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I quit the tech industry

eev.ee

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Re: I quit the tech industry

#541

Post by zxcvvcxz »

moskie wrote: post #466
mcantelon wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People love medication these days. Mention any alternatives (increased exercise and sleep that studies have proven work as well as drugs), and you'll get denounced in many forums.

That works both ways. zxcvvcxz just denounced someone for suggesting medication. And it sounds like you're looking down your nose at the idea, too. Both medications, and lifestyle changes could help. It depends on the situation and the person.

>That works both ways. zxcvvcxz just denounced someone for suggesting medication.

Given the context of trying to use it to cope with a job that makes one miserable. Is that really so difficult to understand? Obviously I don't denounce all medication use in general, and I'm only referring to a fairly specific situation (of the OP).

>Both medications, and lifestyle changes could help. It depends on the situation and the person.

And given the situation of one being miserable with their job, I believe that medication is in general not the right answer. At least statistically I reckon it's the wrong answer in the majority of cases. Certainly it's not necessary, even if forking over the money could help one cope. The whole point of my post is -- why would one want to cope in this type of environment in the first place?

Re: I quit the tech industry

#542

Post by zxcvvcxz »

moskie wrote: post #536
kelnos wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see it that way at all, and I'd like to suggest that attempting to diagnose clinical depression from a blog post seems a bit ridiculous. She doesn't sound depressed; she sounds like someone happy to be mostly financially independent and able to pursue whatever projects she wants, not something someone else is telling her to do. I've felt very similarly over the past few years, and I'm working to build enough…

I pretty much agree with what you're saying, I just take issue with zxcvvcxz using the mere suggestion that it could be something more, and something that might be helped by medication, as an excuse to deride the entire concept of (responsibly) using medication to treat depression when appropriate.

I believe you're missing the point of my comments entirely, probably because you got offended at my tone. That's alright, I realize that I write provocatively.

To quote what I wrote above,

>Can the right medication help a small subset of the population who are a few standard deviations off in terms of brain chemistry? Of course it can, that goes without saying. Doesn't mean we're not facing some disturbing trends in the developed world.

I am not deriding "the entire concept of (responsibly) using medication to treat depression when appropriate."

Rather what I'm suggesting is that the vast majority of people in the OP's situation, or something analogous, are not these brain-chemistry outliers who require medication. Instead, I suggest that the unnatural environment created by office cubicle/computer wage slavery runs counter to human nature, particularly with respect to one's happiness.

I hope it is very clear at this point what I am saying, and that I am not deriding the use of all medication, but rather, speaking with respect to a particular environmental example.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#543

Post by OneOneOneOne »

eclipxe wrote: post #439
OneOneOneOne wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thumbs up. Too many people take on unnecessary debt (big house, new cars, toys, ...) It seems like many are at peace with their debt. Going into debt for anything more than a modest house (rather than paying rent) doesn't make sense to me.

Nothing wrong with debt and being at peace with it. Why doesn't it make sense to you? (I genuinely want to know your opinion)

Being in debt limits your freedom. We all need to provide for our well being but why take on more than is necessary?

Re: I quit the tech industry

#544

Post by dasil003 »

eclipxe wrote: post #404
libria wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1) Developers cannot reliably estimate software timelines. Disagree. Developers can provide reliable low risk estimates that will most certainly be rejected or truncated by management. The problem is not estimates, the problem is every manager fantasizing that their Captain Kirk strategy, "I'll have it fixed in 4 minutes, Captain" "Do it in 2." is some form of motivating leadership.

EVERY manager? Hyperbole there...

There are two ways to parse that sentence:

1. Every manager does that

2. Every manager that does that is the problem

Re: I quit the tech industry

#545

Post by roblfrieburg »

coleifer wrote: post #506

Fuck this guy and his narcissistic post. So you retired early, the hell do I care? Nothing interesting here beyond a guy with the financial means to leave, and who left. Only a narcissist would think this was something profound.

Guy complains that working for massive company X isn't very motivational, decides to leave. This isn't something unique it happens in every industry out there, especially tech. I don't get why this post has the amount of votes it has.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#546

Post by [deleted] »

roblfrieburg wrote: post #545
coleifer wrote: post #506

Fuck this guy and his narcissistic post. So you retired early, the hell do I care? Nothing interesting here beyond a guy with the financial means to leave, and who left. Only a narcissist would think this was something profound.

