This sounds exactly like my last job :P I wonder if software development tends to become like this in general after a certain amount of time?
Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
131–140 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#132If this is anywhere near the norm, it explains why Google has so many people yet kills so many projects.
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
We spend a LOT of time at work. It's ridiculous not to seek fulfillment at work as well as elsewhere. Edit: I think maybe I didn't communicate well. I just mean that being fulfilled at work can be _very_ significant because work is such a huge part of our lives whether we like it or not. And so not _seeking_ fulfillment in work can be a huge blind spot. I didn't mean to imply it should be prioritized above all else,…
In an Ideal World, sure. The Reality that most people live in is that we need money to pay the rent, like right about now. This limits the opportunities available to us because we simply cannot wait to find a fulfilling and justly compensated job. I simply will not work for low(er) income just to satisfy my need for fulfillment (at work). You know what's better than that? Financial security. Retiring Early. Owning my…
why would you want to own a house in your home country if you're working abroad?
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#134Something that really helped me when I was younger and in a similar boat, was to grit my teeth and throw myself into the work; by that I mean, force yourself to be first in, last out every day, take on literally every task - no matter how shitty - that is available to you, your team, or anyone you know that needs help. Take some work home with you if you can. And keep doing this for 4-6 months. By that time you will probably be heading towards burnout, and you'll need to slow things down for a bit.
But when you do take some slack and reflect, then you will realise that you just learned a ton of really practical things that can help you in your next job. You've also learned the discipline of hard work (which in the long term trumps any deep knowledge of tech because ultimately every job eventually becomes a grind, and tech is ever-changing anyways). Plus you've probably made a good reputation for yourself which never hurts.
You will also be able to decide if you found that last few months energising or if you would rather gnaw off your arm than do it again. And that helps to answer if you should leave the job or not :)
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#135......I don't know what to say. I know a few people are like this too. On the other hand, I think I do a lot of things for my employer and constantly learn/challenge myself, but don't make anywhere near FAANG SWE. I am trying hard to pass onsite FAANG interviews, and still failing. So I'm still Leetcoding now. But hearing stories like this just kinda demotivates me and confuses me more. Most non FAANG companies have…
Try looking at what smaller companies are doing interesting things but don't have the whole FAANG "halo".
I've never worked at a FAANG, but from my reading here and other places I think that the path to an interesting job would probably be easier at a smaller company than at a FAANG.
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#136I have three friends at Google who are nice, smart people, but terrible employees. All three of them seem to be doing just fine in their Google careers. One is very smart, but he's been telling me literally for years that he has zero motivation, to the point where he sometimes won't actually start working until 6PM. He's moved around within Google trying to find something he's interested in, but it's just the same th…
When your company is a monopoly that has a printing press for money, the normal competitive pressures don't apply. There's no need to aggressively cut head count because employee salaries are such a small percentage of their expenses relative to other companies of similar size. Google is like an ivy league school: the hard part is getting in.
Google is like an ivy league school: the hard part is getting in.
Having worked at Google myself, unfortunately this sums it up just perfectly.
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#137It's sad and revealing to see the other comments here. Many of them say, don't seek fulfillment in your job, just keep on cruising. What a change from the exciting atmosphere of the 2000s. Seems like software engineering has become a safe, dull career nowadays. Don't listen to them. Your 20s are the time to learn, push yourself and discover who you are. Autopilot is for middle age.
I agree with most of your statements. However, I don’t believe you should ever auto pilot. Life is about constantly, and consistently challenging yourself. Auto pilot, at any age, are for duds. Why auto pilot during middle age? I’d argue that you have acquired so much wisdom, leading into your middle age. Why stop the momentum. Use all your wisdom ALWAYS! :)
I have read that certain earth beings sometimes replicate themselves, and navigating the needy replicants needs & wants requires rejiggering how much life is spent where.
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#138>all I do is copy code from the internal codebase and patch things together until they work.
this is... a big and important thing (and difficult... a lot of people re-implement rather than trying to understand what is there.) when dealing with a giant big corporate codebase. This might be, the primary SWE job at big corporate? I mean, there's a lot there, and to understand what is there well enough to actually do something with it is not nothing.
All that said, 6 years is a long time to spend at your first job. There's nothing wrong with seeing what else is out there. Don't quit until you have the next job in the bag, and keep in mind, when you quit, that you might want to come back.
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#139You remind me myself a few years ago: a talented, but bored slacker who didn't see any point in investing any energy into that project. Turns out I was right: the project didn't go anywhere after I left and investing any extra time would be a clueless thing to do. So what's changed since then? Have I found meaning in work? No! I've become a professional slacker who knows all these psychological tricks, knows what bod…
> Talk to a lawyer and try to start your own company.
And if you have success, grow and you need to hire, then be aware of employees who preach to "not put any effort into making riches richer and just do the minimum!"
Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?
#140It's sad and revealing to see the other comments here. Many of them say, don't seek fulfillment in your job, just keep on cruising. What a change from the exciting atmosphere of the 2000s. Seems like software engineering has become a safe, dull career nowadays. Don't listen to them. Your 20s are the time to learn, push yourself and discover who you are. Autopilot is for middle age.
People aren't advocating that OP should stop learning (although there is nothing wrong with Software Engineering being a safe, predictable career for some people). They're advocating that OP should focus on learning things outside of work. A lot of exciting opportunities open up when you don't need to care about money. You can do experimental, innovative stuff just because it's worth doing, and not just because a VC…
You will have a hard time finding a tech employer that doesn't have a restrictive IP clause.