41–50 of 125 posts
I think people who work 40 hours a week in actual jobs are kind of insane. Like yeah, do it for a few years, get the money, get out. Why anyone would spend their entire life in a job job is beyond me (unless they're being paid minimum wage and actually trapped).
Finding your sense of purpose in your work is bad, IMO, unless you own the company or have a similar position. I don't want my self-worth to be tied to an employer or market that can get rid of me any time. It's just a job. At best, I work in places that aren't morally against my values.
> Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector? I work on improving the treatment of cancer through the application of deep learning. I am employed by a FAANG and work very closely with several leading nonprofit academic medical centres. Our primary driver is real-world patient impact (rather than, say, revenue or just academic publications). Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of downsides…
I'm sure you'll get a wide variety of answers here. As a software engineer, I like solving complex technical problems and learning software, management, and people skills. It doesn't matter to me what I'm doing as long as it's ethical and I can grow.
Now I'm in completely the wrong forum to say this, as this place obviously favors one view, but can you say that building companies just for the purpose of profits is actually ethical?
In the end, a business either makes customers lives better, or it dies.
I feel good about improving the lives of my employer's customers, as well as about helping my team and my employer do well.
I'm not saving the world, sure. But I don't think that's a particularly sane goal for an individual.
Having said all that, what really makes a job good for me is the people I work with.
I know the 'crusade' attitude of many non-profits, but it wears and eventually leaves you. You need to have a sense of purpose that won't fade nor leave you. So many folks have decided not to invest in family or friends that only work is left.
Does anyone working in software honestly feel like their work gives them a strong sense of purpose? Honestly I'd imagine the far majority don't, working on proprietary code for companies driven solely by profit, within agile factories where a developer's sole role is to churn out tickets on an assembly line, and have no real ownership or stake in the company's success. Hence the high rate of burnout despite the job b…
I work in healthcare technology. The software I wrote saved two people's life last week. So, yeah. Purpose.
You don’t. More than twenty years in and I’m certain that “passion” and “purpose” are gilded carrots used to misinform and sway the naive when used by capitalists. You won’t find purpose in a capitalist society. You’re more likely to find a decent trade of your time, skills, and social connections for money, stock options, bonuses, and a benefits plan. Treat it like a mercenary and you’ll do okay. Now that isn’t to s…
I'm sure you'll get a wide variety of answers here. As a software engineer, I like solving complex technical problems and learning software, management, and people skills. It doesn't matter to me what I'm doing as long as it's ethical and I can grow.
> As a software engineer, I like solving complex technical problems and learning software, management, and people skills. It doesn't matter to me what I'm doing as long as it's ethical and I can grow. Now I'm in completely the wrong forum to say this, as this place obviously favors one view, but can you say that building companies just for the purpose of profits is actually ethical?
or increased efficiency which is important too. I work on software that makes factory and warehouse operations more power efficient, and that feels meaningful to me!