Hacker News Reader

Comment by ericmcer | Hacker News Reader

Seriously, that severance is awesome. Of all the tech workers struggling, the ones from companies big enough to throw 4+ mo severance packages are not the ones I am worried about. Any smaller company your severance is a pat on the back.

View on HN

Yep. last time I got laid off, I got paid through that day. nothing else.

Lobby your representative for change. This is something that laws can and should fix.

Not having worker protections is a political choice. It's not something the market or technology will solve.

Many countries have laws that prevent workers getting laid off with no severance. It is a solved problem, but it's inherently a political problem.

This is why people should build a huge ass f-u fund and not look back.

Yep, this is what I do. Individual responsibility is an unpopular idea these days but the way I look at it, I am the one who is ultimately in charge of my family's wellbeing. That is far too important to entrust to a corporation's generosity or the whims of lawmakers.

I was responsible and still got punished. What do I do?

I don't think its an unpopular idea. But the fact is, being an employee is a lopsided relationship. You only have one employer but they have many employees. You leave and they still have an army to keep the business going but you get laid off and your income goes to 0. So yeah you can keep some money in the bank but still being without work especially with a family and mortgage, is a terrible spot to be in.

Yes, as soon as you have a regular paycheck you should start building an emergency fund. This should be taught to everyone in high school (or earlier) but we don't do it, among many other "life skills" that we do not teach because they aren't on the state standardized tests.

I had 6 months saved . It's been 13 months. School did not prepare me for the fact that my college degree in STEM could still leave me on the market for an entire caledar year

In many countries severance package is guaranteed by law.

USA: lol ok but no

Yet, people still vie from all over to work at US companies and we still draw the best talent.

There's also unemployment benefits for US workers.

Haters gonna hate, I guess.

No need to be in US to work for US companies, and still get a nice severance package.

Not everyone is looking forward to US working conditions.

And it leads directly into the US being richer than all but tiny petro-states and growing faster than all of its peers. Fair enough if that's not what you want but there are tradeoffs.

Lets see how much it remains left if US keeps offshoring all the stuff, followed by imposing import bans after those countries become good enough to start taking over economy sectors.

You can certainly work for a US company outside the US, however you will not get a US salary.

It rather work to live than live to work.

>There's also unemployment benefits for US workers.

if you consider a few hundred a week "benefits", sure.

> people still vie from all over to work at US companies and we still draw the best talent.

yes, because like companies, the USD is coasting off of successes from long ago. We corrupted the tech boom, but fell behind on the FEV boom and manufaacturing in general.

USD is great to earn. It's horrible to live in the USD to utilzie it though. That's why companies are trying yet again to outsource.

What happens if there isn't enough money left to fund the legally-required severance? Do the taxpayers pick up the cost?

Same thing that happens when there isn't enough money to pay their taxes. Or their debtors. Or their vendors. Or their payroll.

And all the debt you pile up while struggling to get hired.

The average tech worker really should not have to go into any debt for even a year long hiatus from their typically well paying job. All that is required is living like a typical American and saving your salary. I honestly don't see how anyone can claim tech workers are not compensated for the volatility inherent in the industry.

Early-in-career folks are more vulnerable. Even before major family/life costs start to play a role, it can be difficult to save enough for a safety net after moving to an apartment (even w/ roommates) from college & managing student debt, etc. I remember it took me a couple of years of stability to not feel at risk.

Sure, no argument there.

My cost of living has increased proportionately with my compensation, but also I don't work for any FAANG companies. I would love to work for someone that actually pays well, but typically those companies have ridiculous interview processes. Not all of us went through the standard CS degree pipeline and memorized all those questions. My first job was paying me 35 thousand a year, something most people probably would be surprised about, and I suffered through that for almost four years, the only raise I got was very marginally insignificant. It's not been a fun ride considering this is what I love to do, I know others who do drastically less work than I do and make more income wise.

Your assumption here assumes that

1. all tech jobs pay well. Well enough to expect 1 year+ savings. They don't

2. that we all have the same cost of living or family situation. Even living frugally, supporting a spuose and kid on savings is not trival.

>I honestly don't see how anyone can claim tech workers are not compensated for the volatility inherent in the industry.

Come work in the games industry for a while. 30% more hours, maybe 60% of the pay in a "good studio", and near guaranteed layoffs when the proect ends.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com