341–350 of 410 posts
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It's pretty rare that someone really gets what's coming to them. This dude created some serious problems where I worked 15 years ago, and yet he still keeps getting hired: http://www.advogato.org/proj/DougNassaurWatch/ http://www.suncapinc.com/Doug_Nassaur.htm
Good lord you really hate that guy.
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> We are the center of the startup world and our big tech companies disproportionately dominate world markets. You're making a logical leap that this is because of firing people. Other small factors might include, for example, billions of dollars of U.S. government funding in high tech research, sustained over many decades, the fruits of which are directly transferred to Silicon Valley companies to bring to market. I…
The billions of dollars the government spent doing basic research, published in scientific journals, is available to companies worldwide. My work builds on the the work of hundreds of US, UK, German and other govt funded mathematicians, yet I live in India. Some govt research is directly given to a particular valley company and no one else, but quite a lot of it is published and free for anyone in the world to use. A…
The claim wasn't that SV tech is successful because hiring is easy. The tenure system shows that easy firing isn't essential to successful tech innovation.
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> We are the center of the startup world and our big tech companies disproportionately dominate world markets. You're making a logical leap that this is because of firing people. Other small factors might include, for example, billions of dollars of U.S. government funding in high tech research, sustained over many decades, the fruits of which are directly transferred to Silicon Valley companies to bring to market. I…
You're right, its not always possible to untangle the web of causality. But as a contrast, the American industries where firing is nigh-impossible for performance-related reasons (K-12 education, civil service) by and large perform terribly overall.
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> From what I'm reading, in the US it seems to be a case that you could loose your job, with no notice at any time for any reason? Yes, exactly. In many states, US employers can terminate an employee at any time, for (almost) any reason, or for no reason at all. It's often called "At-will employment" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment Note that while it technically works both ways, realistically it onl…
> Note that while it technically works both ways, realistically it only works to the employers benefit. The employer is allowed to fire any employee at any time, for no reason, with no recourse. I don't agree at all. In this market it benefits technology workers to be at-will. You can get a great job offer and literally leave your job the next day. This drives salaries up overall and means companies need to work hard…
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It's pretty rare that someone really gets what's coming to them. This dude created some serious problems where I worked 15 years ago, and yet he still keeps getting hired: http://www.advogato.org/proj/DougNassaurWatch/ http://www.suncapinc.com/Doug_Nassaur.htm
This seems like a weird way to flog a 15 year old dispute.
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>meritocracy Has anyone ever seen an actual meritocratic work place? Eight years working and I'm convinced that it's nearly impossible for small organizations to implement and outright impossible for large organizations.
I'll show you a meritocratic workplace as soon as you show me a way to measure developer productivity.
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A lot of people in tech struggle with the frustration of being fired, or potentially being fired. This post helps to relieve some of the stigma associated with that, and coming from someone who very clearly worked hard at a notable company for a number of years, is also a reminder that people change, and companies change. Did you read the post? Is there anything about it that you found detestable?
I did read the post and didn't find anything detestable at all. It just didn't have much substance given that it's the top post on the front page of HN. He basically just said he got fired, and that being fired has too harsh of a stigma attached to it. Ok, I agree, but is that it? He didn't even touch on why he was fired. If he was anonymous software engineer at , I doubt this would've gotten any attention. Maybe I'm…
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I had a similar experience working with a company not quite as famous as Sun. The most important thing an engineer can do is recognize that "manager" and "person who influences/guides your career" are not the same thing at all. The best managers are usually good mentors, but conversely bad mentors are not necessarily bad managers.
That is totally false, as far as your career within a company goes. Your manager holds the reigns to your career trajectory 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time someone else with more power takes you on as their pet project. What this means practically is that you are limited by your manager's skills, reputation, and ambition. Obviously other people can influence your (bigger, life-long) career, but as far as on…
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...why should the taxpayers cover your mortgage? I don't think "debt service on assets" is a universal human right. And why would someone have a mortgage just out of college if they can't even save 3 months first? Either way, $698/week is a lot. Do you know how much these European countries and Canada pay under their "safety net?" It's probably closer to $1500 per month. They certainly don't give a shit about anyone…
>...why should the taxpayers cover your mortgage? because as a taxpayer i have been covering mortgage of somebody unemployed. So i expect (due to social contract of safety net) that if i happen to be unemployed than some other taxpayer(s) will cover my mortgage.
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> Finally -- For what it's worth, people are fired all the time ( as I have been ) for all kinds of reasons, and so it's not a reason not to hire someone. Professional hiring managers know this. What terrifies me about being fired is: * I have a family to support, and even though we're well off enough to have a 6-12 month cushion, I've seen job markets where it takes longer than that you get hired * The number of unp…
That is the one thing I really don't like about the whole fire fast mentality that is starting to pop up, particularly the extreme examples of "fire for any reason as soon as the person isn't a perfect fit, regardless of overall quality". I'm fine with that, but make sure that I know it's likely coming well in advance. Make sure I understand that I'm not pulling my weight. Make sure I understand that the company is m…
Zach was there for five years. Why are we talking about "fire fast"?