71–80 of 83 posts
Most startup vs corporate discussions all come down to a lot of anecdotal evidence that falls on both sides of the spectrum. I have worked for several startups as well as several "big corps". Without naming names; I'm just going to lay things out in a sort of chronological order. Try to find something you love there are good and bad in both startups and big corporations. Big Co #1) ----------------- I was brought in…
The article doesn't mention if you join the start-up as a 1) partner (who holds a portion of the company), or 2) as a full-time employee. Even most people will be in #1, but I think it is worth-while to call this out. Personally I have experience in #2, and it was a three-year old start-up. The experience was awful. First, I was all on my own, I was told I would wear a lot of hats and would learn a tonne. The reality…
While it's by no means unique, that doesn't mean it's not fucked up. There are a lot of terribly-run companies out there. Misplaced loyalty keeps them alive longer than it should. You should quit whenever a company sucks; life's too short.
The article doesn't mention if you join the start-up as a 1) partner (who holds a portion of the company), or 2) as a full-time employee. Even most people will be in #1, but I think it is worth-while to call this out. Personally I have experience in #2, and it was a three-year old start-up. The experience was awful. First, I was all on my own, I was told I would wear a lot of hats and would learn a tonne. The reality…
> I also thought it could be this particular company was fucked up, however talking to engineers from other companies revealed this phenomena is far from unique. While it's by no means unique, that doesn't mean it's not fucked up. There are a lot of terribly-run companies out there. Misplaced loyalty keeps them alive longer than it should. You should quit whenever a company sucks; life's too short.
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I came to say exactly this. 50 hours is completely crazy, and if you're doing it often, you should look for another place ASAP. Fuck, 40 hours is already on the verge of being crazy if your job is intellectually demanding. I've worked in one startup, another one on the process of becoming a small corp (i.e., already adopting process in a much serious scale) and a corp. The best by far, if you value your life outside…
"50 hours is completely crazy, and if you're doing it often, you should look for another place ASAP. Fuck, 40 hours is already on the verge of being crazy" I feel badly for you that you've been at jobs that have made you feel that way. I've worked 50ish hours for a long time, generally in jobs I enjoy and in compensation structures that rewarded me for do intellectually stimulating work. But 50 hours a week is hardly…
Some of the people I've seen who can do 50 hours of productive work are in roles that extend beyond programming where there is a good mix of things.
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Wow, sentiments about this differ very strongly in Europe vs. the US. What if the employer isn't asking you to work extra, but the person is amibitious and interested in the work he is doing and ends up working 50-60 hours without it getting in the way? To suggest that beyond 35 hours is non productive sounds ridiculous to me as a hypothesis. I would think it varies for every individual. Different folks can run diffe…
I think it's more a matter of expectations. I've worked OT non comp places that will still expect you to do hotseat outside of hours, deal with fires, or regularly come in early/stay late "lest you look like a slacker." This often isn't even institutionalized, but just some sort of weird culture that's built up around time spent "looking busy" corresponding in some inane way to being a productive employee. If you're…
Working beyond 40 hours is non-productive is a rhetoric I see often on Hacker news. And it always blows my mind. My life experience has been exactly the opposite.
The parent article does not state it as a requirement - more so as a nature of reality for the more ambitious folks in the startup vs. corporate category. I find exceptional folks in my company to be also very hard workers - by choice and not by force. And there are plenty who live a precise 40 hour schedule. Which is fine for both parties as long as that's what they want. What I find pretty ridiculous is the very common new-agey declaration that there is only one right way for everyone which is "40 hours of work" and anything else is just a waste of time. I think it is a very appealing life-style for many - but not a reality for many people who want to get ahead in their careers, are ambitious or are attached to the nature of their work. I see nothing wrong with that.
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Wow, sentiments about this differ very strongly in Europe vs. the US. What if the employer isn't asking you to work extra, but the person is amibitious and interested in the work he is doing and ends up working 50-60 hours without it getting in the way? To suggest that beyond 35 hours is non productive sounds ridiculous to me as a hypothesis. I would think it varies for every individual. Different folks can run diffe…
I advise you to take a read: http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-o...
Most startup vs corporate discussions all come down to a lot of anecdotal evidence that falls on both sides of the spectrum. I have worked for several startups as well as several "big corps". Without naming names; I'm just going to lay things out in a sort of chronological order. Try to find something you love there are good and bad in both startups and big corporations. Big Co #1) ----------------- I was brought in…
I'm just finishing my MSc and I feel so lost and hopeless. I just started to evaluate my options to enter the job market. I'm not sure what is corporate life like for a software engineer in the US but in my country I'm finding out that it has more to do with requirement analysis, evaluating the best COTS (things like Microsoft NAV, SAP, TIBCO seem to be common) for the client and then configuring and deploying it. Ma…
Don't worry so much about the technology itself as the principles behind it. If you are just graduating, you have a lot of life ahead of you. Do something that you don't hate to your gut, and do a great job at it! You would be surprised how often that leads to new realizations and better opportunities. It is hard but don't throw away what you can get now just because it is not where you want it to be.
Also, it is your responsibility to be up to world class standards even if your current opportunities don't demand it. Make sure you are competitive at an absolute level and don't give in to the mediocrity that your current situation (or the level of your peers) can suck you into. That may give you the option to move up (maybe in a different country or a different company) given that you are already prepared for it.
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> giant corporations will make you WANT to leave because they're terrible to work for Some might be. Some are great fun to work at.
I'd love a list of big corporations that are actually great to work for. It seems like Google is in this camp (I know, not for everyone, but it seems like most people have positive experiences there), maybe Facebook. I hear mixed things about Microsoft. What are the top ten BigCorps to work at as a developer?
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> > People claim that startups work you hard, I personally don’t see it. From people I’ve talked to, I’d say 50 hour weeks are average. That’s about what you see in corporate America these days. > I think only in America would somebody say 50 hour weeks don't count as working you hard. 50 hour weeks are technically illegal in the European Union. EU Working Time Directive sets the max working week at 48 hours.
One of the multitude of examples how law in the European Union (on average) is geared towards protecting the individual (citizen) whereas in America it seems to be geared towards the needs of the (big) corporations.