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Poor in Tech

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Re: Poor in Tech

#71

Post by indymike »

avancemos wrote: post #7

Instead of seeing the bright side of life, in which this person clearly vastly improved their situation in life, all they can see is what they don’t have. “I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I had the only fat body in the building.” I’m sorry, but no, being poor doesn’t make you fat. Your eating choices make you fat. Poor people have agency too. Agency is not something you buy. This is comin…

> Instead of seeing the bright side of life, in which this person clearly vastly improved their situation in life, all they can see is what they don’t have.

I think there is a self-deprecating humor to the article, and I enjoyed it. Life in tech world is strange sometimes.

Re: Poor in Tech

#72

Post by codegeek »

culturestate wrote: post #5

To me, this reads more as a list of "from outside the valley bubble" signifiers than it does as a list of things that people who've grown up in poverty might do, even if the former was a result of the latter. There are some exceptions - not noticing missed paychecks is the biggest - but most of it is just stuff that happens every day in other offices. Making your lunch at the office and not bringing Advil from home?…

Yea I mostly agree. For example not greeting cleaning lady has nothing to do with being rich or poor. It is just manners and some of us do it and some don't.

Re: Poor in Tech

#73

Post by halfdan »

magicalhippo wrote: post #28
est31 wrote: post #10

> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I was the only person who would say hello to the cleaning lady as she meekly made her rounds around us when we worked late. Everyone else had a long habit of ignoring anyone like her. That's IMO the worst behaviour of the rich listed in this article. I've heard stories that at Google, the non-engineering workers at campus may not socialize with engineers…

I'm definitely not poor, and I've always greeted the cleaning staff. That's not a sign of being poor, it's a sign of not being an ass.

The startup I worked for had Spanish speaking cleaning staff. I even brushed up my Spanish to greet them - the smiles on their faces are with me to this day. It wasn't what I was going for but I'm happy that it had this effect.

Re: Poor in Tech

#74

Post by scandox »

culturestate wrote: post #5

To me, this reads more as a list of "from outside the valley bubble" signifiers than it does as a list of things that people who've grown up in poverty might do, even if the former was a result of the latter. There are some exceptions - not noticing missed paychecks is the biggest - but most of it is just stuff that happens every day in other offices. Making your lunch at the office and not bringing Advil from home?…

I grew up very wealthy and it is what it is. I read that list and some parts of it make me sad and some make me laugh. There's been times I've been that asshole, and times I've not been. Some of the things are very American - like the teeth thing which is basically the ultimate American neurosis. We were rich but I didn't want someone messing with my perfectly useful teeth.

There's no point being overly defensive about these things. People with all kinds of life experience can learn from each other.

Re: Poor in Tech

#75

Post by bsenftner »

GeriatricYouth wrote: post #36

> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I was afraid to seek mentorship from anyone above me, convinced that even asking would seem like bothersome begging. I watched the people around me network effortlessly, assured of favors and good words put in. I could only think in terms of what I could offer and how I could survive; they were thinking on the next level where they never had to wonder if…

I have this issue too. As a youth I had a stutter and insecurity issues, which fell away when I realized my intellect was going to get me the hell away from the hick state I found myself. Through bravado and incredible luck, I managed to get a Harvard education - but while there nearly every single one of these insecurity issues cited in the article had a variation in my experience while attending Harvard. And after Harvard, I am barely and not really a member of the Harvard Network, primarily due to insecurity back then and being afraid to expose myself as not really being a Harvard Guy but some imposter hick.

Re: Poor in Tech

#76

Post by cookieswumchorr »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #47

That was great! Thanks for sharing it. > I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because they thought I was kidding when I said I had a GED. I feel that. I have almost no formal training at all. I have a GED, and attended a redneck tech school. Everything since, has been OJT. As a manager, one of the things that I looked for, was minimal formal training, yet experience doing things that required it. Good…

I had to google what a GED is. Turns out i'm rich )

Re: Poor in Tech

#77

Post by 8fGTBjZxBcHq »

culturestate wrote: post #64
8fGTBjZxBcHq wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really see this as a valid criticism of the list though. A person identified a bunch of ways they are not like almost all of the rest of their coworkers. Do they have the information, experience, or responsibility to accurately categorize the specific cultural origin of every single one of those differences? Does it make the argument weaker if they miss a couple? Maybe a little but it's still strong.

I don't want to trivialize what the author is feeling, but when the conclusion they draw is... > Because they have never been poor, they had no idea what I might do. Why would I steal, when everyone clearly has enough? What even is scarcity? Why drink yourself to death tonight when there’s another sponsored event a week from now? Why eat like there will never be enough, when there has always been more than enough? ..…

I was trying to be nice.

It's worth discussing I just don't think you contributed anything useful to the conversation with that comment.

To me it reads like you're dismissing the author's experiences based on a technicality, rather than engaging with them on their terms and merits.

Re: Poor in Tech

#78

Post by darkerside »

avancemos wrote: post #7

Instead of seeing the bright side of life, in which this person clearly vastly improved their situation in life, all they can see is what they don’t have. “I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I had the only fat body in the building.” I’m sorry, but no, being poor doesn’t make you fat. Your eating choices make you fat. Poor people have agency too. Agency is not something you buy. This is comin…

This one was odd. And why didn't she "belong" to the gym? This woman has impostor syndrome on steroids.

Re: Poor in Tech

#79

Post by rubyn00bie »

codegeek wrote: post #72
culturestate wrote: post #5

To me, this reads more as a list of "from outside the valley bubble" signifiers than it does as a list of things that people who've grown up in poverty might do, even if the former was a result of the latter. There are some exceptions - not noticing missed paychecks is the biggest - but most of it is just stuff that happens every day in other offices. Making your lunch at the office and not bringing Advil from home?…

Yea I mostly agree. For example not greeting cleaning lady has nothing to do with being rich or poor. It is just manners and some of us do it and some don't.

Sorry to say, but you’re being extremely naive if you think you’re right. People are awful to supporting staff and show them no respect on the regular.

Re: Poor in Tech

#80

Post by obventio56 »

remoquete wrote: post #53
tester34 wrote: post #13

But why focus on those things? We're on news hacker out of all places, where I guess salaries range between 300$ month to $40k month easily Temporarily embarrassed millionaire is healthier way, delusional, but healtheir in my opinion

I don’t understand a word of what you’re trying to say.

The last part is referencing a Steinbeck quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/328134-john-steinbeck-once-...
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