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I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

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Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#41
Sounds like so called "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority.

If you're a good engineer who wants to make a real difference in the world, then I ask why not work at different company with less technical aptitude? You can make a far greater impact solving their problems instead of trying to stand out in a technocratic cult that gaslights you and suppresses your creativity.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#42
post #41

Sounds like so called "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. If you're a good engineer who wants to make a real difference in the world, then I ask why not work at different company with less technical aptitude? You can make a far greater impact solving their problems instead of trying to stand out in a technocratic cult that gaslights you and suppresses your creativity.

> "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority.

I think it is the opposite.

No one is going to fire you over shipping a kludge or low quality software, especially when you document why it is the case. People get themselves into trouble by getting emotionally invested in their work and avoiding the task at hand. If someone gives you an idiotic task at Amazon, give them an idiotic solution. You are right though, if you want purpose and real meaning behind your work seek it out elsewhere.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#43
> Being an engineer who wasn’t happy with a situation like this, I gave my manager a piece of my mind. She brought gender into the equation and said that I couldn’t speak to a girl like that, so I decided to hang up the phone.

I'm going to guess there's more to "gave my manager a piece of my mind" than described that led to firing

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#44
post #41

Sounds like so called "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. If you're a good engineer who wants to make a real difference in the world, then I ask why not work at different company with less technical aptitude? You can make a far greater impact solving their problems instead of trying to stand out in a technocratic cult that gaslights you and suppresses your creativity.

Did you just use making the world a better place in a non-ironical way?

That stuff is from comedy, not reality. You can't make the world a better place from your computer. You can make money, you can build nice programs, but not make the world a better place.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#46
post #41

Sounds like so called "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. If you're a good engineer who wants to make a real difference in the world, then I ask why not work at different company with less technical aptitude? You can make a far greater impact solving their problems instead of trying to stand out in a technocratic cult that gaslights you and suppresses your creativity.

> "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. I think it is the opposite. No one is going to fire you over shipping a kludge or low quality software, especially when you document why it is the case. People get themselves into trouble by getting emotionally invested in their work and avoiding the task at hand. If someone gives you an idiotic task at Amazon, give them an idiotic solution. You a…

I believe what you're saying, and also wonder if OP got too emotionally invested.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#47
post #41

Sounds like so called "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. If you're a good engineer who wants to make a real difference in the world, then I ask why not work at different company with less technical aptitude? You can make a far greater impact solving their problems instead of trying to stand out in a technocratic cult that gaslights you and suppresses your creativity.

Did you just use making the world a better place in a non-ironical way? That stuff is from comedy, not reality. You can't make the world a better place from your computer. You can make money, you can build nice programs, but not make the world a better place.

Can you make the world a worse place from your computer?

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#48

Sounds like the biggest mistake he made was lashing out at a likely in-over-their-head manager. We are only getting one side, but sounds like he was trying to do the right things to either overcome the challenges and/or create boundaries, but he may have been hired to be a sacrificial lamb. In my consulting times, I was brought into something a lot like this for the purpose of being fired so that the CTO could save t…

The funny thing is that Amazon really stresses their leadership principles and I recall one of them being "have a backbone", basically to disagree with anyone if you know you're right.

I can see how he snapped over his moron manager bringing gender into things.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#49
post #41

Sounds like so called "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. If you're a good engineer who wants to make a real difference in the world, then I ask why not work at different company with less technical aptitude? You can make a far greater impact solving their problems instead of trying to stand out in a technocratic cult that gaslights you and suppresses your creativity.

Did you just use making the world a better place in a non-ironical way? That stuff is from comedy, not reality. You can't make the world a better place from your computer. You can make money, you can build nice programs, but not make the world a better place.

I know what you are saying and to a large degree I agree with you. But, I will note that in my career the software I worked on helped people get health care, helped abused children find help, kept pilots and their passengers safe, and a whole lot of other worthwhile missions. So if your skill set is tech, there are opportunities out there apart from just selling more advertising.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#50
The lack of response on the issues probably means they had already decided to get rid of him for whatever reason and were setting him up to fail. He probably didn't get fired because of the outburst. The outburst was just what got filled out in the HR form.

This isn't any judgement on the developer. Management can get a lot of stupid ideas about why they need to get rid of someone. Maybe the developer picked a bad time to use the restroom and his manager didn't see him immediately available whenever the manager walked around the room to find a target to micromanage. A toxic project can tend to taint anyone involved on it, even if the person working on it is doing a stellar job, given the circumstance.

In big corporations, there really is no "working your way up" or "working from behind". If you get stuck in a shit project, it really doesn't matter what you do. Either the company will attrit through developers until the project is no longer a hot potato and then the next developer to get it will get to stick around for a while, or (more likely, due to the lack of continuity) eventually the project gets canned. No apologies will be issued.

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