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But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

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Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#51

Post by bad_user »

cosgroveb wrote: post #8
PaulHoule wrote: post #2

There is a sort of stress that comes from a "slow-paced environment" where you've got a 50% or less duty cycle of doing real work because you're always waiting for somebody else to do something. Too little work can be just as stressful as too much.

This. Hurry up and wait. That's exactly how it worked for me when I worked for a large company. Need to make a database change? Be prepared to wait 3 weeks unless you can get someone several levels above you on the org chart to take notice. Same for any kind of additional access you might need, or to provision any amount of computing or network resources...

One company I worked for had the same problem - because the (Oracle) database was also linked to their payment system and because they were a big company, the simplest change would require 2 or 3 weeks of approvals (by law, not really their fault).

And you know what my department did?

We've managed to setup our own database servers, so changes became independent of any payment system and could be done on the spot.

I know things suck in corporations, but sometimes it's your fault for not doing anything about it.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#52

Post by bartonfink »

isleyaardvark wrote: post #45
sid0 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it is simple and trite, how is it profound? All human activity is change by that definition.

I don't know about that. Consider someone working in a sandwich shop. Once you learn how to make the different sandwiches, you just keep making the sandwiches every day. Or a job as a taster at a distillery. You make sure the whiskey doesn't vary in taste. While it may be an enjoyable activity, there's only occasionally something new. Whereas with coding virtually everything is something new. In coding if you run int…

"In coding if you run into the same thing over and over again, you use a reusable component or automate it."

You and I both know this to be true, but there are wide swaths of development jobs that cater to the C players they've hired and don't allow this sort of automation. Frameworks, more powerful languages and tools, even techniques like recursion aren't allowed because "not everyone would understand them." There's plenty of reasons to not like Rails, or Ruby for that matter, but "because Joe Blub three cubes over might not get it" is one of the worst ones you could give.

That sort of environment sucks, and everyone on here is right to say "if you're in that sort of place, then quit!". That said, it does exist in wide enough circulation that it's hard to sweep it under the rug when talking about the industry as a whole.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#53

Post by [deleted] »

bad_user wrote: post #51
cosgroveb wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Hurry up and wait. That's exactly how it worked for me when I worked for a large company. Need to make a database change? Be prepared to wait 3 weeks unless you can get someone several levels above you on the org chart to take notice. Same for any kind of additional access you might need, or to provision any amount of computing or network resources...

One company I worked for had the same problem - because the (Oracle) database was also linked to their payment system and because they were a big company, the simplest change would require 2 or 3 weeks of approvals (by law, not really their fault). And you know what my department did? We've managed to setup our own database servers, so changes became independent of any payment system and could be done on the spot. I…

[deleted]

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#54

Post by sabat »

I've always assumed that "fast-paced" meant that you weren't going to encounter a company moving at corporate-speed -- you know, where a project takes 6-12 months (min.) of meetings, tiger teams, blue ribbon panels, design by committee, political posturing, ad nauseum.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#55

Post by gaius »

bad_user wrote: post #51
cosgroveb wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Hurry up and wait. That's exactly how it worked for me when I worked for a large company. Need to make a database change? Be prepared to wait 3 weeks unless you can get someone several levels above you on the org chart to take notice. Same for any kind of additional access you might need, or to provision any amount of computing or network resources...

One company I worked for had the same problem - because the (Oracle) database was also linked to their payment system and because they were a big company, the simplest change would require 2 or 3 weeks of approvals (by law, not really their fault). And you know what my department did? We've managed to setup our own database servers, so changes became independent of any payment system and could be done on the spot. I…

We've managed to setup our own database servers

Heh, I work in IT and have some users like that. They're pretty smug until they realize it takes us a while to set up any infrastructure because we do little things like, umm, backups, which they don't have, and now suddenly really, really need... Oops.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#56

Post by gaius »

m3mnoch wrote: post #37

"fast-paced environment" means getting shit done. it means rolling hard like facebook, google, zynga, groupon, etc. it means launching fast. it means getting feedback fast. it means failing fast. it means the exact opposite of the folks complaining about it who work at ibm or hp or microsoft or yahoo or aol. or worse yet, some hole-in-the-wall enterprise vendor inflating internal budgets and wallowing in mediocrity.…

Yet if you read a job ad from IBM or HP or Microsoft, they're "fast-paced" too.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#57

Post by yannickmahe »

cema wrote: post #46
yannickmahe wrote: post #17

I moved from an extremely fast-paced environment to a well balanced, well managed software shop. I regret that choice a lot. While I do have now work/life balance, sleep longer nights and never do any overtime, I can't help but feel I'm not even close to the productive levels I had before. I loved being pushed to my limit, constantly having to come up with new solutions to new problems, etc. On the plus side, I now h…

Well I guess in a fast paced environment you are pushed and in a balanced environment you pace yourself. We are adults not cogs.

Less challenge means less of a reason to push yourself in my opinion. I rather relished the possibility to jump on problems other people left alone.

Perhaps it's more an issue of challenge than pace, pace being a side effect of the challenge you encounter.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#58

Post by [deleted] »

gaius wrote: post #55
bad_user wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One company I worked for had the same problem - because the (Oracle) database was also linked to their payment system and because they were a big company, the simplest change would require 2 or 3 weeks of approvals (by law, not really their fault). And you know what my department did? We've managed to setup our own database servers, so changes became independent of any payment system and could be done on the spot. I…

We've managed to setup our own database servers Heh, I work in IT and have some users like that. They're pretty smug until they realize it takes us a while to set up any infrastructure because we do little things like, umm, backups, which they don't have, and now suddenly really, really need... Oops.

[deleted]

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#59

Post by bad_user »

gaius wrote: post #55
bad_user wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One company I worked for had the same problem - because the (Oracle) database was also linked to their payment system and because they were a big company, the simplest change would require 2 or 3 weeks of approvals (by law, not really their fault). And you know what my department did? We've managed to setup our own database servers, so changes became independent of any payment system and could be done on the spot. I…

We've managed to setup our own database servers Heh, I work in IT and have some users like that. They're pretty smug until they realize it takes us a while to set up any infrastructure because we do little things like, umm, backups, which they don't have, and now suddenly really, really need... Oops.

This isn't about devs versus ops. It's about bureaucracy versus getting shit done. If it takes 3 weeks to ensure reliable infrastructure and backup, I wouldn't complain.

All I was saying is that if you have to wait 3 weeks for the simplest schema change request (which I saw it happens in big corporations), then you should take charge and workaround it before throwing your hands in the air ... sometimes management listens.

Re: But nobody wants a “fast-paced environment”

#60

Post by ultrasaurus »

thenduks wrote: post #7

Saying 'fast-paced' usually (in my experience) is a claim that the team doesn't get hung up and blocked on a bunch of minute details and 'sign-offs'. In other words - there's no committee. Even if that isn't the norm, putting so much stock in the copy in a job ad is probably a waste of time anyway. Just because the ad says 'fast-paced' or refers to the person they're looking for as a 'ninja' doesn't mean it wouldn't…

I've written a few job ads and I'm sure I've said fast-paced and other filler words.

I wish I meant "When reality and the plan don't match, we change the plan," in reality it was "Hmm, this text needs to look longer -- I'll use adjectives!"

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