If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week? • Hacker News Board

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#231

Post by effingwewt » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 11:02 PM UTC

pjlegato wrote: post #218

effingwewt wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This all still skirts the main issue. Why does the janitor get paid so much less for a shitty job almost no one wants to do? Why do we have damn near minimum wage construction jobs? Many jobs are important, all should be paid accordingly. Failing that, shouldn't the most labor intensive jobs therefore pay the best? The incentives are so skewed in society now. And I say that as someone who has done all kinds of crazy…

Rate of pay is empirically determined by the intersection of supply and demand for that job, not by how important a particular person or group thinks a job ought to be considered a priori. Where supply is much larger than demand -- that is, where many people can easily replace the person doing the job and perform similar work -- wages are low. When not many people can do a demanded job, wages are high. Note that I am…

Supply vs demand works until WFH begins to even the payscale. SEs everywhere started screaming about pay reductions. There is no lack of SWEs, that is now more than apparent.

It's simply the flavor of the decade, just like last bubble it was website/graphics design. Bubble is bursting IMO.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#232

Post by hintymad » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 11:13 PM UTC

justwalt wrote: post #18

hintymad wrote: post #14

It's as if work is just toiling, but in reality it is not. Some people may just love meeting people and calling the shot. Some people may just love reading papers and tweaking and building systems. Some people may just love deriving equations and writing papers and giving talks. They call such activities work, but they enjoy doing them. What matters is not hours but choice: can one choose to use her time at her own w…

This is completely tangential to your point, but why did you choose to use “she” as the pronoun in your last sentence? I see this more and more frequently, and I assume it has something to do with being more inclusive (so as not to imply only a man could be the subject), but I don’t want to assume. Why not use “they” instead?

No particular reason. I thought "she" was the polite pronoun to use to refer to a single person. In fact, not knowing how to use a gender-neutral pronoun puzzles me to no end. Otherwise, I'm all ears for the correct usage.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#233

Post by hayd » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 11:19 PM UTC

thisismeme wrote: post #222

In Germany, the state will punish you if you work more than 32 hours per week by very high taxes. Germany has the highest average tax level for single persons (don't confuse with highest possible tax): https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLE_I6

Is this to say, you're taxed a higher rate if you work 36 hours compared to someone who is earning more than you but only for 32 hours?

That... seems unfair.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#234

Post by brailsafe » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 11:19 PM UTC

whytaka wrote: post #180

asdff wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a mentality like this seems like it will crush you when you do finally retire. No one is good at a hobby from the get go, the point is to be bad and develop a talent over time.

Everything I've gotten good at I made it my #1 focus. I will have no problems getting good at things once I retire.

Do you not have any genuine desires beyond how good you are at things? Most of the stuff I do, I do because it's enjoyable, social, adventurous, relaxing, for enganging a curiosity, or also competitive, but competetion is kind of hollow imo and is only present in a minority of things I also find fun. Granted, I also have no job or money, but I'm happy.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#235

Post by erik_seaberg » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 11:27 PM UTC

pwinnski wrote: post #70

Clubber wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If she can, then I don't see any issue at all. >Why not use “they” instead? It's been 30 years since I've studied formal writing in earnest, but "they," is, or at least was, grammatically incorrect in that sentence, unless you are referring to more than one person. English doesn't have a proper gender neutral singular pronoun. People have bastardized "they" to fit that role though because they don't know the gender,…

They as a singular gender-neutral pronoun is far, far older than 30 years[0], so while I believe that you were taught that, you were taught incorrectly. So was I! It is neither a bastardization, nor grammatically incorrect, to use they as a singular gender-neutral pronoun. 0. https://www.academicwritingsuccess.com/the-astonishing-histo...

Most of the style guides under https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_an... discourage it; one found 82% disapproval from their panel of specialists. Anyone using it needs to expect that kind of judgment.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#236

Post by goldenchrome » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 11:46 PM UTC

X6S1x6Okd1st wrote: post #208

goldenchrome wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah my wife hates that she doesn't get to experience endless office politics and instead has to spend her time with our wonderful children and make meals for her loving husband who makes money for her.

