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Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

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81–90 of 113 posts

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#81

Sorry to digress - What I want from life keeps changing over time. Maybe evolving as I grow/change as a person. While I was happiest at certain roles/companies in the past, I don't think I would be as happy there now.

Yeah, and memory is a fickle thing. I want to say "job X" but then as I really think about it, I realize I am disregarding some bad times there, too.

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#82

Justin.TV during the first 3 years or so. Honestly, because we were in "cowboy mode", and that's what I enjoy the most. The site was growing and changing so fast it was often hard to keep up, and we were all just doing whatever it took.

Cowboy mode sounds horrible to me (no offense). What did you enjoy about it?

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#83
post #70

As a teenager during the summers working for my father driving frontend loader. I sat in a AC cab and screened top soil all day. I went to work at 7am and left around 4pm. I didn't have a care in the world after 4pm. It wasn't just because I had no bills to pay, I just didn't worry about work. I knew the pile of dirt wasn't going anywhere and the area we were digging out was going to be the same when I got back to wo…

I always find it somewhat ironic that I spent all this time preparing myself to get a good career in tech when repetitive manual labor seems to be the happiest

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#84
post #80

My first job as a junior. I worked with really smart coworkers. I got to build things that were used, and things that made money. Most other jobs after that I ended up building things that were never used, or used to get some kind of grant or impress investors, and wasn't even what the user wanted. A lot of the more senior jobs I get, I end up doing a lot of management and getting little work done. Sometimes when som…

having typos in variable names doesn't seem related to being smart though

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#85

Square was great. During my time there, the company doubled in size, tripled in valuation, built a plethora of new products, and experienced all the chapters in the adolescence of a successful startup. Everyone was intelligent, most of them treated their coworkers well, and nearly all felt a sense of camaraderie and loyalty to the company as a whole. Left for YC, but if I had to do it all again, I might choose to sta…

I was there, too, but I wish I had left earlier. I really didn't enjoy anything about it.

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#86
post #80

My first job as a junior. I worked with really smart coworkers. I got to build things that were used, and things that made money. Most other jobs after that I ended up building things that were never used, or used to get some kind of grant or impress investors, and wasn't even what the user wanted. A lot of the more senior jobs I get, I end up doing a lot of management and getting little work done. Sometimes when som…

having typos in variable names doesn't seem related to being smart though

Maybe he means not catching them with some kind of linter, IDE, or test? I'm choosing to believe that, at least.

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#87
I worked as a summer camp counselor and I loved every second of it. We ran a competitive sports camp with kids aged 8-13 years. It was well-run, action-packed, and my co-counselors included some close friends that I still keep in touch with. We laughed, cried, sweated, and laid it all on the line for our weekly team of kids, which was re-drafted every new week. Team loyalty was fierce and the competition extended to include team spirit, sportsmanship, and being a good citizen.

We had enough time to really connect with and influence the kids. I also keep up with a lot of "my kids" on facebook, and they are all grown and many are married with children of their own. I'm very proud of so many of them.

Working with children is incredibly rewarding, but there was no obvious career path where I was. When I was promoted I hated it, and quit.

I was young though, and I didn't care about the money at all while I worked with the kids. It was the best time of my life, so far. Development pays better, but it's really drab by comparison.

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#89
post #70

As a teenager during the summers working for my father driving frontend loader. I sat in a AC cab and screened top soil all day. I went to work at 7am and left around 4pm. I didn't have a care in the world after 4pm. It wasn't just because I had no bills to pay, I just didn't worry about work. I knew the pile of dirt wasn't going anywhere and the area we were digging out was going to be the same when I got back to wo…

I always find it somewhat ironic that I spent all this time preparing myself to get a good career in tech when repetitive manual labor seems to be the happiest

couldn't agree more.. 10 years ago I was at the Apple store in Manhattan with my wife getting an iphone. There was this guy who's job it was just to sweep the stairs going down to the store.

I told my wife.. If I could somehow make a tech salary doing what he does, I'd do it in a second. She questioned me like why? I just said what I said before. I could come home and not worry about anything.

Re: Ask HN: At what company were you happiest and why?

#90
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always find it somewhat ironic that I spent all this time preparing myself to get a good career in tech when repetitive manual labor seems to be the happiest

couldn't agree more.. 10 years ago I was at the Apple store in Manhattan with my wife getting an iphone. There was this guy who's job it was just to sweep the stairs going down to the store. I told my wife.. If I could somehow make a tech salary doing what he does, I'd do it in a second. She questioned me like why? I just said what I said before. I could come home and not worry about anything.

What are some of the worries you bring home?
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