Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

People start hating their jobs at 35

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 247 posts

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#81

Post by harperlee »

vfc1 wrote: post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

> They have figured out that they are never going to get payed the true value of their work,and that is almost the definition of being an employee.

A little bit too cynical for my taste. You make it sound as if companies serve no purpose other than extracting value from the employee to the company. Your work value inside the company is higher than the value of the work per se; the order that the firm institutes has a value for society, minimizing information, decision and transaction costs. That is why firms exist, and not only markets; a gig economy in which everyone is free to sell their work is worse. You could even argue that the power relations that the firm embodies for you end up also appearing in a market, without the securities of a job relationship (see Uber drivers and the like).

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_the_firm

Also, job security is not perfect, but it sure does exist.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#82

Post by titzer »

vfc1 wrote: post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

Well, damn it. Now you've done it. Jeebs, go get the bag, we got a cat loose in here!

chaos

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#83

Post by paulie_a »

empath75 wrote: post #20

I start hating my job every three years or so. Then I get a new one making more money.

Don't you have troubles finding work? I review resumes at times and I don't expect someone to be married to a company. But three years is a warning sign. Companies fail, there was a bad culture. But job hopping is a reason to not want to hire someone.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#84

Post by sbarre »

jasonkester wrote: post #54
vfc1 wrote: post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

These sound more like a list of things you figure out in your 20s so that you can successfully work them to your advantage in your 30s. Also, if you embrace the "no job security" part above and don't sweat your "career" at any given shop, the rest of them stop being things you need to worry about. Let the other guys stress office politics and fear for their job if they take vacation. You're the guy who knows what thi…

Spoken like an HNer who is incredibly lucky to be working in a field that has never-ending demand, and is probably good at their job.

Just a heads up that the majority of people are not in your/our situation with regards to their employment.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#85

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

woogiewonka wrote: post #40
mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We as software engineers make a damn good amount of money for literally sitting down all day and basically bossing computers around. It is not slavery. I enjoy what I do and am making decent money doing it. If I won the lottery with FU money, yeah, I'd be done working for others. I think around 35 is when you may see through any illusions employers have with buying into their grand mission statements or whatever to g…

Software engineers / developers live in their own bubbles. It takes a certain amount of willfulness to want to get into that type of work, so it is no wonder a handful (or more than a handful) of well paid engineers actually enjoy their work. Of course that goes for other professions but I imagine the majority of the population does not live in your reality.

Is the hate of the job just general hate for any job? If that is the case, it won't matter what profession you choose if someone doesn't like the way humans have structured society.

One option is to go work a different job for a day like volunteering for Habitat for Humanity building houses. It puts things into perspective about how physically easy working with software is when compared.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#86

Post by throwaway77384 »

vfc1 wrote: post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

I think I snapped somewhere around the age of 28.

Went from the "exciting" world of digital agencies to the most administrative public sector job I could find.

Now, at least while I am away from home, I can work on my own projects and learn things, rather than properly wasting away slaving over someone else's completely meaningless pursuit of profits.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#87

Post by nickjj »

I'm 38 and have been a freelance developer for ~20 years and I'm still really into what I do.

I enjoy what I do now more than 10 years ago.

I suppose it comes down to enjoying what you do to the point where it doesn't feel like a job vs "having a job".

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#88

Post by jasonkester »

sonnyblarney wrote: post #72
jasonkester wrote: post #43

This seems counter intuitive to me. All through your 20s, you're working your way up through the bottom of some crappy bigco, paying your dues and getting experience under your belt so that you can jump to better jobs later. By your mid 30s, at least in our industry, you can get to a position where you can choose a nice gig at a good company, and pretty much steer your destiny as you choose. So it's surprising that y…

"and pretty much steer your destiny as you choose" Generally no - every rung up the ladder gets about 500% more competitive, and even worse, it's political competition. Middle management is the worst kind of work beyond raw labour. When you're young, usually you're learning, doing 'actual work' and you can make no mistakes really. If you have a protected executive job, and can handle politics, there can be stability…

Why move to management then? Software Developer is the best gig imaginable right now, in pretty much any dimension you can measure.

- Senior level pay is pushing $500k for employees, ( and higher for consulting)

- Pretty much any gig can be remote

- Hottest job market in history

- Lots of fun work to be found if you don't want to go the BigCo track

So yeah, why fight all that stuff you list on that path when you can stay in individual contributor and have it easy?

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#89

Post by EZ-E »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #66
EZ-E wrote: post #52

About work and happiness : the more I think about the reality of being a full time employee, the more I start to believe part-time is actually the right way to work and be happy. I see little reason to spend something like 70% of waking hours commuting and working for someone else's profits if you can afford to do less. I've become pragmatic and realized the company I'm I work in is just a tool I use to make money wh…

Boy, I wish I could find part time work that paid even a quarter of what I make supposedly working full time. The reality of course is that I'm at most actually working 15-25% of that time and the rest I'm just piloting a desk and being available for people to pick my brain. Then there's the health care issue to consider, at least for US residents.

> The reality of course is that I'm at most actually working 15-25% of that time and the rest I'm just piloting a desk and being available for people to pick my brain

Working remote can solve this, I've realized. One day I was stuck at home so I told my supervisor I would work at home for the day. I ended up doing my work in few hours, and was free the rest of the time since I was free from the "stay at desk" requirement.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#90

Post by [deleted] »

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #29
vfc1 wrote: post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

> They have figured out that the majority of their work, to their surprise is not actually that important or necessary. I used to keep wondering when I was going to get found out for not contributing to the company's bottom line like the other thousands of employees around me seem to do every day. But then I realised that everyone else is probably doing exactly the same. And either a) none of us are doing anything va…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN