3.)always ask about possibilities of TRANSFERS and other departments, even contractors.
4.)give email address with I LOVE TO GET ANONYMOUS MAIL.
5.)sometimes you have to visit the bars and party places where the employees hang out for some 'human tips' -- know what i mean
6.)over age 54 or was it 49? first career out of a few was electric - gas grid. FIRST YEAR IN FIELD, about three persons GOT KILLED or ?? and what waz intereesting was they were not necessarily accident prone.
7.)look up the govbuerment stats. electric - like after the hurricane out is up there next to coal mining.
8.)the CRAPPY boss is part of the overall package. define your framework - ecosystem, QUANTITATIVE assessment of factors, etc. You are an A student in Math, for top university, right??? sure??
9.)it's gonna sound real harsh. insert quote by Nitzzzkieche. the responsibility AND THE ATTITUDE is yours alone. I've been amazed at how bad and even how out of date SME subject matter expertise - great coding skills in Microsoft VB - the crpola-boss gets and they rotate and TAG TEAM YOU.
sometimes, Its a 'sisten-in-law' who married the key customer VP so BOSS is 'royalty' YOU CANNOT TELL.
rule #10 - be really suspicous, if the 'secretary - admin assistant, receptionist? doesn't give you the REAL RULES and culture of the company? It's UP TO YOU to ge the truth out of them as in the book Disrupted.
oh st, no rules that are too easy to say.
buy the management books. Find out what the CRAPPPITO lord is reading. Only then, plan your strategy.
-If they give you an IQ test or similar, run. no dumpkofff, I used to practice IQ tests and I go to Mensa, but no real good lookers there - if you know what I mean. THE NEW AGE is the PSYCMETRIC babble test. if you are not a 'quality focus PERFECTIONIST' then maybe U SHULD gib up 'developer position'?
Conclusion - Sadists?, possible racists?, sexists? been there done that - both employee, consultant, manager, no I am not 'racist'... I think ahole, since I am a minoarity and used to STICKING OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB rolling with da punches, mon! don't let them know you have been hurt. Sometimes, it helps to suggest other possible VICTEMS for the Mr. CARPPY-hole to attack.
the best books seem to be FBI related as to open questions and sniffing for dirty dirties. The CODE is the company and the code smells? according to book reviews on internet, the KGB uses the medieval tortures; the CIA uses the outsource or rendition to other a-hole tortures like fine democracy Egypt; the DEA uses the highly reliable informants paid for in cash.
the local sheriff grew up in the same high school, so he knows the ART-holes as kids and has not changed his mind in 20 years, while he tries to get rich on the fracking boomlet.
please refer to Fred Reed, lew rock well *com for useful travel and adventure writings as old time journalists? used to bounce around quite a bit.
hey, I like writing - code only in hh aa ss kk ee ll or give advice to 'nephews like you' or virtual sons making all the same mistakes I did when I was young
loooooong time ago. fellow Art-hole in training!
remember, it 10% personal. U have been selected by fate. it is ALWAYS, THAT IS THE RULE, 90% not personal. 55% divorce rate in USA. it still is 90% NOT personal, its the system....
PS. Research is ongoing. I LOVE DATING BAR-MAIDS because they tell such interesting stories.
PS. If you work in Wall Street, NYC, why are the go-go dancer bar close-by?
PPS. sure, I'm just an old, kinda introverted consultant. did startups, and did part-time startups - sure I failed but some friends did succeed. IT AINT PERSONAL, I just did the best I could. with the crabby bosses i got.