Guy complains that working for massive company X isn't very motivational, decides to leave. This isn't something unique it happens in every industry out there, especially tech. I don't get why this post has the amount of votes it has.

[deleted]

Re: I quit the tech industry

#547

Post by angersock »

wpietri wrote: post #539
angersock wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author kinda hints at the key right here: "They’re interesting for a while, but they’re also the same self-inflicted wounds everyone seems to deal with — why is this slow? why is this broken? how can we keep this old code limping along indefinitely without having to rewrite it? how does this thing a former employee wrote even work? They’re cute puzzles, and I can get into solving them for a while, but I don’t car…

That section meant something to me too, but something different. I was just talking with a friend that is really frustrated because in his view his team is not only trying to deal with a bunch of tech debt, they are trying to move so fast that they net create more tech debt every week. And he feels like he's the only one who will look at this squarely; everybody else just finds their little puzzles to work on. I expe…

So most developer experiences are of dealing with an unending stream of unnecessary dumb puzzles, rather than challenging problems with real meaning.

That's exactly what I meant by self-inflicted: thank you for stating it clearly!

I don't mind working on genuinely hard problems, even if we can't get anywhere. It's dealing with lots of unnecessary silliness or trying to get one more month out of the shitty legacy code that drives me nuts.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#548

Post by lww »

Yeah, you've definitely had a tough life, not like this loser who was just trying to survive!

http://goo.gl/xTXnsI

YOU are why people outside the tech microcosm of self-centered entitlement despise us. I don't have a problem with you pursuing your dreams but I've about had it with self-important, self-centered tech professionals who believe they should never have to suffer through the struggle to achieve that EVERY generation preceding them has had to overcome. It's so sad for you that HALF your day is all grey and cloudy because you have to "WORK".

You're AMAZINGLY lucky to be in a position where you can drop out of your 10:30a-4p job, toss off the shackles of your free catered meals and cash in a bunch of stock, that only has value because of that "crappy legacy code written by idiots", and pursue your trustfund-esque life of "cafe double mocha-lattes" infused with the knowledge that "you were meant for easier times".

Be thankful that you have this opportunity and use it to make something amazing that can improve the world in some fundamental way. Try traveling somewhere that isn't burdened with the advantage of tech largesse. Somewhere on the Pacific Rim? Cambodia, Indonesia, Malayasia, the Philippines or Vietnam? South America maybe or Africa? See what real struggle looks like and use your skill to do something to improve the lives of those truly desperate. Otherwise, quit being a whiney little bitch and keep your self-centered, egotistical life to yourself and enjoy the life of a snotty Starbucks "barista".

Re: I quit the tech industry

#549

Post by JohnBooty »

rdtsc wrote: post #161
seivan wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went through this. Not sure what toxic culture entails, but fucked up deadlines burned me out. Why do all software companies rush so hard.

There are 2 reasons: 1) Developers cannot reliably estimate software timelines. That often comes with experience and age, but many never learn that skill. It is a skill like programming itself. It comes with practice. 2) Break down in communication between management (product managers) and engineers who are writing code. On the first part. Usually junior software developers simply have not had experience shipping sof…

I agree with what you said. I think there's also a third primary reason and maybe a fourth:

3) Developers are expensive. If you have a team of 5 developers each being paid a salary+benefits of $1,500-$3,000 per week and they tell you a feature will take four weeks, management does a little mental math and says holy shit, that's a lot of money and it's understandably tempting for them to want to see if that team really needs four weeks, or if maybe it can be done in three weeks. (Meanwhile, as you said, the feature will probably actually take six weeks because developers cannot reliably estimate...)

4) Developers have a hard time saying "no." We have a culture of working crazy hours. Management knows this and often intentionally or unintentionally exploits it.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#550

Post by JohnBooty »

damoncali wrote: post #165
aaggarwal wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am going to start working soon. This makes me think if full-time work is really worth it. Wouldn't multiple short-term contracts with regular breaks be able to cut it in today's world? Isn't there people with experience on working on short-term contracts and still living well-off?

I do this, but it's not all roses. Getting and keeping those contracts continually takes effort and time. It's stressful when you don't have much line of sight into the future. And even though you can charge a high hourly rate, it's difficult to work lots of billable hours. I need time for context switching, administrivia, marketing. And the one problem I don't see discussed much: on-demand motivation. If you work a…

Well said. After consulting for a few years, the only way I'd ever do it again is if I had at least a year's wages in the bank as a "cushion."

Also: I found it extremely difficult to date or maintain a relationship while consulting.

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