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Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

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Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#251

Post by throwawaysleep »

forinti wrote: post #167

I spent the pandemic working all kinds of hours, and now management wants people back in the office. It does feel like my effort is not valued, but an ex colleague once said something really interesting: if you are sacrificing yourself to compensate for your company's shortcomings, they will never get fixed. So if something has to be deployed to production, it now has to be done during normal working hours. I'm not g…

> It does feel like my effort is not valued

You are an employee. You are as valued as a package of staples.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#252

Post by insane_dreamer »

dijit wrote: post #11

While everyone has their preferences I find myself hating the office a lot less than I used to these days. (and I was very vocal about hating the office pre-covid[0]) However, some things of note: 1) My "Office" (not home) is not an "Open Office", it's a place where I can reasonably sit in peace and have control of my surroundings (this is something not afforded to most people in offices, and something that work from…

I would be happy to work at the office if it was a ~15 min walk or bike ride from my house.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#253

Post by kayodelycaon »

prepend wrote: post #192
shakes_mcjunkie wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're not forced to work at any particular company This is just false. People can be stuck at a company for a variety of reasons.

I’ve never met a good programmer who didn’t always have a trail of unsolicited job offers following them. Obviously there are many situations, but I think many people can be selective about where they work.

I’d like to think I’m a good programmer and it takes me months to find a job. You’ll likely never meet me because I don’t go to conferences, I don’t network, and I don’t hang out with other programmers. (HN is one of two exceptions to that.)

Most people know me from furry events or furry writer Telegram groups. :)

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#254

Post by tristor »

taude wrote: post #196

I'm curious if other's have been experiencing this. I'm at my second job now where there's a big push to off-shore to India. If you can be remote, to an exec, they might not see it too differently between you and offshore, except for how much better the bottom line is. We're even hiring roles that I thought I'd never see moved over there, too, like Product Managers. I bet we'll see this trend increase. Since this is…

I've seen this too, and I've also seen the results. I'm highly confident that this trend will cause those companies that adopt it to suffer and that it won't negatively impact the job market in the West.

The reality is that there aren't enough people competent in tech roles in the entire world to serve the global need for people with those skillsets, and I encourage my employer to hire remote, from anywhere in the world, and pay a Western salary, to get the best talent possible to do the job.

This is a different tactic than "offshoring", which is usually driven by bean counters without any regard to strategic alignment, work quality, or how it impacts customers and the long-term trajectory of the company/brand. There are enough companies and teams in tech like mine that hire people wherever they are that are competent, that companies focused on "offshoring" get people at a lower cost, but also at a significantly lower competency. That ratio used to be roughly equal, but as you pointed out the cost is roughly 1/2, however the competency is still around 1/6th.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#255

Post by mabbo »

Everyone has a price, but I think the pandemic taught us that there are things we value more than just money.

I have a 1 year old. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her every day. When I'm done work, instead of commuting for 40-75 minutes, I immediately get a big hug from her. She'll go to daycare in a few months when my wife goes back to work- but I'll get to walk her there every morning.

If I had to pick between a 30% pay cut to stay this way, or to stay at the same salary and commute every day, I'd take the pay cut. It wouldn't be a hard decision at all.

Now, if you started offering to double or triple my salary but it's in-office, there would be some hard decisions to make. But nobody is. They want to pay the same money, but with the commute- and I will continue to politely decline.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#256

Post by atwebb »

dijit wrote: post #11

While everyone has their preferences I find myself hating the office a lot less than I used to these days. (and I was very vocal about hating the office pre-covid[0]) However, some things of note: 1) My "Office" (not home) is not an "Open Office", it's a place where I can reasonably sit in peace and have control of my surroundings (this is something not afforded to most people in offices, and something that work from…

>I have it on good authority though that kids are distraction machines.

More of a nuance here, they are mainly only distraction machines for 5-7 years, after that it is more about scheduling conflicts and being able to be "present" when they are. Especially for children attending traditional school programs (public or private), they are gone most of the day and then have their own distractions (homework, hobbies, trainings, friends, etc).

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#257

Post by SCdF »

chatmasta wrote: post #238
SCdF wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. So I've been working for about fifteen years, had it from the start, but it just keep on getting worse. So now have migrated to a no keyboard solution, and am working on a no mouse solution. My setup, software: - talon ( https://talonvoice.com/ ), basing my configuration on the standard repo ( https://github.com/knausj85/knausj_talon/ ), with some minor modifications. This is how I navigate my whole computer, an…

Got any tips for a 30 year old who wants to prevent needing all this in the future? Wrist strength is something I never think about, but I'm sure it could sneak up on me one day.

Truthfully if I knew that I wouldn't be in this position. I imagine it's probably pretty genetic.

Things that help me the most though, is taking frequent breaks, getting enough sleep, and getting enough cardio. Weight lifting I think also helps as well, though I'm not sure on that.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#259

Post by atwebb »

prmoustache wrote: post #29
radu_floricica wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking for children under a certain age is more or less a full time job. Trying to mix it with work is, well, simply a bad decision. Over that age, and if the kids themselves can manage it... sure, it's great. You're there for breaks and emergencies - much better than being absent for the whole day.

It is more for the commuting in and out of school that it helps. My kids could walk back from school but primary school do not allows them to get out without me. This is kind of stupid as I would sign a waiver if they wanted it but they won't. So until they both reach what you call high school in the USA I have to go to the primary school and back every day. The most funny thing is sometimes I go there by bicycle, le…

>My kids could walk back from school but primary school do not allows them to get out without me.

Where is this? Our kids flood the park and walk home, that's how it has been in a few places we've lived. Maybe y'all are near major roads or no walkable paths?

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#260

Post by UncleMeat »

mabbo wrote: post #255

Everyone has a price, but I think the pandemic taught us that there are things we value more than just money. I have a 1 year old. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her every day. When I'm done work, instead of commuting for 40-75 minutes, I immediately get a big hug from her. She'll go to daycare in a few months when my wife goes back to work- but I'll get to walk her there every morning. If I had to pick betw…

This is me. I actually prefer working in an office if everything is equal. But it isn't. Remote work means I can support and be with my family in ways that are completely impossible in person.

If my employer came to me tomorrow and told me they were cutting my pay by 50% for working remotely I'd look for alternative remote jobs, but I wouldn't move back to where the office is.

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