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I quit the tech industry

eev.ee

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Re: I quit the tech industry

#291

Post by pinky1417 »

Arjuna wrote: post #270
pinky1417 wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I see you attend The Iron Temple, you must also be a worshipper of Brodin. Wheymen.

Because I see you attend The Iron Temple, you must also be a worshipper of Brodin. Wheymen. I wasn't aware of any of the references that you used (e.g., "Brodin", "Wheymen") until I looked them up just now. I suspect that you're joking, but for the benefit of other readers regarding my intention: I would personally find it terribly unfortunate if what I've sincerely written in my original post above were to be miscon…

Ahh yes, well if you can't take a message of support from someone who (independent of your article) supports "bro" culture, I should note that I do not support your lifestyle, that of the "uptight tool."

All the best :)

Re: I quit the tech industry

#292

Post by XplodingForce »

agentultra wrote: post #180
reitoei wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did exactly this. Was contracting for 8 years in Dublin, commuting almost 3 hours daily. I was making good (but not amazing) money. Then the kids came, and that 3 hour commute became 3 hours that I could spend helping my wife or spending time with my kids. Got offered a full-time job in the tech industry with (gaaasp pension!) outside of Dublin, 5 minutes from my front door, with better salary, bonuses and healthca…

A pension? I've never heard of a pension in tech (though I am from a different country than you). I've never heard of companies taking part of their earnings to invest in the well being of their people. The most I have heard of are perks like ping-pong, a free beer once in a while, and conferences. They often even give you a computer to work on! And a chair to sit in! (I kid you not, these are often listed as perks i…

I can't speak for the person you replied to, but I live in the Netherlands and here (and if I'm not mistaken in most of Europe) offering a pension plan is obligatory for companies in most sectors, including tech. Then again, our perspective on these things is quite different from for instance the USA, health insurance is not an option, it is obligatory.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#293

Post by cfeduke »

brightball wrote: post #265
mschaef wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was actually going to pay close to triple the sale price of the house if I waited the full 30 years. Did you adjust for inflation? Even at today's inflation rates, the dollars you pay in 30 years will be worth considerably less than the dollars you pay today. There's also an opportunity cost issue. Paying off your mortgage means not putting the money somewhere else. > you're really just throwing away money. No...…

Matter of perspective I guess. When I looked at my early mortgage payments and 85% of the payment was interest so after 10 years I would have barely paid down the principle at all. To me, that feels like waste. I invested with steady 12-14% returns for 10 years and then watched it all get wiped out. The interest rate on paying of debt doesn't change. Granted, at current rates it's a lot tougher to make the argument f…

I largely agree with you on this. I focused on my mortgage and as a result I have less than a year of payments left. I didn't ignore investments either - roughly 10% of my income into the market - but I did not pay the minimum mortgage payment in favor of investments.

There was a point a few years ago where liquidating the investments could pay off the mortgage. To me it seems that you can get some of the benefits of the emotional release of being debt free if you have the capability to liquidate and clear debt.

While many people will make the argument that instead I should have paid the minimums and had more money invested with the net effect of reaching the liquidate/pay off point, I agree with the reasoning behind your argument: market volatility will not wipe out debt that has been cleared.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#294

Post by mtrn »

zippy786 wrote: post #213
mpdehaan2 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While not burnout related, I found out a while back, and this is somewhat paradoxical, that if I care TOO much, I'm less happy. What happens is I notice all the stuff I can't fix, or need to fix, and other people get stressed out making them fix it. The end result is that I stop caring quite as much (I still care), get happy, and then start caring too much again. It's especially hard at times when you have a lot of e…

This is what is fundamentally wrong with the industry. Often those who don't care or don't do much are the highest paid and get more reward that the ones who care the most and always try to do something. Obviously, the environment eventually turns those who care into someone not caring as much. Eventually not caring at all, thus a toxic environment is formed. Some may also feel that this is the norm in most companies…

That's why I like open source projects. People writing open source might not write perfect code, but often they at least have opinions and beliefs about how things can or should be. Even if you disagree with decisions, you'll learn something.

Corporate code just mirrors corporate structure after a while. More and more lines, where other people are or were responsible, where any reason has been driven out (your learning experience by asking "why is this written or designed like this" gets short circuited with a quick "well, who knows") - which slowly but surely spirals down quality, engagement and fun.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#295

Post by mcdougle »

Jimmy wrote: post #2

Having a traditional job is such a terrible experience. At the very least, it's terrible if you're not 100% in love with whatever company project you're working on. I think there are some personality types that are suited to traditional jobs though, since most people don't share my concerns when I tell them how terrible it is to have a job. Because of this, I think more people like the author of this post should purs…

I'd actually argue that 80% to 90%* of people are suited to traditional jobs, simply because the majority of people don't have the motivation, ambition, or discipline to do what it takes otherwise.

