Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#321

Post by djcapelis » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:47 AM UTC

wayoutthere wrote: post #284

djcapelis wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Software engineering just isn't that hard 1) I agree that this is often true! Code can be pretty boring. That doesn’t mean there are no interesting problems that you can tackle with programming. It just means most people work on incredibly boring stuff and think that’s all there is and totally fine. Find something that’s a better use of your time. 2) There is more and less difficult software engineering. If yours i…

If you want to do this, and you can consistently find interesting work, then go for it! What I mean by "these jobs aren't hard" is that one person is easy to replace, and you are not guaranteed a job in the future just because you have one now. There are always high periods and low periods in a person's career, and you have to mentally / emotionally prepare for those. Tech has a nasty age bias once you hit 40, and I'…

I’ve never had much trouble finding an interesting thing to spend my work time on. The biggest problem is usually deciding when to look for something new and what I want to do next. Getting the opportunity to do that usually comes quickly from there, even if it’s not always the pathway I expected. :) I’ll admit I’ve got advantages that maybe everyone doesn’t have (a deep set of experience from a variety of areas organizations value) but I firmly believe that the world and our field would be a better place if more people fought for meaning in their work and didn’t accept roles where they weren’t finding it.

(Also like, to be clear these roles aren’t all high paying if you’ve adjusted your life so that without 300k/yr you can’t function then like, I agree you have boxed yourself into a harder corner. That said, I currently have found a combination that is both impactful and lucrative. So that’s super cool when it works out. I am desperately trying to structure my life so I’m not boxed into needing this to be true in the future because meaning in my work is still more important to me than money from my work.)

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#322

Post by aplummer » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:50 AM UTC

wayoutthere wrote: post #65

dash2 wrote: post #13

It'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.

Software engineering just isn't that hard. Tedious yes, but not remotely difficult. We've been fed the narrative of economic success that many folks have forgotten what personal success looks like. You can be successful in your career and still feel like a failure. Therapy is the answer here. You have to un-brainwash yourself from the notion that your job is your life and figure out what really matters to you. Then f…

> Software engineering just isn't that hard. Tedious yes, but not remotely difficult.

I find doing it well constantly really hard.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#323

Post by longtimegoogler » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:50 AM UTC

ivalm wrote: post #302

longtimegoogler wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if you look at the cost of living in SV the salaries aren't that insane. Buying a house is challenging on a Google salary in that area depending on level. If you get in right out of college and live meagerly, than yes, you might be able to retire early if you leave that area. If you actually want to build a life in the Bay Area and buy property, you will probably have to work at least 20 years to have enough fo…

20 years out of school still puts you retiring in your 40s ...

See my comment above. Basically, this would be challenging to do even at Google depending on the level you get promoted to and requires total dedication to the above, i.e., saving aggressively.

I think the advantage of getting into Google right out of school is that you can start on that path right away.

I didn't get to Google until working for over 10 years at other companies and as such and I wasn't really planning for such a goal so, for me personally, I will be lucky if I can retire when I am 60.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#324

Post by s1artibartfast » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:51 AM UTC

discordance wrote: post #254

ec109685 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn’t read his whole post. They’re bored. Their value to google is high enough to keep them employed but the job is beneath their capabilities. The failing for google is not providing this person a path to do more or at least understanding their ambition to do more.

Regardless of what their understanding of Big O is, Google still needs a lot people to do CRUD work or make another mobile app, like any other company. The issue seems to be hiring the highly educated and entitled to do boring but necessary work. GSUs can only motivate people so much.

I think it is just an optimal solution for large companies with disposable income.

A company I worked at hired smart engineer with a masters from Berkeley, and then tasked him with breaking down cardboard boxes and other mundane tasks. The fact that they were grossly overqualified for any of the tasks was a advantage because they were flexible, and reliably needed no oversight.

If money isn't an object, why not get the best tools possible.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#325

Post by longtimegoogler » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:51 AM UTC

rorykoehler wrote: post #320

ivalm wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

20 years out of school still puts you retiring in your 40s ...

Most people are looking at never retiring at this stage. Retiring in your 40s puts you in a very exclusive bracket.

See my comment above. I think this might be rare even for most Googlers, but it is possibly doable depending on on the person.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#326

Post by throwaway8291 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:53 AM UTC

ajcodez wrote: post #271

jedberg wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This blows my mind that in the US one can make such insane money in tech while still being a slacker and retire early with a dream house bought and paid for Don't feel too bad. As far as I know, only Google and Apple lets you get away with this kind of slacking. Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix certainly don't. Also, SWE out of college definitely aren't making enough to buy much more than a condo. That being said, you…

Facebook hires tons of zero passion 10am-4pm engineers. It might not be deliberate slacking but it’s definitely not hard working.

I met two FB engineers a few years back. They seemed average, at most. But one quality stuck out (we spent half a day together at an event): They seemed to be excellent at following company rules.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#327

Post by ChuckNorris89 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:55 AM UTC

fearface wrote: post #288

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which country and domain are you in?

Finance IT with a history in multiple German-speaking regions.

I don't disagree with you but that's probably some survivor bias there in your original post as maybe the finance IT bubble in the region you're in pays well but that certainly that doesn't apply to most dev positions across Europe as you originally stated. To put it another way, you're probably the exception, not the rule. :) But I agree with everything else you said, thanks for sharing.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#328

Post by joshuamorton » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:56 AM UTC

tksb wrote: post #261

astura wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean?

I can only guess, but to my mind, if the individual hadn't progressed significantly in that period, they may appear as a "sucker" of sorts. "Naive" and "holding out forever for nothing."

I mean, maybe if you aren't progressing, but an L6 who was hired from college and has been at Google for 12 years it's probably an asset.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#329

Post by whatsmyusername » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:58 AM UTC

dhuyrv wrote: post #130

You 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…

None of you sound talented. You sound like lazy pieces of shit.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#330

Post by beiller » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 12:59 AM UTC

You may think you are ripping off your employer, but in fact it is the other way around in my opinion. This company has so much money, that their strategy now is to hire all the engineers in the world on retainer (that's you) so the hiring pool for the competition is diminished. That will raise the amount a smaller company (potential competition) has to pay (and ultimately make them unhirable). Maybe you should go find another job, but you might get a pay cut.