You Are Not a Commodity [audio]

I got that out of your podcast as well, the points you bring up here. And I agree 100%. Honestly, it is so sad and, as you say, disgusting, how many engineers use these excuses to stay in the position of a commodity. It's really self defeating to the engineers. When people occasionally bring up making a software engineers union or something of that fashion, it is to basically alleviate the commodity pain without addressing the causes, like the lack of recognition, laziness, and defeatist attitudes. Unfortunately, the only real way out is to break out on your own. Once you do, it becomes rather obvious that you had nothing to fear at all. Nothing of substance anyway.

Stabilize instability with "stuff like debt, contract work, living in super cheap housing"? Those are not minor things. Debt? I don't follow that one, but in the typical understanding debt has some non-trivial drawbacks. Contract work and cheap housing? That may drastically affect where and how you live on many levels. That may work great for certain adventurous individuals but not everyone has that kind of personality, and many people have families and other obligations and interests they may want to pursue that don't jive well with these options.

Instability is instability. It does not cease to be such because it can be mitigated, especially if one's mitigation options themselves come with drawbacks. We may assess how significant the instability truly is, and how available the mitigation options are. I think one can get pretty far with more grounded options, such as honing a skill set that is in demand, saving and investing one's money, keeping oneself healthy mentally and physically, and developing a network of contacts while watching for opportunities.

Your writing here is dangerously close to being able to paint anyone who disagrees with you with a rather judgmental and negative brush. Either ignorant, lazy/addicted/consumerist, or having a poor attitude. Terms so vague that pretty much every person will fall under them in one way or another, and any contrary statement can be warped to represent them. I tend to be extremely suspicious of people whose arguments are formed in this manner.

Yes, some of these are real problems that don't need to be there. Many people don't know about the other options or think they are more difficult than they are. Many people are scared. Many people do not think too highly of themselves and think they're not worth of a business or that they could never, ever make it work. I think empathy rather than judgment would go a long way here.

Some of these are major problems. Mental illnesses and drug (or other serious) addiction are not a walk in a park. I don't think the fact that they're working in a corporation is the major concern at this point...

And then, some of these... Laziness. Everyone's favorite catch-all blame tactic. Video games. Everyone's favorite catch-all blame hobby. [everyone who got into programming via video games please go under the ground now] Consumption. We're in a capitalist economy, we're going to consume things. Yes, some of us lay about, play, and consume too much, but people have a right to figure that out on their own terms. Media and marketing love to throw around these phrases to make people feel bad and short-circuit their decision making.

There are some very valid reasons for not going out doing things on your own that I haven't really seen discussed or addressed neither here nor in the video. You may disagree with them and assign vastly different value to the variables involved, but that doesn't make them invalid:

- many people are not interested in the sheer stress that comes with doing things on your own;

- many people are simply risk-averse and starting your own business is perceived as a fairly risky path;

- they're not interested in the associated or implied Spartan lifestyle of constant hard work, no consumerism, and no entertainment;

- they're interested in a field that doesn't really have much going on outside of corporations;

- they may just not like it, and/or they may not have the skillset - they are engineers, not businessmen, after all.

The message I would want to get to people is that they should try to do what they want. If they feel an inkling about starting a business, they should pursue it, with the necessary care applied. They shouldn't let mere fears and doubts hold them back. They shouldn't work for a company out of mere loyalty, but because it is what benefits them at the time. And they should be open to options and opportunities, and avoid thinking in the style of "this is not for me because people like me do not do things like this".

But all of that always has to be balanced with the rest of your life. And, sometimes, the rest of your life is just bigger and more important.

There's no cure for ego or being delusional.