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Poor in Tech

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Re: Poor in Tech

#111

Post by kstenerud »

domano wrote: post #57
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Underpaying but still making the other person happy because it's more than they earned before. Giving them the shit jobs, unpaid overtime, etc. Remarks behind the back about things like weight, eating habits, and being ashamed about things they take for granted. Having your existence denied completely (e.g. the cleaners mentioned)

Interesting. Coming from a rather poor background (refugee) i was lucky enough to not experience this in tech. I do notice a disconnect in perspective and priorities though. Also i live in europe, where this is maybe a tad different.

I live in Europe now, and it's far less pronounced here. Americans seem much more status and class conscious.

Re: Poor in Tech

#112

Post by Viker »

Ekaros wrote: post #69
jasode wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What kind of society is this that Google is building? Aren't you even allowed to acknowledge someone else's humanity? The social interaction dynamics that happens at the Google building is a reflection of society at large. As another example, I've worked at the offices of charity institutions where the higher level white collar workers ignore the cleaning people. The common theme is that humans in general (and not G…

I would say that having individual pictures of teachers make sense as those are the people students have most personal contact with. Now the other administrative staff and cafeteria ladies should be at same level.

Well yes. That is exactly as society.

We ignore the people that actually feed us (farmers), and instead we focus all our energy on the people that feed us bullshit (Elon M.).

Re: Poor in Tech

#113

Post by kungito »

muglug wrote: post #51
emteycz wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is correlated, not caused by poverty. Rich people are often fat too, and the reason is poor education (not even rich people schools teach this) and poor self-control.

It’s not just food education. If you’re poor in the US you’re much less likely to live near a source of fresh meat and produce, which makes calorie-rich fast food more tempting. You’re more at the mercy of many multi-billion-dollar industries that serve unhealthy food to the masses.

I'm from a developing country where these things are affordable and less wealthy people spend money on cigarettes rather than salads. Here it definitely isn't about money but about having proper food culture

Re: Poor in Tech

#114

Post by TrackerFF »

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…

As Homer said almost 3000 years ago, god likes to pair like with like.

Re: Poor in Tech

#115

Post by MisterSandman »

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.

It's a cryptography challenge by a new SF startup, I imagine.

Re: Poor in Tech

#116

Post by isomorph »

Many of the comments on this article are so cold. I can’t believe it. When I read the original article I was imagining all the constructive ways HN readers would interpret it and hold a mirror up to their own behaviour. Some commenters are doing this. But it surprises and depresses me how many people are commenting saying “no, this list isn’t what it says it is, it’s a list showing the author has a negative mindset / is not from the Valley bubble, and that problem can be fixed by just getting over it.”. We can do better than that.

As someone who has sat at some interesting class and race intersections during my career in tech, including my time at some very prestigious institutions like the University of Cambridge and FAANG, and has exhibited and noticed many of the listed behaviours and the lack there of, I can say this article had the undeniable ring of truth and made me feel sick to my stomach. Guilty for when I’ve been on the rich side and angry for the times I’ve been on the poor side.

The psychology of growing up with financial uncertainty - and a risk of racial exclusion - is hard to shake and can be passed from parent to child. My life has mostly been financially blessed but you can’t buy your way out of the mindset, or snap your fingers / empty the cache / cycle the power the way the average HN commenter seems to think you can.

Re: Poor in Tech

#117

Post by acdha »

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.

There’s a strong correlation, however, which I think comes down to whether you have either done or know someone in that kind of job. People who ignore the staff may not be intentionally mean about it - it’s just outside of their normal frame of reference and they haven’t been introspective about that.

Re: Poor in Tech

#118

Post by Viker »

beforeolives wrote: post #6

This is different from being poor in the financial sense. It goes deep into the poor mindset and pscyhology and how it can stick around even after you're doing okay. My parents are working class, I'm an immigrant and I had a minimum wage job for a few years - I've never felt any of the things listed in this article, before or after I was doing okay financially, in or outside of tech.

Coz Scandinavia or Canada....

Re: Poor in Tech

#119

Post by rubyfan »

My boss once said to me “oh that must drive your cleaning lady nuts” and I just pretended like it did instead of saying that I or my wife take care of it.

Re: Poor in Tech

#120

Post by hacker_newz »

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…

If you think this person "clearly vastly improved their situation in life" you may need to read the article again.
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