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I quit my job

madebyloren.com

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Re: I quit my job

#181

Post by thatinstant »

guynamedloren wrote: post #158
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?

Yes. I made a lot of sacrifices to my programming skills to take on other roles and responsibilities to move the company forward. Now, 3 years later, I'm finding it tough to leave. I wish I could just jump ship, but having bills to pay is a huge motivator to maintain the status quo.

Re: I quit my job

#182

Post by lgieron »

guynamedloren wrote: post #158
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?

Isn't that the norm? I'd be interested in examples of profitable companies which put well-being of people over making money.

Re: I quit my job

#183

Post by thatinstant »

lgieron wrote: post #182
guynamedloren wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

Isn't that the norm? I'd be interested in examples of profitable companies which put well-being of people over making money.

You're right... It's like asking, "what's the difference between Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and a for-profit company that improves the well-being of people?" ...nothing, they are all figments of our collective imaginations. (no offense to those HN readers who still believe ;-) )

I think many of the companies get started with good intentions, but we all know what the road to hell is paved with, right? What can be done to fix this?

Re: I quit my job

#185

Post by lgieron »

thatinstant wrote: post #183
lgieron wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that the norm? I'd be interested in examples of profitable companies which put well-being of people over making money.

You're right... It's like asking, "what's the difference between Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and a for-profit company that improves the well-being of people?" ...nothing, they are all figments of our collective imaginations. (no offense to those HN readers who still believe ;-) ) I think many of the companies get started with good intentions, but we all know what the road to hell is paved with, right? What can be…

I think that anything in particular can be done about companies caring about profit and little else. What can be done is changing the world for the better via (smart) state policies, some of them incentivising companies to do good (or at least less harm), others changing the world explicitly (like various social programs, the labor laws etc.). That's obviously hard and messy since it involves politics, but hey - people on this forum are supposedly all about hard problems and changing the world :) (usually, they're also about making millions of dollars in the process, but that, since it doesn't make you look as attractive, is usually left unspoken).

Re: I quit my job

#188

Post by jrm2k6 »

I really like this article, as I feel being somehow in the same position. Words chosen express totally my feelings. I'm happy to see that I am not the only one having this issue.

Re: I quit my job

#189

Post by ryandrake »

eshvk wrote: post #124
ryandrake wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not a "shitty employee". Maybe you are just not in the right role. Most companies I've worked for consider developers to be just cogs that type code into computers all day. Many developers are just fine with this, but some of us want to do more. Like I said in another reply, the way I fixed this was to change careers and move over to the product management side. Unfortunately, I kind of had to leave developmen…

Slightly offtopic. I would love to hear more on how you made the switch happen. I sort of understand OP's perspective on the whole deal of people who work with code being considered to mere cogs and am also thinking about a switch.

This thread is pretty old, but I'll reply in case you're still reading. Here's the path I took, might not work for everyone:

1. Went back to school for an MBA (which I wouldn't recommend doing) 2. Found a typical "code monkey" job at a company where I was super-interested in the product and felt I had lots of good ideas. Work way up to some kind of tech lead position. 3. Network/established great relationships with the product team at said company. Provided constant input/ideas on the product, knowing most of it would be ignored (that's OK). 4. When I learned an opening on the product team appeared, jumped on in with full force. By then, the right people on the product team all knew/trusted me, and it was a pretty straightforward move. I was basically moving back down to a non-leadership level but I was willing to accept that.

Process took about 4-5 years, including the MBA. In retrospect, I wouldn't recommend the MBA unless you are trying to transition ENTIRELY out of tech/software.

Hope this helps

Re: I quit my job

#190

Post by DrJ »

guynamedloren wrote: post #106
vinceguidry wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn't really read the post. When she started, it was like that. But eventually it turned into "just-another-9-to-5" with uninteresting problems. That's why she quit.

I'm a 'he' :)

everyone should now just use shwe, a combination of she, he, we.
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