I don't mean that as a negative criticism to those people in any way, either. Most of my friends openly admit that this is the case for them -- they can't even work from home (when given the option) because they don't have the discipline to actually get their work done unless they have a boss telling them when to work and what to work on. It's just the way some people are wired, and it doesn't help that it's the way society and schools try to raise us to be.

I, personally, hate it, though. I don't know why anyone would feel guilty about that. I mean, maybe if all you wanted to do was sit around and do nothing all day -- but that's not me. I enjoy working, as long as it's meaningful and under my control (at least to an extent). There's nothing wrong with building up side streams of income (through things like real estate investments or online businesses) with the intention of ultimately going full time on them.

* Ok, 80% to 90% might be a bit high. I just threw out a big number. But I'm sure it's the overwhelming majority of people.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#296

Post by steven777400 »

skynetv2 wrote: post #264
probablyfiction wrote: post #17

This is what burnout looks like. Unless Yelp has a toxic work culture, it's likely the author brought it on themselves by pushing too hard. After several months, the author will probably start thinking about work again, and begin the job search once more. Not to say that the author's points are invalid; it's a terrible feeling to have to spend your most productive hours working on someone else's problems. He or she m…

I hear Netflix also has a very high pressure culture and if people cant cope up, they are given a generous severance and asked to leave. is this right? how long can a person survive in such environments?

Maybe long term survival isn't the point. I once interviewed with a team and was concerned that everyone seemed very young. I asked, "What's the turnover like?" They said, "Working on this team looks great on your resume and is excellent preparation for your next career step." I read that as: ride 'em hard and burn 'em out.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#297

Post by xienze »

mvanvoorden wrote: post #273
xienze wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes the work can be rewarding but I'm really addressing the author's misguided point that all our modern work is to solve non-existent problems. In reality, it's to make our lives easier and more comfortable. The flipside of a completely agrarian society is very little safety net. Crop disease? Drought? Animal sickness? Broke your leg? Life just got a lot tougher. Like, life or death tougher.

Again, because you don't seem to read what I'm typing: Not all modern work, just all the work that has directly or indirectly to do with money and jobs that come forth out of that (like the cleaning crew or receptionist of an insurance company or bank). We do a lot of redundant, unnecessary work, just for the sake of working, without ever consciously asking ourselves what the use of this work is and who is actually h…

> Not all modern work, just all the work that has directly or indirectly to do with money

And then the point of doing this work would be...? There's a reason "money" is a universal concept: it's compensation for time spent working on things that aren't necessary for the survival of an individual person. Remove that and you've removed motivation for people to do things that they don't want or need to do. Your line of thinking does not scale to society at large.

> We do a lot of redundant, unnecessary work, just for the sake of working, without ever consciously asking ourselves what the use of this work is and who is actually helped with this.

I don't know about you, but I work so I can be paid and live a more comfortable life. I'm pretty sure that's most people's motivation. And perhaps working on nonsense is a Valley thing, but my coworkers and I certainly work on software that improves the lives of others. Perhaps you should try to find a company like that instead of declaring that everyone works on useless junk, money is pointless, and we can all be farmers on 4 hours per week of work.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#299

Post by reitoei »

maccard wrote: post #277
reitoei wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Last I checked, IBM were offering sub 30k for graduates You expect to walk into an 80k a year job straight out of college? Everyone has to start somewhere. If I was a graduate, I'd much rather be working sub 30k for IBM than sub 40k for Dublin's next Groupon killer/Airbnb for iguanas.

You just said: > there are plenty of really well-paying job in the tech industry. And I can walk into an 80k job outside of Dublin. Considering the cost of living in Dublin vs the salary for tech grads versus... anywhere else in the world, you'd be crazy to stay.

> Considering the cost of living in Dublin vs the salary for tech grads versus... anywhere else in the world

London, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris... all way, way more expensive than Dublin.

But if you can find a job that will pay 80k euro equivalent to a graduate with a computing degree from a Dublin university and zero industry experience, you should definitely take it, 100%, and I wish you the best of luck.

Describing people who want to do this as 'idiots' was too harsh of me. It just makes me sad to see young people leaving the country.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#300

Post by pla3rhat3r »

Finding a balance is the best way to manage stress. And just like anything else, people have different levels in which they believe things are stressing them out. What may be stressful to one person may not be a big deal to another.

I feel this every day being in the tech industry and as a Navy Vet I almost giggle when I hear what stresses people out. I'm sure the Navy prepared me better for dealing with stressful situations but unless there's a gun pointed in my direction I rarely find anything about the tech industry, my work load, or stuff I'm working towards as stressful. Again, it's all about finding balance and being able to put things into perspective. If you have no context about what is really stressful, than everything becomes stressful.

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