Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to know when it's time to go

bitfieldconsulting.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 66 posts

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#51

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

nehal3m wrote: post #13

>Ultimately, work that’s too easy is no fun, and it’s not the basis of a rewarding career. All you’re doing is selling time, and as you get a little older you’ll come to realise that time is a non-renewable resource. There's this strange myth that white collar workers try and find meaning or reward in their work. If the stars align so that the unquenchable thirst from your brain can be satiated with white collar work…

> "There's this strange myth that white collar workers try and find meaning or reward in their work."

White collar workers might not; "white collar" encompasses a broad range of employment including repetitive clerical work.

Members of a profession¹ can and often do because they are talented enough to have some level of choice in what career path they go down, giving them the opportunity to seek meaning in their work. Software development used to be a profession but today most coding jobs are merely a complicated form of clerical work that doesn't really require that much skill or education (people on HN say this all the time). So while it's not surprising to hear some people say that it's a myth, I will say that it's not a myth everywhere in the tech industry.

¹ In the specific sense of "a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification."

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#52

Post by kcoddington »

Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #10

> It’s no good nursing your private resentments for years, while telling your boss once a week that everything’s fine, and then suddenly walking out on them. Strongly disagree with this point. Your departure should be an enormous shock to management, otherwise you've just spent weeks or months mouthing off about work to them, they've not fixed anything and indeed might even have lined up your replacement already.

This level of 'us vs. them' doesn't really help anybody. If your employer is actually this cutthroat (I imagine the majority are not) then perhaps this tactic is warranted. But as a general recommendation, TFA has a valid point regarding a potential source for a strong reference or even future collaboration. Burning bridges should always be a last resort. Also, I don't think the author is recommending 'mouthing off' but rather sitting down and having a civil discussion.

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#53

Post by mikewarot »

mikewarot wrote: post #2

I had a job that became way too easy as time went on. It broke me in unexpected ways I'll likely never recover from, even more than a decade later.

I was a system administrator for a small services firm. When I started in 1997 there was easily enough work to fill 40 hours per week, but as time went on, I smoothed all the issues out, and the actual workload slowly dropped. Additionally, there were some issues with the in-house database (Smiley) developed by the consultant I replaced.

Since I had quite a bit of free time, I attempted to address those issues with a system wide upgrade, which would have saved quite a bit of time for the accounting department and others... but due to risk-aversion, they didn't adopt the changes... so I tried again later... and by attempt #3, I had a new version running which kept sync with everything in the legacy version.... and they still wouldn't bite.

In the end I was showing up, making sure everyone's computers were working ok, and then waiting for things to break. The 3 attempts to upgrade Smiley took all initiative I had at self-starting, and broke me. It's more than a decade later, and I can't find the self-confidence to stick to any long term projects.

I learned a lot of things, having essentially a decade of free time to pursue any rabbit holes I cared to, back when Google actually worked. But thanks to the anti-incentive with Smiley, and a case of Long Covid and the accompanying brain fog... any progress on personal projects is scatter-shot at best. See my frequent mentions of BitGrid here, for an example.

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#54

Post by cyrnel »

I think declining an exit interview is bad advice for the exact same reason that venting during an exit interview is bad advice. Declining makes you look obstinate and can be used against you as well. You can just give neutral feedback ("grey-rocking") like the post mentions.

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#55

Post by nehal3m »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #51
nehal3m wrote: post #13

>Ultimately, work that’s too easy is no fun, and it’s not the basis of a rewarding career. All you’re doing is selling time, and as you get a little older you’ll come to realise that time is a non-renewable resource. There's this strange myth that white collar workers try and find meaning or reward in their work. If the stars align so that the unquenchable thirst from your brain can be satiated with white collar work…

> " There's this strange myth that white collar workers try and find meaning or reward in their work. " White collar workers might not; "white collar" encompasses a broad range of employment including repetitive clerical work. Members of a profession¹ can and often do because they are talented enough to have some level of choice in what career path they go down, giving them the opportunity to seek meaning in their wo…

>because they are talented enough to have some level of choice

That's doing a whole lot of work. I don't want to get into the myth of meritocracy, but you have to be extremely lucky to be able to invest the time and effort to end up in a career that is personally fulfilling. Not saying we disagree. There is absolutely a subset of workers who's values and interests align with what is currently economically viable, but they're few and far between and the odds are stacked against most.

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#56

Post by fooblaster »

malwrar wrote: post #49

I don’t understand how talented engineers can just job hop. I’ve spent 6 years at the current job, and while I feel safe and ready to try something new they’ve thrown so much RSUs at me (and their stock has done so well) that I stand to lose a life-changing sum of money if I just leave . People casually changing their jobs feel about as foreign to me as people who purposely seek a sense of meaning from their job. Am…

not everyone is offered "life changing" somes of money to stay?

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#57

Post by malwrar »

fooblaster wrote: post #56
malwrar wrote: post #49

I don’t understand how talented engineers can just job hop. I’ve spent 6 years at the current job, and while I feel safe and ready to try something new they’ve thrown so much RSUs at me (and their stock has done so well) that I stand to lose a life-changing sum of money if I just leave . People casually changing their jobs feel about as foreign to me as people who purposely seek a sense of meaning from their job. Am…

not everyone is offered "life changing" somes of money to stay?

Perhaps not, I honestly don’t really know what the average experience in software is like. I keep hearing people online simultaneously talk about making mid-six-figure salaries and also job hopping, I might just be conflating two possible life situations.

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#58

Post by ericjmorey »

eastbound wrote: post #20
apwell23 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> invest that time where you're sure to derive meaning from it. all my time is taken up with doing work, chores at home and childcare. I feel fucking depressed.

I know it doesn’t feel good on the spot, but as a single hopeless man, I can tell you that having children is meaning. If only because the world doesn’t listen to single men. So, enjoy your glimpse of power. Repeat your life day after day, and you will understand one day.

If you aren't being listened to, it could be that your form of communication isn't in line with the listeners. The same signal is being interpreted differently between sender and receiver.

Just a possibility to look into. Hope you're well.

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#59

Post by [deleted] »

cjcenizal wrote: post #48
apwell23 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> invest that time where you're sure to derive meaning from it. all my time is taken up with doing work, chores at home and childcare. I feel fucking depressed.

How old are your kids? I found it was really tough for me until they hit around age 3 or 4. Getting them into school helped enormously. As they grew older it became easier for me to reason with them and they also became more capable of taking care of themselves and even helping me with some things.

[deleted]

Re: How to know when it's time to go

#60

Post by apwell23 »

xivzgrev wrote: post #26
apwell23 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> invest that time where you're sure to derive meaning from it. all my time is taken up with doing work, chores at home and childcare. I feel fucking depressed.

I’m in the same boat! I wouldn’t say I feel depressed though, I’d say strained. There’s no “me” time. The thing that keeps me going (besides love for my family) is a little bit of hope. How can you take small steps toward a more balanced place today? Do you know what self care you need? How can you start making time for it? Can your wife / parents / in law help? Can you hire someone? Or can you combine stuff? For a w…

> Do you know what self care you need? How can you start making time for it? Can your wife / parents / in law help? Can you hire someone? Or can you combine stuff?

yes skiing is my passion in life. I feel like it was brutally taken away from me ( by me) . Haven't found a way to make it happen because we don't live anywhere close to mountains.

Post reply on HN