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#30

Post by jenamety »

I'd wager monopolies and old tech correlate pretty well...

Consider industries that are growing for your next move: http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/...

Usually a lot more opportunities, a lot more shuffling around, and need good talent to continue growing.

Monopolies do not have a need to be innovative to stay competitive, so you'll be stuck with old technology for a while.

I was in a position i hated (dev lead with micro-manager), but i had extreme flexibility to take my time. took 2 years to find my next move, got a 12% bump in base, plus 5% more for annual bonus. I've loved it ever since, challenged every day, never looked back.

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