Earlier quoted context omitted.
Such is the way in an unorganized labor market.
Perhaps we should organize....
And expect lower salaries as a result. Nothing is free
Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
81–90 of 342 posts
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're interpreting "doing poorly" wrong. I read GP as saying that people who are laid off are currently going through a stressful time in their life: "doing poorly".
If your buddies are going through a stressful time in their life then you should be spending even more time with them if possible.
I completely agree... My comment was based on the assumption this conversation isn't about helping your buddies through a tough time, it's about who to network with when you've been laid off.
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#83It just occurred to me that so many people were laid off, we could start the world's largest software co-op (and arguably one of the largest tech orgs, period). We could build software products that every industry needs, that every worker owns a part of and can vote on org-wide decisions. Literally everyone you need was laid off... Tech people, business people, marketing, sales, etc. We just need a forum and some vol…
> We all know what products companies/individuals would pay for, because we used to build/buy them.
Why wouldn't the traditional approach of starting a company to sell those things work?
Co-ops have never been a successful software business model. Not even once that I can think of.
That model seems to work ok for open source, but since you are talking about building things people will pay for, I'm not seeing how it would succeed.
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#84It just occurred to me that so many people were laid off, we could start the world's largest software co-op (and arguably one of the largest tech orgs, period). We could build software products that every industry needs, that every worker owns a part of and can vote on org-wide decisions. Literally everyone you need was laid off... Tech people, business people, marketing, sales, etc. We just need a forum and some vol…
Why should they all do this?
Because it’s there.
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#85Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#86We're sitting in the park, drinking Thunderbird and arguing with the pigeons.
If you can make it to Texas they'll buy you a one-way ticket to the coastal metropolis of your choice
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#87It just occurred to me that so many people were laid off, we could start the world's largest software co-op (and arguably one of the largest tech orgs, period). We could build software products that every industry needs, that every worker owns a part of and can vote on org-wide decisions. Literally everyone you need was laid off... Tech people, business people, marketing, sales, etc. We just need a forum and some vol…
I just don't understand the incentive and it seems like it would end up as a race to the bottom, no?
Perhaps maybe its a good starting point for developers or those just wanting smooth sailing... but for others... why stay in a "system" with a low ceiling? They could take a risk and create a startup and earn much more.
>We all know what products companies/individuals would pay for, because we used to build/buy them.
Regarding this. I _wish_ it were that easy. If it were, I would just spin up a consulting business, lol. Its probably the case SDEs know more about what the client needs than the client itself does... but getting them to pay for something new is incredibly difficult.
I guess at the end of the day, I don't believe you could throw 100 talented people in a room and just expect results to start happening. I would love to join this as an experiment though.
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Software development has arguably more gatekeeping even without any guild. Got a CS degree from a university that isn't R1 and didn't score a summer internship? Need a visa sponsor? I don't envy how painful your early career will be. Luck out with the Stanford admission and a summer internship? You are playing on easy mode.
Some of the best engineers I've ever worked don't even have a bachelor's degree. These autodidacts will suffer greatly if the wrong kind of "software guild" gains control over licensing tech employees.
SAG doesn't require a degree in screen acting. It's a little convoluted but they basically operate mainly on proof of work. That sort of system would probably give self taught engineers who spent their years from 18-22 doing actual work a huge leg up compared to those who were in school during that time doing no work on any projects for any company.
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#89It just occurred to me that so many people were laid off, we could start the world's largest software co-op (and arguably one of the largest tech orgs, period). We could build software products that every industry needs, that every worker owns a part of and can vote on org-wide decisions. Literally everyone you need was laid off... Tech people, business people, marketing, sales, etc. We just need a forum and some vol…
> We all know what products companies/individuals would pay for, because we used to build/buy them. Why wouldn't the traditional approach of starting a company to sell those things work? Co-ops have never been a successful software business model. Not even once that I can think of. That model seems to work ok for open source, but since you are talking about building things people will pay for, I'm not seeing how it w…
A co-op can mean a lot of things, but in particular it means an employee-owned business. For all of the reasons not to get behind the idea of a company without a billionaire at the top, the Hobbesian faith in the monarch could be the worst one.
The functional difference between a co-op and a normal business could be as small as having a board that is informed (because the shareholders are employees and naturally very informed), and that doesn't go for the usual extreme comp levels at the top.
Re: Ask HN: Where are laid off employees gathering?
#90We're sitting in the park, drinking Thunderbird and arguing with the pigeons.
Drinking Night Train and yelling at clouds over here...