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Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

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21–30 of 85 posts

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#21
post #6

The other point specifically for devs is how interviewing is such a different skill to normal work. The people with the best careers are almost always interviewing. If you constantly using that muscle you get really good. The guy I know who stayed in the same role for 15 years and got laid off is screwed because he's a great developer but doesn't know any of that stuff.

Arguably many of the people with the best careers worked at one company—-their own.

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#22

> I know that what seems to most drive young people today is the freedom to pursue their passions. They care less about money and are financially driven as a means to an end, pursuing things like side hustles, immersive travel to unusual places, music festivals, costly fitness classes, and mental health investments like therapy and life coaches. Fuck you pay me.

Seriously. A good place in the United States will give you four weeks of PTO. Couple that with a decent holiday schedule and unlimited sick days (limiting sick days is a red flag, imho) and the only other thing you need is a big check.

Full disclosure: I’m 51 but never expected anything from my employers beyond a pleasant work environment, time off, medical insurance, and a significant regular contribution to my account.

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, but who wants to be always interviewing? That sounds terrible. At some point your life is going to have different priorities.

Always interview, be overemployed as a C player at the jobs you get, retire early.

We had a guy do that. He got fired from all his jobs and effectively blacklisted in the area.

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#24
post #6

The other point specifically for devs is how interviewing is such a different skill to normal work. The people with the best careers are almost always interviewing. If you constantly using that muscle you get really good. The guy I know who stayed in the same role for 15 years and got laid off is screwed because he's a great developer but doesn't know any of that stuff.

Also you learn more stuff by working at different companies. Every place does things differently. Good to cross pollinate.

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#25
post #11

Facts. The biggest career mistake I made was staying at one place for too long. It was comfortable and solid. I got complacent. I didn't think I could do better. I was wrong. I've changed jobs twice since then, and both have been big upgrades. If your employer isn't significantly rewarding loyalty, I highly recommend at least looking to see what's out there. You aren't forced to go, but be open to new opportunities.…

My employer has increasing vacation over the years, start with 3 weeks but you’re up to 5 when you’ve been there a decade. IMO that’s a very undervalued proposition that makes me want to stick around longer than I might otherwise. There’s a dollar value that would trump it of course but it’s pretty high.

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#26
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, but who wants to be always interviewing? That sounds terrible. At some point your life is going to have different priorities.

One hack I've seen is to be the interviewer, not the interviewee

How is that a hack? I guess if you're moving between roles with similar/identical skill sets, great. But I've always had to spend time preparing. Being selective as an applicant doesn't mean you don't have to prepare.

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always interview, be overemployed as a C player at the jobs you get, retire early.

We had a guy do that. He got fired from all his jobs and effectively blacklisted in the area.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40363135#40363405

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#28
post #6

The other point specifically for devs is how interviewing is such a different skill to normal work. The people with the best careers are almost always interviewing. If you constantly using that muscle you get really good. The guy I know who stayed in the same role for 15 years and got laid off is screwed because he's a great developer but doesn't know any of that stuff.

“People with the best careers are almost always interviewing” might just be the craziest sentence ever written on this website…

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#29
post #6

The other point specifically for devs is how interviewing is such a different skill to normal work. The people with the best careers are almost always interviewing. If you constantly using that muscle you get really good. The guy I know who stayed in the same role for 15 years and got laid off is screwed because he's a great developer but doesn't know any of that stuff.

Does talking with the voices in my head count as interviewing?

Re: Loyalty at work no longer pays – and it's employers who are to blame

#30
post #18

I wonder how much the loyalty of the "good old days" was due to a smaller local labor market for skilled jobs. Let's say that you are a doctor and you live in a town of 20,000 people with one hospital. You are stuck being "loyal" to that hospital unless you move. Now let's say that you live in a metropolis of 2 million people and multiple hospitals. That gives you the option to move between jobs if they become availa…

> Let's say that you are a doctor and you live in a town of 20,000 people with one hospital. You are stuck being "loyal" to that hospital unless you move.

It’s tangential to the main point of your hypothetical, but: in many states that small town doctor’s salary is a multiple of what it would be in an urban or suburban area, and he’s chosen to live there because he’s making a ton of money.

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