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Ask HN: "Is that work?"

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Re: Ask HN: "Is that work?"

#101

Post by edruk01 »

throwaway_burn wrote: post #3
davidw wrote: post #2

> Trying to discuss this with him really isn't working. Any advice? My guess is that you not so unemployable as you seem to think. I'd look for another job in a company/industry where you're not just a 'cost'.

That's really how I feel here. Just a cost. He tells me he has to justify our "team"'s existance to his dad whenever he sees him. The graphic designer does all print and web graphic design, The Marketing manager does all copy, liaises with the print firms and manages marketing targets and plans with all the dealerships group wide, I do all the web stuff. If there's a car dealership that doesn't need to market or adve…

I've got a couple of car related websites that I'm planning to build soon, and having a web dev with some domain knowledge of the car industry in the UK would be really useful. If you're interested pop me an email and we can discuss further.

Re: Ask HN: "Is that work?"

#102

Post by BillMartin »

The internet is a terrible distraction; you shouldn't be browsing on the company time. Looking up documentation is fine; the occasional news article on your lunch break is fine.

Whilst at work you should be 100% focused on the task at hand. On the flip side it’s important to realise you are working as a professional developer not a grunt on a factory assembly line, if you require time to rethink things instead of sidetracking with internet browsing, get thinking: draw diagrams, use a whiteboard, write notes, print out code. You know your boss is visual so use visual things.

Additionally it's quite clear you are frustrated with management, this generally happens when an inadequate communication system is in place.

Make it an issue to outline responsibilities and tasks to your line manager. Just write everything down that you do and email at the end of the work day. That way he can quantify your usefulness with his manager. It's a rule of work: make your managers life easier not harder. If an issue of work load arises again you have documented evidence to refer to.

Having a slanging match with a manager sounds awful, unprofessional and frankly doesn't say much for your or his attitude. Coming in late might be overlooked but you are essentially stealing from the company. 20x7x52/60/24 = 5. That's a work week you're taking off, I might overlook it but I wouldn't forget it.

Re: Ask HN: "Is that work?"

#103

Post by chrisbennet »

You've definately got to spread your wings and move on. Be cordial with your old boss, offer to help them out/transition as you leave. The fact that they subbed you out means that they aren't ignorant of your market value - they've just decided to exploit you. On the bright side, the designer you leave behind might get a raise when you leave. :-)

In the meantime, start thinking like a contractor. I keep a log to help my remember what I was doing on such and such a day [I swear I must be senile sometimes] and I keep track of every minute worked. I wrote a program to total up the hours. I do this if I'm working for a client or an employer.

When someone phones me at work I say "Hold on, let me get off the clock." and write down the time. Then I talk to them as long as a I want. When I'm done, I "punch back in" and resume working. I do the same whenever I feel like taking a break.

This system removes any guilt I would feel about taking a long lunch, talking to a friend on the phone, coming in late, etc. It also makes it easy to answer the question: "What did you do last week?"

Here's a sample log entry: 2/9/2010 Tuesday 11:05 AM - 12:47 PM 2:49 PM - 3:21 PM 5:13 PM - 6:51 PM Working on depth sorting. Transparency is sort of working for one gamut - the last one drawn. Need to sort polygons for faces for all gamuts at once, not each gamut individually. Doh!

Tomorrow: See if order of drawing Gamuts is enough to fix transparency problem (draw closest gamut last).

Re: Ask HN: "Is that work?"

#104

Post by petercooper »

TamDenholm wrote: post #35
throwaway_burn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You only get statutory sick pay when a doctors note is involved, which can only be gotten if you've taken more than two days off, aren't too sick to actually visit the GP and even then statutory sick pay is paid at minimum wage, I'm on £17k a year. And thanks for the link!

I've no idea where in the UK you are but where I am (Edinburgh) the average wage for a salaried PHP Dev is £20k-£25k and this is a VERY cheap area. So i'd say you're drastically underpaid, especially if you're futher south. I chose not to work in Edinburgh because of the terrible pay, I'm a PHP contractor and i work in London for £300-£350 a day for 3 months and then come back to Edinburgh after the contract is over.…

i work in London for £300-£350 a day for 3 months and then come back to Edinburgh after the contract is over.

How do you make the living arrangements work on that?

For a while I was going to London and doing training gigs for £400 a day but gave it up because it was either too expensive (staying in London itself) or too much of a headache (staying outside London and getting the train in).

Re: Ask HN: "Is that work?"

#105

Post by semanticist »

throwaway_burn wrote: post #15
SandB0x wrote: post #4

You write > "I love my job...I even love my boss" then go on to describe a nightmare. Read it! It sounds like Stockholm Syndrome! Well done for getting it off your chest, now you need to go find something else. The situation probably can't be fixed. Sounds like you've made a lot of decent things as evidence of your skills. You could probably come back as a contractor/consultant for twice your current wage. Oh, and if…

You only get statutory sick pay when a doctors note is involved, which can only be gotten if you've taken more than two days off, aren't too sick to actually visit the GP and even then statutory sick pay is paid at minimum wage, I'm on £17k a year. And thanks for the link!

You can self-certify for up to one week's sickness, and it's paid at just under £80 a week, which may be more or less than minimum wage depending on how many hours you'd normally work.

It's pretty much useless if you're actually living on anything approaching a normal salary. (It's doubtful that £320/month would pay most people's rent.)

Re: Ask HN: "Is that work?"

#108

Post by toolate »

petercooper wrote: post #104
TamDenholm wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've no idea where in the UK you are but where I am (Edinburgh) the average wage for a salaried PHP Dev is £20k-£25k and this is a VERY cheap area. So i'd say you're drastically underpaid, especially if you're futher south. I chose not to work in Edinburgh because of the terrible pay, I'm a PHP contractor and i work in London for £300-£350 a day for 3 months and then come back to Edinburgh after the contract is over.…

i work in London for £300-£350 a day for 3 months and then come back to Edinburgh after the contract is over. How do you make the living arrangements work on that? For a while I was going to London and doing training gigs for £400 a day but gave it up because it was either too expensive (staying in London itself) or too much of a headache (staying outside London and getting the train in).

Flat sharing would be quite easy to arrange for that amount of time. I had a mate who lived and worked in London while staying at a hostel for an entire year.
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