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Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

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Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#11

Post by VBprogrammer »

mprovost wrote: post #8
sillyquiet wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sure sure, but given the (potential) downsides of choosing wrong, what would be the trigger or reason for leaving IF things are still good? Or are you saying if you see signs of things going downhill but things are currently good?

Compare it to investing. Do you wait for the stock to go down and then sell, or do you sell when it's high and take your profit elsewhere? Even if you invest it in something that then goes down, you still made your profit. If you move before things get bad, you'll always be able to look back at your time at the company with happiness. No burnt bridges, no bitterness. Sure it's a risk to move somewhere else, but in th…

What is the indexed linked mutual fund of this analogy? Perhaps focusing on a specific technology or skillset such that you can be a contractor providing services to a range of other companies without having a commited relationship with any of them? (The index being your choice of technology / skills)

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#13

Post by edmcnulty101 »

sillyquiet wrote: post #3

> The typical employment lifecycle of an engineer is: Get frustrated by the current company culture and/or benefits, let this frustration sit for way too long, snap and choose a random company whose recruiter just happened to reach out, join there, and repeat the cycle all over again. It's scary how real this is, but it's easy to say "don't do that", when all the inhibitions about leaving your current job rotate arou…

The key would be to pick a good company/team but are there any?

I haven't found any, my work history is littered with terribly managed companies where nepotism is more important than competence, business people run tech departments with no tech experience, had a CEO go to jail for bribery which shut the company down, another company my entire team was let go 6 months after I started. Recruiters and companies who ghost you during applications with out even a polite no thanks email.

I was raised by boomers who taught me if you just work hard and do the right thing your company will reward you but that has not even remotely miniscuely been my experience in the tech world.

Heard even a FAANG can be a nightmare if on the wrong team.

So how to identify a safe landing spot?

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#15

Post by lhorie »

sillyquiet wrote: post #5
mprovost wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The takeaway here is to leave before you're frustrated. While things are still good. That is when you are in the best position and frame of mind to make a change. Because you can walk away from any offer that isn't better. If you wait until things are terrible then yes you can feel trapped in a bad situation because you have to pay the bills.

sure sure, but given the (potential) downsides of choosing wrong, what would be the trigger or reason for leaving IF things are still good? Or are you saying if you see signs of things going downhill but things are currently good?

As the job interview adage goes, you're interviewing them just as much as they're interviewing you. If you're dabbling in the market to see what's available while things are good, you don't have as much pressure to accept subpar offers and you have leverage to negotiate better offers.

It's the same as setting up wish lists and checking on them periodically. You're much more likely to get a good deal if you keep tabs on the thing you want over a long period of time than just hoping you get a deal the moment you have the impulse to buy the thing.

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#16

Post by virgilp »

foobarian wrote: post #2

Sounds to me like author has had some bad experiences and is trying to generalize them. But I would have been curious to read about those things directly that inspired the author to write this, instead of the indirect points. It all seems reasonable stuff that most of us do when picking a place to live, work, etc. Of course buying a house will pin you to the surrounding area. And I don't know if anybody does that wit…

You'd be surprised how otherwise perfectly rational people look at irrelevant stuff (furniture, interior design) and miss important things (floor plans; neighbors; practical aspects like storage space, number and position of bathrooms, etc)

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#17

Post by mcguire »

jlizzle30 wrote: post #7

> Here are the dragons: ... Buying a house or an apartment will disproportionately affect other areas of your life I agree with the general caution about buying a property and the baggage it comes with. Unfortunately with kids there be dragons in renting as well: having to move when getting priced out.

That's a corollary: Don't have kids. They're like shooting your life in the foot with a howitzer. Also, don't get married; the author says they got lucky, but we'll have to see the long term before you can make that conclusion. In fact, just stay away from other people. They are an emotional and financial liability.

(This is sarcasm, of course, although I suspect the author is serious about avoiding things that many people find meaningful.)

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#18

Post by haltingproblem »

Or as I have learnt the haaaard way - amateurs win at [insert sport] tennis by not making unforced errors i.e. just return the ball and make sure your serve is not out... most of the time and you are good. Pros win by hitting aces and shots.

At most games in life we are amateurs - buying cars, buying/renting houses, getting jobs since we don't do those things frequently enough to get good at them and learn all the tricks and traps. We can try to get a great deal on a car but that is near impossible - try and avoid the usual traps and you are doing good enough.

Buying "too much" house is one of those traps. Buying a house that needs too much work is another. Buying a house with an expensive amenity (e.g. swimming pool or too big of a garage or lawn) is another.

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#19

Post by Dwelve »

mcguire wrote: post #17
jlizzle30 wrote: post #7

> Here are the dragons: ... Buying a house or an apartment will disproportionately affect other areas of your life I agree with the general caution about buying a property and the baggage it comes with. Unfortunately with kids there be dragons in renting as well: having to move when getting priced out.

That's a corollary: Don't have kids. They're like shooting your life in the foot with a howitzer. Also, don't get married; the author says they got lucky, but we'll have to see the long term before you can make that conclusion. In fact, just stay away from other people. They are an emotional and financial liability. (This is sarcasm, of course, although I suspect the author is serious about avoiding things that many…

Getting ahead is the most important thing in life!

Re: Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

#20

Post by whatshisface »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #11
mprovost wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compare it to investing. Do you wait for the stock to go down and then sell, or do you sell when it's high and take your profit elsewhere? Even if you invest it in something that then goes down, you still made your profit. If you move before things get bad, you'll always be able to look back at your time at the company with happiness. No burnt bridges, no bitterness. Sure it's a risk to move somewhere else, but in th…

What is the indexed linked mutual fund of this analogy? Perhaps focusing on a specific technology or skillset such that you can be a contractor providing services to a range of other companies without having a commited relationship with any of them? (The index being your choice of technology / skills)

Employment is fundamentally different from investing, because while all dollars are interchangeable and easily reallocated, almost nothing about a person is.
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