Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

jasonshen.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 352 posts

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#11

Post by sharkweek »

barbariangrunge wrote: post #2

I sometimes miss my old job hauling around boxes. It’s great exercise and you never have to take stress home with you. Good coworkers often times too It just doesn’t pay enough to retire off of. Can’t easily build savings. Can’t easily pay for the dentist or other emergencies Being a lead programmer pays a ton better. I just wish I wasn’t as stressful as it is

Graduated in 07, was working middle office for a bank, economy tanked so I left to go travel in a low cost of living area (Central America) for a bit.

Came back, couldn’t find a job so worked at a grocery store for two years throwing freight.

Honestly kinda loved it. No stress besides the occasional surly coworker, but it felt very peaceful making a customer-ravaged shelf look whole again. Couldn’t afford the low wages now but at the time not sure I would have traded it for much.

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#12

Post by xedeon »

fn-mote wrote: post #6
barbariangrunge wrote: post #2

I sometimes miss my old job hauling around boxes. It’s great exercise and you never have to take stress home with you. Good coworkers often times too It just doesn’t pay enough to retire off of. Can’t easily build savings. Can’t easily pay for the dentist or other emergencies Being a lead programmer pays a ton better. I just wish I wasn’t as stressful as it is

> Can’t easily pay for the dentist or other emergencies Work a union job, not Amazon? UPS benefits will easily cover your medical and dental problems. (Once you qualify.) I don't know anything about Amazon's worker coverage.

From a quick Google search:

- https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/employer-brand/AMZ_20...

- https://www.amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/benefitsoverview-us

- https://www.amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/benefitsoverview-us...

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#13

Post by smallerfish »

I think this is partly a story of retiring without having enough in your life to replace work. I understand how that's possible, as full days of work leave me not wanting to do much in the evenings (I don't have kids, so I can't imagine where parents find the energy) - that said, it's probably important for your mental health post-retirement to find things outside of work to engage in well before your retirement date comes.

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#15

Post by djhworld »

Working in a warehouse for 6 weeks is gruelling, and from the interview it sounds like he got a taste of that experience, but I think there's a marked difference between working for the novelty of it and working because you're living paycheck to paycheck.

Saying that though I think he's right in the sense that having experience of working in an environment like that does give you the appreciation for the relative comforts of a tech job.

I've worked retail jobs when younger, and sitting on your butt all day writing code is way easier...

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#16

Post by pxx »

fn-mote wrote: post #6
barbariangrunge wrote: post #2

I sometimes miss my old job hauling around boxes. It’s great exercise and you never have to take stress home with you. Good coworkers often times too It just doesn’t pay enough to retire off of. Can’t easily build savings. Can’t easily pay for the dentist or other emergencies Being a lead programmer pays a ton better. I just wish I wasn’t as stressful as it is

> Can’t easily pay for the dentist or other emergencies Work a union job, not Amazon? UPS benefits will easily cover your medical and dental problems. (Once you qualify.) I don't know anything about Amazon's worker coverage.

Amazon's medical coverage is no UPS but it is extremely competitive against plans that union members try to tout as better. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26753455 as an old discussion where the thread creator thinks their plan is a lot better "due to unions" but it's actually a lot worse.

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#18

Post by virtuous_signal »

djhworld wrote: post #15

Working in a warehouse for 6 weeks is gruelling, and from the interview it sounds like he got a taste of that experience, but I think there's a marked difference between working for the novelty of it and working because you're living paycheck to paycheck. Saying that though I think he's right in the sense that having experience of working in an environment like that does give you the appreciation for the relative com…

I agree absolutely. One of these people can stop whenever the experience stops being fun and the other has few other options. It's about as inspiring as poverty tourism or an episode of Undercover Boss.

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#19

Post by darod »

interesting that he's so programmed to work that just relaxing for a bit made him depressed. hard to see how working 11 hours a day is going to make it easier for him to still not have to put his kids on the calendar.

on a side note, i wonder if the actual therapy was just doing something physical. sitting down not moving for hours and hours is not what we were built to do. i always found working out, brazilian jiu jitsu, hiking, anything physical to be very therapeutic if i've been inside an office all day.

Re: From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate

#20

Post by betwixthewires »

As someone who's worked almost the full gamut of work types, from warehouse to sales to manufacturing to software development, even service and call center work, I can say that there's something rewarding about physically demanding work, taxing though it may be, that you just don't get sitting at a desk. And there's something you get building an abstract machine with your mind at a keyboard that you can't get in a warehouse or a factory. These days I try to balance those things, I make sure I do things that are very tactile and physical and alsp sit at my workstation at least a few hours a week to make progress on my projects. I'd say having a bit of both feels pretty good.
Post reply on HN