Why I Don't Do Unpaid Overtime and Neither Should You

Post by jiggy2011 » Wed, Feb 29, 2012, 4:13 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #191

spinlock wrote: post #165

Here's my problem with people who put in 80 hours a week: they don't write good code. At my first job - way back in the last millenium - we were creating a carrier class network device. I was hired to run the mail servers but ended up building an embedded linux that ran the PowerPC on our hardware - we also had a Strong ARM that ran a gig ethernet but that was under another guy. So, how did I go from mail server to a…

Honestly that anecdote just proves that you were a better engineer than the 60 hour boot loader guy. It doesn't say anything about hours other than that some people will work hard even if they aren't making progress. You aren't claiming that he'd have done better by spending only 2/3 the time, just that a solution (that he couldn't find) existed that fit. Honestly I find myself amused at the extent of the argument he…

Post by BadassFractal » Wed, Feb 29, 2012, 10:49 PM UTC

bdunbar wrote: post #228

philwelch wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USAA is an exceptionally good company.

I love USAA to pieces. For years my time in the Marines was good only for memories (good and bad), cynicism, and a career in IT. Which isn't bad. But then they let me in the club and my insurance cost dropped like a rock. Plus they're super easy to deal with. Had some hail damage and where my neighbors were fighting _their_ insurance provider months later USAA couldn't get me the money fast enough. "Overnight .. is t…

Post by gaius » Thu, Mar 01, 2012, 2:45 PM UTC

theBobMcCormick wrote: post #196

ootachi wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long hours are the key to profitability, as Philip Greenspun put it: "From a business point of view, long hours by programmers are a key to profitability. A programmer probably needs to spend 25 hours per week...Thus a programmer who works 55 hours per week is twice as productive as one who works 40 hours per week.... A product is going to get out the door much faster if it is built by 4 people working 70-hour weeks…

> "If you see one of your best people walking out the door at 6:00 pm, try to think why you haven't challenged that person with an interesting project. If you see one of your average programmers walking out the door at 6:00 pm, recognize that this person is not developing into a good programmer." Wow! What a horribly shitty attitude. If your "average programmer" isn't spending their every waking moment at work they'r…

Post by gaius » Thu, Mar 01, 2012, 3:13 PM UTC

batista wrote: post #104

BadassFractal wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's at-will employment, if you don't like it, you can leave at any point. Basically if you don't like being exploited, quit and get it over with. As people pointed out though, it's a different story once health care is part of the equation.

It's at-will employment, if you don't like it, you can leave at any point. Basically if you don't like being exploited, quit and get it over with. No, it's not at-will employment. At will employment would be, "I want to work at Google", and snap you're working at Google. Real life employment is more like: how is the general economy? how is your specific field's economy? If you quit this job, can you last for a while…

Post by quatrevingts » Thu, Mar 01, 2012, 7:26 PM UTC

buff-a wrote: post #245

quatrevingts wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus, COBRA payments are (generally) not tax-deductible, so add another 30-40% more.

A self-employed person can deduct health expenses against gross income. You are correct in that COBRA cannot be deducted in this way. But it can still be taken as an itemized deduction. I'm not a tax accountant, but my tax accountant is. Another gotcha: if you're taking the 60% markdown on COBRA from Obama, then no, you're not allowed to write it off at all, but I wouldn't be complaining about that.