21–30 of 86 posts
It's never a good thing when the people who take on jobs in the public sector have to fear their own government. Especially when that government wilfully installs under-qualified and downright untrustworthy leadership.
[flagged]
I like to think that everyone on Hacker News stopped trusting facebook 15 years ago. No idea how true that is but, it's what I tell myself at night.
In tech we face layoffs constantly, so much so that's not a huge shock when a FAANG lays off hundreds or even thousands. We might get a couple of stories if the layoff is particularly large but the general consensus is "this is the way of the world, go find another job". Contrast that with the stories we are seeing about DOGE and the general reaction to layoffs and contraction of several govt agencies.
I think the root of it lies in how both types of jobs are pitched. You get into tech knowing that you will most likely get laid off but you take the deal because compensation if very good in the field.
This is in stark contrast to how a government job is pitched, you won't make the best salaries there, but it's a safe steady job with loads of benefits and you can easily build a career inside just a single agency.
My personal feelings on this are mixed, on the one hand it always sucks to get laid off so I feel for the employees. But on the other hand, something like 40-50% of my paycheck goes out in taxes and I would prefer if my government actually spent it on things to improve my life versus dumb shit domestically or abroad.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I like many people have been doing this for years, it's not clear what this will actually solve. What will strategically benefit us is banding together in public, not talking in hushed tones in private.
Organizing publicly tends to require safe, advanced preparation in private.
But I suppose that's the problem. People stopped believing in democracy.
It's never a good thing when the people who take on jobs in the public sector have to fear their own government. Especially when that government wilfully installs under-qualified and downright untrustworthy leadership.
Honestly, similar to software engineers and software.
I find the reaction to DOGE quite fascinating and it's really exposed just how different some work cultures are. In tech we face layoffs constantly, so much so that's not a huge shock when a FAANG lays off hundreds or even thousands. We might get a couple of stories if the layoff is particularly large but the general consensus is "this is the way of the world, go find another job". Contrast that with the stories we a…
I find the reaction to DOGE quite fascinating and it's really exposed just how different some work cultures are. In tech we face layoffs constantly, so much so that's not a huge shock when a FAANG lays off hundreds or even thousands. We might get a couple of stories if the layoff is particularly large but the general consensus is "this is the way of the world, go find another job". Contrast that with the stories we a…