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Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

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Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#91

Post by jimbokun »

throwaway9143 wrote: post #83
jimbokun wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Next step is cutting out all the articles with suspected dog whistles, taping them to your walls, and connecting them with red string to crack the code.

This comment violates the HackerNews guidelines on snarky and sneering comments. Please review them here https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#comments

“Throwaway accounts are ok for sensitive information, but please don't create accounts routinely. HN is a community—users should have an identity that others can relate to.”

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#92

Post by throwaway9143 »

jimbokun wrote: post #91
throwaway9143 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment violates the HackerNews guidelines on snarky and sneering comments. Please review them here https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#comments

“Throwaway accounts are ok for sensitive information, but please don't create accounts routinely. HN is a community—users should have an identity that others can relate to.”

I've made this account because I would be fired if my employer read my views. This is about your snarky and sneering comments towards me, not about my user name. Please abide by the site's guidelines.

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#93

Post by thunky »

HEmanZ wrote: post #87
ryandrake wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Before that, tech workers were paid well, but not so much beyond like a financial analyst. Now there's a mass market of FAANG-M jobs, perhaps like 500k jobs in total. They all pay way more compared to the average job, in multiplier terms. We're really only talking about the top employees at the top tech companies in the top most expensive COL areas. It's not like every tech employee in the world is making $500K and…

“Making 500k… driving a Ferrari” I’m guessing you’re being sarcastic but, I make that much at a tech company and absolutely can not afford a Ferrari. At least, not if I want a roof over my head. Of all the engineers I know making this much, and even double or triple that, the most expensive car driven is a model S. Actually the only person I know with a Ferrari is a cabinet contractor. He drove it over with paint can…

> I make that much at a tech company and absolutely can not afford a Ferrari. At least, not if I want a roof over my head.

Don't worry, I'm sure your luck will turn around.

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#94

Post by tennisflyi »

bm3719 wrote: post #8

Maybe it's because money doesn't buy as much as it did 4 years ago. Since most employees have limited control over their mostly-static salaries, they've scaled down output accordingly.

> Maybe it's because money doesn't buy as much as it did 4 years ago. Since most employees have limited control over their mostly-static salaries, they've scaled down output accordingly.

Yes, and most people have longed faced that without the pay of this quote: "Don’t want 18 hr days at Goldman or 10 years of medical school, but want the pay? Come work 8 at and make the same pay without the intern and first years hazing by an alcoholic 45 y/o MD who hates their spouse and never goes home."

- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40673588

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#95

Post by sph »

xfour wrote: post #70

Looks like this post was buried, what part of the rules did it fall afoul of?

shadow-banned = n-comments > upvotes

The claim is to hide "hot button topic" but that includes a lot of topical, but not flamey, posts. It's a stupid rule IMO.

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#96

Post by incomingpain »

This has been measured for decades. What you're detecting is a symptom which correlates heavily with political polarization, loneliness, and the social crisis.

I read this article a couple days ago: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/06/12/japan-quiet...

Japan is a great barometer for where many of the developed economies are heading.

>Only 6% of the Japanese workforce is engaged, one of the lowest readings in the world,

Labor Force Participation Rate in Japan increased to 63.10 percent in April, the highest in five months,

Less then 4% of their 120 million citizens are actually working and doing things their society demands.

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#97

Post by toomuchtodo »

michaelteter wrote: post #43

From my perspective of 30 years in professional tech development, there are rapidly diminishing returns for one's effort within companies. You may see great opportunities to improve metrics within your org, but for various reasons you cannot actually achieve these goals based on your own individual effort. The reasons for failure are myriad, and I will avoid going down that path of sad tales. Finally now, when I'm ju…

> At this point, we should be teaching classes on how to build great new things and get them sold off to the big slow giants. Rinse, repeat. I know there are people already doing this, but it's not well known or recognized.

https://www.ycombinator.com/

https://www.startupschool.org/

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#98

Post by orev »

ryandrake wrote: post #7

To me, this seems like a good sign that maybe the US norm of workaholism is finally on the decline and workers are starting to set boundaries. Work is a financial exchange of labor for money. "Super engagement" is not necessarily part of that exchange. IMO save your super-engagement for your family, your hobbies, your church, service to your community, and so on. Lifetimes are limited, how much of your soul-hours sho…

For many tech people, their hobby just happens to be something that also pays well when you do it for a company. So the super-engagement at work and hobbies is actually the same thing.

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#99

Post by itake »

fishpen0 wrote: post #74
itake wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> when the wage you get as an employee will not even allow you to buy a roof over your head? is this actually an issue for tech workers? I don't know a single person in tech that can't afford a home within 30min of the city center.

HN is full of tech workers yes, faang workers no. HN is full of way more people in tech roles at non-tech and old-tech companies who don't shower them equity that only goes up than you might be aware of. I work in the meetup space and know many dozens of tech workers in Boston that are feeling the rent squeeze and will never own property here

On redfin, I see lots of properties less than $1m near Boston center. A $1m home is $9k/mo at today's interest rates and considering repairs, insurance, etc., assuming 20% down.

$30k/mo income pre-tax or $360k/yr. Obviously not ideal, but a dual income family can afford this. My tech worker friends typically put more down 20% down (avoid jumbo loans), so their monthly could be much lower.

Re: Ask HN: Widespread Apathy?

#100

Post by dogman144 »

disqard wrote: post #90
dogman144 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some positivity and a way out in this dynamic: - WFH or at least hybrids enables a building or rebuilding of the social connections from neighborhoods, communities, and families. For about 2000 years, this was fulfilling to humans. From 2006-2020, Facebook became what’s fulfilling somehow. Good odds you’ll find the former fulfilling as a 101 human if you check it out. Don’t have to be a 30+ y/o with a spouse and kids…

Your comment (and several others in this discussion) really resonated with me. I'd like to add onto this particular comment, the mantra "think small". The process of focusing on the smaller-scale things that are within your sphere of influence (your neighborhood, your family, yourself ) are slower, less instant-gratification, but they also deliver much higher ROI in long-term satisfaction.

I worried/worry sometimes the localized focus means I take focus off the big picture race. But I increasingly believe in order to get past the level of good tech pay and solid wfh gig, you have to have your localized life setup strongly as it’s the foundation of a bunch of needed go pull off bigger things - self-confidence you can self govern your own routine, evidence from small outputs that your efforts can lead to bigger outputs, and so on.
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