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Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

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Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#1
Anyone facing dilemma of being trapped in a shitty well paid job?

Cons 1) shitty management 2) old technology stack 3) inexperienced teams trying unstable stacks 4) politics 5) more politics 6) no clear vision

Pros

1) company is a monopoly 2) job security 3) lots of $$$

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#3
post #2

Just curious, how would one fix #2 without some amount of #3? 4,5,6 would bother me most...

Best advice I have is to work on stuff outside of work using a more current tech stack so when OP does jump ship they will be able to transition smoothly and not end up in the same situation.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#5
You're not trapped by anything but the paycheck. You might ask yourself how much money it would be worth giving up to work in a better environment. Then see if you can find a job that pays at least that much, with an environment that is considerably better than where you are.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#6

You're not trapped by anything but the paycheck. You might ask yourself how much money it would be worth giving up to work in a better environment. Then see if you can find a job that pays at least that much, with an environment that is considerably better than where you are.

The problem is you never know if it is going to be better or worse. My experience is that it is mostly the same everywhere. What changes is the paycheck, company logo and the faces

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#7
Consider the possibility that other companies may, contrary to expectations, be willing to pay equally well. I'm not claiming this is absolutely the case, because I don't know your definition of "pays well," but at least it seems possible.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#8
Create a vision, get the team to buy into it. Convince senior managers to buy in. Present and execute a plan to fulfill the vision. Be the change you want to see.

Edit: I can see that I need to explain in more depth. Too many technically-oriented folks take the cultural and political landscape of a company as a given. It is not. You can change it. Even as a relatively junior employee, your attitude, communications and actions can have a meaningful impact on your team and the larger group. Your choices are not simply to A) accept what is or B) jump ship. There is a third option -- try to change things. I'm not saying it's easy, it's not. It is in fact, often very challenging. But, if you're not in a management position, it's also great practice to acquire and hone your leadership skills.

The exact tactics will vary highly depending on the situation, personalities and culture. Sadly, IMO, there is no recipe for success. Moreover, it's quite likely that your contributions will not be recognized. But even if you move the needle a little, you will have gained valuable soft skills and made everyone's life a little better.

Re: Ask HN: Shitty job but well paid

#9
This is 100% the best way to keep your employees trapped. If you want to retain employees but your company sucks, paying them well above market will make it very difficult for most of them to go elsewhere. It's easy to say "Well, they can just save the extra money and get MORE freedom!" but that's very rarely how things actually turn out in practice.

It is important that potential employees realize this before accepting job offers with large salaries. That company is trying to trap you. You may choose to walk into that trap, but at least do so with your eyes open. The most despondent people I've met through the course of my career have told me that they're stuck at their company because no one else is willing to get near their salary.

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