Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sorry if I'm taking this the wrong way but that sounds like settling for mediocrity to me. Who said jobs can't be fulfilling?
> Who said jobs can't be fulfilling? Life experience. ;-)
Yours maybe
Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
101–110 of 648 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I get why it's important, it just feels poopy. I think it summarizes a lot of office work. We're organized in processes which are efficient and/or necessary at the scale of the company, but which severely restrict and constrain us, making a lot of us unhappy. For people for whom it's unbearable, there are two options: either join a small company or just check out completely, treat your job as some bullshit that bri…
> be glad you're not cleaning toilets for 20% of your pay Be advised: If you are programming computers in 2020 and making only 5x what a toilet cleaner makes, you are approximately 100% underpaid.
I don't feel like the multiples of a toilet cleaner's wage should be a measurement system since it mostly shows income inequality.
For example in Sweden and most of Europe, most devs only make 2x-3x NET of what the toilet cleaner makes. Not only because we're underpaid(which I hate) but the toilet cleaners tend to be paid fairly(which I like).
In places with high inequality like South Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the USA, a SW dev is expected to make multiples of low-end blue collar wages.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#103This doesn't directly answer your question and you didn't ask it, but I feel it relates directly to the source of your frustration potentially: you may never find a job that is fully satisfactory in terms of what you hope to find. I used to be in a similar boat striving to work towards and find some magical job that would make me feel fulfilled and purposeful. They all ended up having things I didn't like and would q…
I'm sorry if I'm taking this the wrong way but that sounds like settling for mediocrity to me. Who said jobs can't be fulfilling?
Marx?
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
You spend around half of your wakeful hours at your job, if it's unfulfilling you're trading misery in addition to time for money.
That's why they pay you money for it. If it was fun, people would do it for free (see the FOSS world and its endless discussions on how to monetize).
Got to believe that it’s possible before you can find it.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#105Let me explain. I was browsing Facebook on my phone at Philz one day and saw Mark Zuckerberg come in wearing a suit (it was a Friday). I asked him "are coding interviews good?". "No", he said, "they're very bad". I would have asked him to explain, but he seemed to be engrossed in the last level of some sort of Mario Bros game. I went back to my phone and clicked on an ad. Only I never click on ads: it was all a dream. I woke up. "Is this still dream?" I wondered. I spun my phone on my desk like the top from Inception. It fell off and the screen shattered instantly.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#106I remember talking to a senior person at FB (wears a suit on friday). I asked "how is hiring?". Their response: terrible. People like this OP game systems, know how to test, understands what the boss wants, know ahead of time the questions they will be asked, etc. They have gamed the entire system. So! They tend to get through the interview with ease. The problem is... now what. What is the next thing they need to ga…
I'm struggling with the purpose of my job too.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
You spend around half of your wakeful hours at your job, if it's unfulfilling you're trading misery in addition to time for money.
That's why they pay you money for it. If it was fun, people would do it for free (see the FOSS world and its endless discussions on how to monetize).
They pay you money because you bring them value. Not because it's fulfilling or not for you in any way.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#108I don't understand how that's 'ethnically' wrong. Yes, all of FAANG companies are like this. In order to work for these companies you have to become comfortable with the idea of being paid more to do less.
My advice to you would be to pick up a more rewarding side-project, or to use the in-between hours to do something that you enjoy. Ride a bike or something. Think of your main gig as a function to make money. If it's working, and working efficiently, then you have a good function. If you have extra time as a result, use it wisely. Time is your most precious resource, and it is finite.
I spent the first few years of my career as a developer working for startups, and the break-neck pace is thrilling, but the stakes are low - you might break things for a few thousand people, none of whom expect perfection from your application. Think about how many people are potentially affected by a change to (for example) the F codebase. That's why it takes so long to release a one-liner, and justifiably so. For a FAANG company, prudence > professional development. Take the money and run; enjoy your free time and use it wisely.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
> be glad you're not cleaning toilets for 20% of your pay Be advised: If you are programming computers in 2020 and making only 5x what a toilet cleaner makes, you are approximately 100% underpaid.
I don't feel like the multiples of a toilet cleaner's wage should be a measurement system since it mostly shows income inequality. For example in Sweden and most of Europe, most devs only make 2x-3x NET of what the toilet cleaner makes. Not only because we're underpaid(which I hate) but the toilet cleaners tend to be paid fairly(which I like). In places with high inequality like South Africa, Latin America, Eastern E…
> For example in Sweden and most of Europe, most devs only make 2x-3x of what the toilet cleaner makes.
Most devs in Europe are massively underpaid, and should work on the internet instead of some local underpaid wage-slave job.
There is a shortage of skilled programmers in the world. There’s no reason to remain underpaid other than really, really wanting to work a very specific set of local timezone hours.
Re: Ask HN: Is all of FAANG like this?
#110Let me explain. I was browsing Facebook on my phone at Philz one day and saw Mark Zuckerberg come in wearing a suit (it was a Friday). I asked him "are coding interviews good?". "No", he said, "they're very bad". I would have asked him to explain, but he seemed to be engrossed in the last level of some sort of Mario Bros game. I went back to my phone and clicked on an ad. Only I never click on ads: it was all a dream…
Is this GPT-3 output?