21–30 of 46 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not for Software Engineers. Never for software engineers.
Most European software teams have a strict "no over time" policy that's both respected and enforced. Some company's even turn off the Astrix and e-mail servers at night. We all know what kind of shit code you produce after working to long, it's not helping anyone if you do that every week. Engineering should be striving towards excellence, not creating more shit and more work for everyone.
Another interesting question if I may: Why does one feel the need to be successful? Or maybe one needs to simply be satisfied?
USA is a country where there is tremendous pressure to be successful, purely for the sake of being successful. This is mad for me, and I am strongly against this attitude, but it's factual.
There were interesting comments in a post, a short time ago, comparing the cultures in USA and New Zealand. The latter would fit very much in what you would define as "be satisfied".
It's mostly the typical division of A and B-type personalities.
My personal opinion is that to live in a very fulfilled way a bit of both is required. One needs a bit of "success" to overcome some inevitable obstacles, and a the sime time, "satisfied" to get a true feeling of himself and what's around him.
The excessively laid-down people I've met were afflicted with subtle and not immediately visible problems. As a matter of fact, one needs to carve his space in life, otherwise he's going to be very limited, if not crushed.
The type of problems which affect the opposite type of attitude are more "visible" - mostly, neurotic behavior.
Edit: Affiliate free link: http://www.amazon.com/Underachievers-Manifesto-Accomplishing...
I've got four healthy kids and a loving wife (for almost 27 years). We live comfortably and feel incredibly blessed ... what more could I ask for out of life?
As I'm getting close to the magic age of 30, the ultimate dream and goal for me right now is running my own business - not to get rich, but to be free and independent, to feel that I have accomplished something more that working for others, to create something on my own. It may change world, it may not - doesn't matter, it's yours and always will be yours. Sure, it may require more work, it may be more stressful - bu…
I had a recruiter contact me for a developer position recently at a good, interesting company. I politely declined, saying I'd started my own small company. He said again that it was a rare opportunity, likely to disappear, and began going through all their upsides again (or, at least, the ones he figured would appeal) and finished with "and they have a foozball table!"
I don't want to belittle fulltime jobs, fun working environments, or large companies, but in my opinion the chance at working for yourself - even if you suck at it - is worth more than regular access to a foozball table.
Best of luck with your dream. I'm pullin' for you, brother.
Although the OP makes no mention of it, when I've talked with friends & family about "success" and all that, following dreams is great. One big thing to keep in mind is that the future is also uncertain. Retirement is the biggest thing that comes to mind. I have many friends who have foregone saving for retirement in order to follow their dreams, no matter how "irrational" that may be (I use quotes because that might not be the right term).
20, 30, 40 years down the road, who is going to be paying for retirement? It's great that "you" have memories of doing great things! But the bills have to be paid. Is it going to be your friends, who worked those boring, monotonous jobs? Will their 401k accounts be taxed so that they have to pay for your retirement? Will mine?
What about kids? I have family members who did follow their dreams to do whatever it is they want to do, and then start having kids. Without a solid job, boring or not, someone has to pay for the kids. Either it's charity from family, or it's the government via taxes.
Anyways, that's some things that I think about when these topics come up.
As I'm getting close to the magic age of 30, the ultimate dream and goal for me right now is running my own business - not to get rich, but to be free and independent, to feel that I have accomplished something more that working for others, to create something on my own. It may change world, it may not - doesn't matter, it's yours and always will be yours. Sure, it may require more work, it may be more stressful - bu…
I got there a little while ago and started my own little business (a mobile development company, predominantly for Android). I've had a startup, worked for fairly large web-name, done a bit of consulting, and worked freelance. The business is, by far, the hardest in terms of stress. I can't say I don't spend any time at all envying a few of my friends with stable jobs, salaries and work hours, but it's been an eye-op…
I hope one day I'll be able to be at your position and say "I run my own business" :)
... At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, the late Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, the author Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch 22 over its whole history.
Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have . . . Enough.”
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