My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
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Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#2I know the author wised up and moved on, but I would rather work construction for the rest of my life than be a programmer and live like this.
I worked for a startup for a couple of years that really got it right. The CTO really wanted a certain lead developer as his first hire (they had previously worked together) and the lead dev said (paraphrased, of course) "Nope. Not interested in working more than 40 hours per week. Not interested in startup culture. Not interested in grueling deadlines. I like taking long breaks in the middle of the day to go for a run. I come in early, and I get home to my family early."
They gave in to every one of his demands and from my understanding, in the 3 or 4 years since he took the job, devs have only worked longer than a 40 hour week maybe 5 times total.
That dev team has consistently deployed great feature after another at an incredible rate. I have since moved on but I don't think I'll ever find a place that respected their workers like they did.
I don't have a point to that story, no takeaways, no morals, no snappy advice or anything. But paired with my current not as good job, and this article from my worst nightmares, it's made me a bit nostalgic for that wonderful time in my life where I worked for a great place that trusted that happy employees are good employees.
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#3Hmm, strange way to live...
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#4Was life too hard for this special snowflake? Read more to find out.
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#5I know the author wised up and moved on, but I would rather work construction for the rest of my life than be a programmer and live like this. I worked for a startup for a couple of years that really got it right. The CTO really wanted a certain lead developer as his first hire (they had previously worked together) and the lead dev said (paraphrased, of course) "Nope. Not interested in working more than 40 hours per…
Good story. Thanks for sharing.
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#6Seems crazy to live like that for $1200/month when you could find a few roommates and get 4 people in a 2 bedroom for about the same. Still tight, but it beats 12 people in a 2 bedroom for sure!
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#7Is this fairly common in the valley?
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#8Sounds like a New York tenement circa 1900 except at least those were cheap.
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#9Posts like these really continue drive home the message of "Silicon Valley is just a shell of what it used to be. Only go there for the sake of relocation or with a job offer in hand." There's nothing left for the dreamers or hopefuls in SV who have nothing to run on but just that--hopes and dreams. It just makes so much more sense to take a pay cut and swing for the fences in Atlanta, Houston, Austin, or Phoenix. Hell, I'll still throw in Boston and Seattle because they're still THAT much cheaper than anywhere in SV.
Re: My life with 12 programmers, 2 rooms and one 21st-century dream (2016)
#10I know the author wised up and moved on, but I would rather work construction for the rest of my life than be a programmer and live like this. I worked for a startup for a couple of years that really got it right. The CTO really wanted a certain lead developer as his first hire (they had previously worked together) and the lead dev said (paraphrased, of course) "Nope. Not interested in working more than 40 hours per…
It seems to me that the moral of the story is that the work is done by people, so taking care of your people actually matters. And it is basically contained in this line:
That dev team has consistently deployed great feature after another at an incredible rate.
I very much appreciate you leaving this comment.