Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
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Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#2And frogs don't really sit in boiling water.
These are called figures of speech for a reason, being literal about them is not admirable nor worthwhile.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#3> never underestimate the amount of money the FAANGs have to poach your talent.
I really wish we'd stop using the word "poach". It's a loaded word with negative connotations, but what it really means here is "offer someone a better situation than you offered them". Employees have agency, they aren't wild elephants who need your "protection" from "predators" who just want to pay them more.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#4The "hit by a bus" thing is used for the most dramatic effect: there's nothing you can do, there's no grace period where a "poached" developer can give some wisdom to his/her successor etc.
Managers know that it's not the most likely case, but it's still possible.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#5And frogs don't really sit in boiling water. These are called figures of speech for a reason, being literal about them is not admirable nor worthwhile.
I still see it as an important distinction simply because developers also have an interest in not getting hit by a bus.
But they are quite happy to leave for Netflix and given turnover rates in tech, are almost guaranteed to leave in a few years.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#6is this a RoR ad? It doesn't really provide any new insights. If your devs are hired by nflx or hit by a bus the outcome is the same. It's just a saying
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#7> never underestimate the amount of money the FAANGs have to poach your talent. I really wish we'd stop using the word "poach". It's a loaded word with negative connotations, but what it really means here is "offer someone a better situation than you offered them". Employees have agency, they aren't wild elephants who need your "protection" from "predators" who just want to pay them more.
Another way of saying it:
> Never underestimate how much better a person's life can be by working for a FAANG instead of working for you
Edit: For those who are downvoting, I'm simply saying this is what's implied by the quote. I'm not making a statement about FAANGs.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#8> never underestimate the amount of money the FAANGs have to poach your talent. I really wish we'd stop using the word "poach". It's a loaded word with negative connotations, but what it really means here is "offer someone a better situation than you offered them". Employees have agency, they aren't wild elephants who need your "protection" from "predators" who just want to pay them more.
As you pointed out there are imbalanced ways of phrasing things and societal taboos that all lead to the imbalance of power where employers try to keep as much control as possible.
Not discussing salaries is the exact same thing - the employer doesn't want everyone to know how much their peers are making, lest it result in higher overall salaries. I always think of offering candy to a kid but saying "Don't tell anyone I gave you this". It's pretty clear someone is trying to be manipulative if they don't want anyone else to know the details of the deal.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#9is this a RoR ad? It doesn't really provide any new insights. If your devs are hired by nflx or hit by a bus the outcome is the same. It's just a saying
I also thought that. Great title, and then a lacking blog post.
Re: Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
#10There's several reasons a bus is seen as worse than them being poached:
* Early startup employees have golden handcuffs regarding switching jobs. Sure, Facebook is offering them $500k but they'd be on the hook for $200k in taxes if they exercise their options and they leave a bunch more un-vested options on the table.
* You can mitigate them leaving by having a better work environment, equity and so on. Not much you can do about a bus.
* You can pay them to stay on for another month or to consult after the fact. No amount of money get's you an hour long phone call to the afterlife.
edit: Also, the article underestimates the effort needed to get a FAANG job. They don't just call you up and offer you a job. They offer you the chance to take a grueling set of white board interviews that require months of studying to pass.