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What to care about in a job

benkuhn.net

11–20 of 62 posts

Re: What to care about in a job

#11
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

> seamless job transitions with no gaps, min 2 years at one job, steady growth re titles, headcount, responsibilities > Getting jobs and being an employee has opportunities, it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries but the price is high: reducing your options until you hit a depression. This is not how it works in most of the EU, in particular DE/IT/AT/CH. There they value loyalty the most and they as…

> Sometimes I wonder perhaps there is some non-competing agreement between companies?

I doubt there are formal or explicit agreements, but informally or implicitly... Yes. One of my last employers bent himself backwards to avoid even contacting anyone who ever worked for certain competitors just to avoid the idea he was going after their staff.

Re: What to care about in a job

#12
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

> seamless job transitions with no gaps, min 2 years at one job, steady growth re titles, headcount, responsibilities > Getting jobs and being an employee has opportunities, it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries but the price is high: reducing your options until you hit a depression. This is not how it works in most of the EU, in particular DE/IT/AT/CH. There they value loyalty the most and they as…

Lack of economical education in the culture? Capitalism: Buy as cheap as possible, sell as expensive as possible. In the battle of this two intents, 'fair' market price emerges. If business tells you otherwise, if it frowns upon chasing your market value (including job hopping), is it a big fraud?

Re: What to care about in a job

#13
post #7
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

> it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries Where do I sign up?

Any non-startup tech company in the Bay Area should be paying at least this much if they're serious about hiring "top talent". That is the going rate these days for engineers / devops / sometimes designers / sometimes PMs.

Re: What to care about in a job

#14
I particularly like the "anti-priorities" section. You can't optimise for everything, and it's refreshing to see someone be upfront about the things which they're prepared to let be sub-optimal.

Of course, it's important to read that section as "what I don't prioritise", not "what you shouldn't prioritise".

Re: What to care about in a job

#15
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

> seamless job transitions with no gaps, min 2 years at one job, steady growth re titles, headcount, responsibilities > Getting jobs and being an employee has opportunities, it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries but the price is high: reducing your options until you hit a depression. This is not how it works in most of the EU, in particular DE/IT/AT/CH. There they value loyalty the most and they as…

It sounds to me like the first part you describe(strong social pressure against job hopping) leads to drastically reduced worker mobility (swinging the balance of power in favour of the employers), and thence to the second part (relatively low salary ceiling).

Re: What to care about in a job

#16
post #7
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

> it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries Where do I sign up?

Any big 4 if you have experience, most unicorns and established "prestigious" tech companies too. Keep in mind you'll most likely have to live in an area with a high CoL

Re: What to care about in a job

#17
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

"Getting jobs and being an employee has opportunities, it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries"

I wish we would stop repeating this, like it is some kind of universal truth.

It might be easy for tech workers living in specific parts of the US, it is simply not true for the vast majority of their collegues in other parts of the world.

Re: What to care about in a job

#19
post #17
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

"Getting jobs and being an employee has opportunities, it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries" I wish we would stop repeating this, like it is some kind of universal truth. It might be easy for tech workers living in specific parts of the US, it is simply not true for the vast majority of their collegues in other parts of the world.

If the dollar continues its downward trend...

Re: What to care about in a job

#20
post #17
post #3

Wrong question, wrong perspective. Even the very best jobs where everything seems to be perfect still have significant setbacks because of the nature of a job: - Employees suffer from one single dependency which can make their live miserable—their manager; just compare: Entrepreneurs should be independent and build as many options as possible (e.g. not just one client but many) - A job locks you in, means all side ac…

"Getting jobs and being an employee has opportunities, it's easy for many in our industry to get 200K+ salaries" I wish we would stop repeating this, like it is some kind of universal truth. It might be easy for tech workers living in specific parts of the US, it is simply not true for the vast majority of their collegues in other parts of the world.

I would slightly amend that to say that it's easy for tech workers willing to live in specific parts of the US. Nobody is tying you down to where you live currently except yourself, and probably more commonly, your own obligations and preferences regarding family/friends/lifestyle

Edit: and also your work permissions status

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