Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#1

Post by throwawaynay » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 4:37 PM UTC

I'm kind of looking for a job, and even though I really need one, I'm completely unmotivated by 99% of the job offers I see and rarely apply.

Maybe I'm naive, but it just seems that almost every job out there is about squeezing more profit out of people, and absolutely nothing else, and it doesn't really make me want to work.

Since college I've been working the bare minimum (or less)to live, 3 months there, 6 months there, 2 months there... I don't know how anyone manage to work full-time for a long period of time at unrewarding jobs that just don't matter.

People who have really great jobs(not talking about money ofc), how did you find them?

People who work 8 hours a day, mostly for a paycheck, how do you cope without wanting to off yourself?

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#2

Post by dmitriid » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 4:38 PM UTC

Any headline that starts with a question can be answered with a "yes" :)

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#3

Post by hobonumber1 » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 4:41 PM UTC

It is just you. Those jobs that you deem "pointless" make the economy work. To find great jobs: 1. Be clear about what "great" means to you. What do you value? 2. Research the company to determine if what you value is the same as what they value. Every company goes after profit. This is a good thing. Profit = you're providing value to someone. If you don't believe that, work for a non-profit. That's cool too. 3. Realize that everything meaningful was built by teams. No one can build something that stands the test of time by themselves. When you zoom in, things may seem pointless, but when you zoom out to look at the timeframe of decades, you'll see meaningful change derived from many of today's companies.

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#4

Post by ilamont » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 4:41 PM UTC

Not an SWE, but reading your post I am concerned that this may be more than an unfulfilling career.

Please consider reaching out to these good people:

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#5

Post by throwawaynay » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 4:44 PM UTC

ilamont wrote: post #4

Not an SWE, but reading your post I am concerned that this may be more than an unfulfilling career. Please consider reaching out to these good people: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

I was very depressed when I was still working.

I'm doing pretty good mentally without a job.

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#6

Post by jimmyvalmer » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

People who work 8 hours a day ... how do you cope without wanting to off yourself?

I only work 8 hours a day. That leaves plenty of time for the boozing and buggering that a 40-hour work-week can buy.

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#7

Post by sockpuppet69 » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 5:07 PM UTC

dmitriid wrote: post #2

Any headline that starts with a question can be answered with a "yes" :)

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#8

Post by siva7 » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

Yes, it is you (and few others). What you are experiencing is best described as depression. Been in a similar situation as you once. Of course the most important step is acknowledging that you need help otherwise that feeling will persist. Sometimes the source of the depression has not so much to do with your work life but has deeper roots.

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#9

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

ilamont wrote: post #4

Not an SWE, but reading your post I am concerned that this may be more than an unfulfilling career. Please consider reaching out to these good people: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Is it just me or do 99% of SWE jobs offers seem completely pointless?

#10

Post by marcinzm » Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 5:13 PM UTC

My perspective is that work is no less pointless or purposeful than anything else you do with your life. Everything is from a certain lens meaningless. Yet we still live and do things and so on.

So I spend my time on what I enjoy doing. Which up to a point is my day job. Overall I find my job as enjoyable as any hobby I've had plus I get paid for it. I get to solve problems and watch the outcome of my solutions play out. My employer isn't aiming to save the world but they also doesn't destroy it.