If y'all are both happy about it, great. That set up is less common in the younger generations, especially those who were children when divorce rates were dominating headlines. At least anecdotally most of the millennial couples with a traditional stay at home set up I know transitioned to that after their first kid without expecting to

Yeah because post-modernism has lied to a whole generation about what gender equality is about. Women are told that focusing on their career is a moral good but most people’s careers only amount to being a capitalist cog. Plus, it turns out that raising children is absolutely fulfilling for many women.

The reason your friends transition to a traditional dynamic once they have a kid is because they lived the lie as long as they could so they could fit in with modern societal norms, and then once they were faced with the reality of raising a child, they quickly realized the error of group think. The worst part is that people feel pressured to shift to a traditional dynamic quietly because there’s so much shame around the decision, as if deciding to devote yourself to your family is less noble than working for a soulless corporation.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#237

Post by sokoloff » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 12:38 AM UTC

effingwewt wrote: post #231

pjlegato wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rate of pay is empirically determined by the intersection of supply and demand for that job, not by how important a particular person or group thinks a job ought to be considered a priori. Where supply is much larger than demand -- that is, where many people can easily replace the person doing the job and perform similar work -- wages are low. When not many people can do a demanded job, wages are high. Note that I am…

Supply vs demand works until WFH begins to even the payscale. SEs everywhere started screaming about pay reductions. There is no lack of SWEs, that is now more than apparent. It's simply the flavor of the decade, just like last bubble it was website/graphics design. Bubble is bursting IMO.

I think the bubble is shearing perhaps. The top wages for SWEs in many markets seem to be going up and substantially so, while the wages for the broad middle of the market in globally high-cost locations aren’t going up and, as you observe, are at risk of falling as/if WFH-driven globalization accelerates.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#238

Post by sokoloff » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 12:40 AM UTC

wccrawford wrote: post #103

neals wrote: post #38

Because I know what it means to work a 40hour shitty job. And I mean shitty. As in fill paint cans and inhale paint fumes all week shitty. I mean crawl into a conveyor belt that's stuck, use a torch to heat it up and a sledgehammer to straighten it shitty. That I'm now able to what I do and earn what I earn, to me, is like a miracle and I enjoy every minute of it.

I had intended to keep programming as a hobby, but I had a moment of clarity one day when I realized that was my one skill that I already had that could make lots of money. For the most part, I haven't regretted it, though I was correct that I wouldn't do as much programming in my free time if I did it as a job. It hasn't really mattered, though. The programming I do during my day job is always towards a purpose and…

If my house and kids’ college were paid off, I’d happily program for half of the prevailing wages for SWEs in the US. I do it for fun on the side anyway; if you want me to work on your puzzles, you have to pay me, but we’ll both end up happy when you do.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#239

Post by X6S1x6Okd1st » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 12:40 AM UTC

goldenchrome wrote: post #236

X6S1x6Okd1st wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If y'all are both happy about it, great. That set up is less common in the younger generations, especially those who were children when divorce rates were dominating headlines. At least anecdotally most of the millennial couples with a traditional stay at home set up I know transitioned to that after their first kid without expecting to

Yeah because post-modernism has lied to a whole generation about what gender equality is about. Women are told that focusing on their career is a moral good but most people’s careers only amount to being a capitalist cog. Plus, it turns out that raising children is absolutely fulfilling for many women. The reason your friends transition to a traditional dynamic once they have a kid is because they lived the lie as lo…

Why do you presume to know why they made that decision?

Also why do you think that it's entirely about gender equality when the younger generations have grown up in an era where wages have stagnated and few families can get by on a single income?

I have a lot more sympathy for the view that traditional gender roles have wisdom as I've had kids of my own, but it really seems like you are over-indexing on it which is especially offensive coming from a man who has historically benefited from the set up.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#240

Post by RHSeeger » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 12:44 AM UTC

pb7 wrote: post #83

shukantpal wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it’s not debatable. They’re living a satisfying life.

>I'm spending more time feeling good about work than finding and investing in a hobby that'll make me truly happy. Are they?

Are you of the opinion that, just because the thing you enjoy doing also benefits your employer, that you can't enjoy it? That seems... very limiting. If I won the lottery, I'd be doing the same thing I do now, except without someone telling me to do it.