Time for programmers to grow a spine
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Time for programmers to grow a spine
1–10 of 47 posts
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#2what risk? You were going to join a funded startup with revenues out of the gate. You were being offered enough salary to live comfortably and enough equity to build a wonderful outcome for yourself and your family if your hard works pays off. Where is the risk in that?
Were they profitable, or at least did they have a clear path to profitability? Monthly revenues of $20k is great, unless they are spending $50k per month to get it. If that is the case, $500k won't last long. That would be a risky place to join, if it weren't clear how to get to profitability.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#3I'd be happy to take a risk on any of a number of startups if they'd stop expecting me to move to San Francisco.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#4>I am amazed at how many people use those excuses and yet watch 15 hours or more of T.V. per week. T.V. isn’t inherently bad, but it is a distraction. If you work a 40 hour week and then watch T.V. (or video games, etc.) for 15 hours, you might as well be working in a startup.
What the hell is wrong with you? "If you're spending your free time not working, you're distracted! You should be spending it working!" How about no? Maybe my life doesn't revolve around filling as much time of it as possible with work, ironic considering that seems to be the angle you were getting at earlier? This article contradicts itself by first telling you not to waste your life working and then telling you to take 15 more hours out of your week working.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#5“the risk is too great” may also mean “the risk isn’t sufficiently compensated”, which is pretty common for early employee offers at startups. You’re bidding against Google, Apple, Facebook, etc, which pay large salaries for top talent and will almost surely be in business next year.
There’s nothing wrong with risk, but many people reasonably expect to be paid a premium to take it on.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#6>> I am amazed at how many people use those excuses and yet watch 15 hours or more of T.V. per week. T.V. isn’t inherently bad, but it is a distraction. If you work a 40 hour week and then watch T.V. (or video games, etc.) for 15 hours, you might as well be working in a startup. They don’t all require 80–100 hour weeks.
TV and computer games do not require the same level of attention, involvement or energy as work does. They are wind-down activities. They are pure fun. Not that coding isn't rewarding, but it's different and it takes it out of you rather than putting in. I'm not exhausted after playing a game for a couple of hours after work, but a couple of extra hours work would shatter me and make my quality of life worse.
My risk is that I take on short term contracts. My reward is that I get paid at about the 97/98th percentile in my country. This is enough spine for me :)
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#7>I am amazed at how many people use those excuses and yet watch 15 hours or more of T.V. per week. T.V. isn’t inherently bad, but it is a distraction. If you work a 40 hour week and then watch T.V. (or video games, etc.) for 15 hours, you might as well be working in a startup. What the hell is wrong with you? "If you're spending your free time not working, you're distracted! You should be spending it working!" How ab…
Note that I didn't say you needed to work 100 hour weeks. I don't think that you should spend all your time at the laptop, in fact I specifically mentioned helping others and family as a really important investment of time.
I just think talking yourself out of working extra hours when you waste a lot of those extra hours is just self deception.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#8Ah, our daily dose of condescension.
Maybe the author wants to 'inspire' but that's not what I feel after reading the article.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#9what risk? You were going to join a funded startup with revenues out of the gate. You were being offered enough salary to live comfortably and enough equity to build a wonderful outcome for yourself and your family if your hard works pays off. Where is the risk in that? Were they profitable, or at least did they have a clear path to profitability? Monthly revenues of $20k is great, unless they are spending $50k per m…
Ya, and there is no guarantee it would last either. A competitor might eat their lunch, etc.
Also, to be perfectly honest, I imply the issue is with me when I decline jobs [e.g. I don't think I am good enough, I do not have the stomach for risk] regardless of the real reason.
The last time I did that I asked some friends of mine if I should state what the real reason. The company in question was suing someone for making the same transition they were asking me to make, the hypocrisy of it combined with the fact it'd probably happen to me 5 years down the road when I changed jobs was the real reason I declined.
People lie when they decline jobs because they don't want to create a greater negative impression that might be caused by the truth. That is also something I don't think the OP is taking into account.
Another job interview apologized that I was not the perfect fit when I never had any intention of taking the job once I had gone in for the interview and heard more about them. The real reason they declined was I think they figured it out during the interview but we both played along until the end and stated different reasons that were as gentler than the reality to avoid a greater negative impression.
Re: Time for programmers to grow a spine
#10>> I am amazed at how many people use those excuses and yet watch 15 hours or more of T.V. per week. T.V. isn’t inherently bad, but it is a distraction. If you work a 40 hour week and then watch T.V. (or video games, etc.) for 15 hours, you might as well be working in a startup. They don’t all require 80–100 hour weeks. TV and computer games do not require the same level of attention, involvement or energy as work do…
Yeah, I hope I didn't convey the T.V. video game thing too heavy handedly. I just get tired of people complaining about missed opportunities when they waste so much of their time and don't take risks. I use wind-down activities all the time. Cheers.