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I quit my job

madebyloren.com

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Re: I quit my job

#151

Post by seivan »

MartinCron wrote: post #66
enraged_camel wrote: post #44

>>Eventually, those discussions stopped. Shots were called in private meetings and passed down. This is terrible, and would also make me want to quit. Because if you start as part of the decision making process, and over time stop being invited to those meetings, that means you are no longer trusted or important enough to have any say in those decisions. That would be insulting, to say the least.

Something very similar happened to me at a startup a few years ago and it took me a long time to realize what had happened and why I felt so terrible about it. Even though my title, salary, and perks were still the same, it was a de-facto demotion . Important parts of my compensation (involvement, agency, sense of ownership, diversity in work effort) were just inadvertently phased out as the company I helped grow was…

"I helped grow was big enough to support product managers who could do just the most rewarding parts of my job but not actually code or anything"

That's the worst. Asshole idea people who can't code their bullshit design or implementation.

Re: I quit my job

#154

Post by zipppy »

ctide wrote: post #52
rwg wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Just quit" doesn't always work out so well: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5778653 If I've learned anything about working, it's that you never quit without another job lined up. Employment seems to be a prerequisite for finding employment.

Working at a single place for 10 years and having 0 connections to other companies is not going to put you in a good place to find a job. I imagine they would struggle to find a job regardless of whether or not they quit.

In my naivete, I don't know why this is true. What is it about staying at a place for a long time that makes a person less desirable?

I ask in part because I've been at my current employer for 9 years -- should someone in my spot be looking for a new job?

Re: I quit my job

#155

Post by thatinstant »

When I read the post, I thought the same thing... It's almost as if I felt like I was reading my own blog (if I kept one). I have always strived to find meaningful work where I feel like I can have a positive impact on the world. About 3 years ago, I took a job at a startup where I was sold on the story that it would have a meaningful impact on the health/wellness of others. I took on new roles and responsibilities easily as I really wanted the idea of the company to succeed. However, as I learn more and more about the true intentions of the founders, I realize that it has nothing to do with impacting the health and well-being of millions, but all to do with making money.

Re: I quit my job

#156

Post by johnathanz »

Too bad the company got bureaucratic. But it seems to be the nature of things. Startups are born, they grow, they get big, and inevitably they get boring because 1) maintaining legacy code & doing incremental changes is never as fun as green-field development 2)having customers mean proving you can be reliable, and that comes with doing hard work - providing customer support, fixing bugs. Snazzy new features give way to doing what the market wants. I'm glad you made the leap to quit though, because it does sound like you were genuinely bored. While I agree a life guided by curiosity and experiments is the right pursuit, I personally don't think that luxury will always be available to us ALL the time. Sometimes, we just have to put up with doing boring tasks...

Re: I quit my job

#157

Post by prtksxna »

It feels great to feel what you are feeling. I recently graduated out of a college that I didn't like too much and now I've moved cities and working on stuff that I really want to. I guess breaks like this are necessary to keep the mind fresh.

Re: I quit my job

#158

Post by guynamedloren »

thatinstant wrote: post #155

When I read the post, I thought the same thing... It's almost as if I felt like I was reading my own blog (if I kept one). I have always strived to find meaningful work where I feel like I can have a positive impact on the world. About 3 years ago, I took a job at a startup where I was sold on the story that it would have a meaningful impact on the health/wellness of others. I took on new roles and responsibilities e…

> However, as I learn more and more about the true intentions of the founders, I realize that it has nothing to do with impacting the health and well-being of millions, but all to do with making money.

That's not a great situation to be in. Are you still working there?

Re: I quit my job

#159

Post by guynamedloren »

shawnreilly wrote: post #152

Just curious, what would you do if Airbnb offered you a job at this point?

I'd say no.

I don't dislike the company nor am I bitter... I am simply no longer interested.

Fwiw, when they did not hire me originally, they said they wanted to keep in touch - and they kept their word. They reached out about 6 months later, but I was already living the startup dream at that point.

Re: I quit my job

#160

Post by PakG1 »

jedc wrote: post #114
FD3SA wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be criminal negligence if I didn't mention Michael O'Church's seminal work on this issue [1]. There is surprising depth and complexity to the power dynamics in companies, both large and small. What you've discovered first hand is that, unfortunately, politics determine the fate of nations and companies alike. 1. http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/gervais-princ...

I'm sorry, but it's really difficult to take that "seminal work" seriously when that work is an in-depth analysis of the "MacLeod Model of organizational sociology". Do you know what the "MacLeod Model" is? A cartoon on the back of a business card, posted to the web without comment nine years ago: http://gapingvoid.com/2004/06/27/company-hierarchy/ Michael O'Church might have some interesting things to say, but when…

Is it humorous because it's true or humorous for some other reason? Take Dilbert. A lot of Dilbert comic strips are humorous because they have a grain of inspiration from reality, so people can actually relate to the ludicrous situations, and thereby understand and laugh, even if only sardonically at times. I think this falls into that category.

I don't think we should disregard the ideas in this napkin comic just because it's a napkin comic. We should disregard it if it has no grasp on reality. But when one reads books like The Corporation and also experiences life in the corporate world, some of us can't help but nod our heads depressingly. It's why we quit.

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