21–30 of 81 posts
will no one rid me of these meddlesome engineers?
ever since tech took off in business the C-suite has resented developers: we are overpaid relative to the other peons, we talk back and, above all else, we are physically ugly
first it was outsourcing, now it's AI
and yet, despite it all, the codemonkey abides
It is crazy the genuine anger that some senior leadership has over the tiniest most inconsequential perks like beer, ping pong tables, work flexibility, and not getting micromanaged to death. They worked their ass off getting up at 4am something something grind corporate ladder to get to play golf and go to sports games as work expenses and these entitled 20-somethings show up expecting to not get treated like shit a…
Even that they act in their self interest for profit.
It is like business owners that rather go out of business than paying market wage for their employees.
The 'boss class' is an actor of their own, capitalists be damned.
It is crazy the genuine anger that some senior leadership has over the tiniest most inconsequential perks like beer, ping pong tables, work flexibility, and not getting micromanaged to death. They worked their ass off getting up at 4am something something grind corporate ladder to get to play golf and go to sports games as work expenses and these entitled 20-somethings show up expecting to not get treated like shit a…
It’s pretty twisted. I went to open an office in a different country and help the engineers there. The country had an exchange rate favorable to the usd and a much lower cost of living on the low end, but if you wanted to live like I did back in California the cost was almost comparable. Maybe I was saving like $1k a month. But the ceo and management threw a fit that I was “living like a king” because I wasn’t living…
"Engineers have been spoiled rotten for the last two decades[...] employers offered unlimited PTO" In what world does unlimited PTO spoil engineers? It removes the companies liability for vacation days and shames employees into taking less time off.
Wish I'd received the memo our "great engineering culture" was based on getting things done.
1. Growth can't last forever. Big tech is moving from an exponential phase to a sigmoidal one. Expect to see less spending and more focus on efficiency. It takes fewer people to keep the profit engine going than it does to build something totally new from the beginning.
2. What goes up must come down. Paradoxically, even though half of the world shut down, COVID led to a giant market boom. Head counts went up dramatically from 2020 to 2022. Tons of cash was thrown at the market.
3. 0% Fed rate is over (for now). It costs money to borrow money, and investors can get actual non-zero returns in a "risk-free" investment. Now companies need to justify their spending, reduce debt, and show returns that are commensurate with their risk in the new environment. Raising interest rates cools the economy precisely by forcing layoffs and cutbacks.
4. "R&D" (which includes a substantial amount of software engineering work) now must be capitalized and amortized over five years (at least in the US). This is a much less tax-advantageous position than existed before 2021, and new guidance in late 2023 made it clear that this applied to much of our industry.
"Engineers have been spoiled rotten for the last two decades[...] employers offered unlimited PTO" In what world does unlimited PTO spoil engineers? It removes the companies liability for vacation days and shames employees into taking less time off.
This isn't to imply that engineers are universally treated well, but that RELATIVE to other workers, they held far more bargaining power and faced better working conditions across the board. Most companies outside of the tech bubble don't even have the concept of unlimited PTO.
There's probably something broader to be said re: this point on bargaining power of workers in general, but this is above my pay grade.
"Engineers have been spoiled rotten for the last two decades[...] employers offered unlimited PTO" In what world does unlimited PTO spoil engineers? It removes the companies liability for vacation days and shames employees into taking less time off.
"Engineers have been spoiled rotten for the last two decades[...] employers offered unlimited PTO" In what world does unlimited PTO spoil engineers? It removes the companies liability for vacation days and shames employees into taking less time off.
Author here! Came when I saw my Substack blowing up. This isn't to imply that engineers are universally treated well, but that RELATIVE to other workers, they held far more bargaining power and faced better working conditions across the board. Most companies outside of the tech bubble don't even have the concept of unlimited PTO. There's probably something broader to be said re: this point on bargaining power of work…
One might also argue that US residents disagree with you so much that they arent applying to tech jobs in sufficient quanities. The pay and benefits are not worth it when compared to the instability, stress, "benefits", and chaos -- and instead we hire foreigners who are more desperate for the work, and thus willing to work for perks like "Unlimited PTO".
It isnt like there arent smart people in the US who can do these jobs, its more that the smart people go to jobs with real benefits and real perks -- cushy jobs on Wall St or senior management or government jobs where you dont have to do anything.