And it's not like the jobs we're talking about here are completely "dead-end" (I wouldn't call a well-paying job a dead end and I definitely have one of those).
As an example, I got an email this morning from Whitetruffle mentioning a company was interested in me (which is always a nice boost to hear) for a position. However, the position was in New York City, and I live in Southern California. Researching the company, I find the salaries offered are probably so-so. Work-wise, I have no idea how it might be (it could be great, it could be similar to my current place, it's hard to tell because of that "grass is greener on the other side" one starts to get after being in one position for a while and seeing all of the neat new companies that come up), but in general I tend to look at the big picture of how such a job would affect me and my family.
In my case, the reasons for staying in my current position are definitely a combination of stability (working for a public college provides certain benefits in that regard for pension/job security), my current pay (at this point I can't really move to any other local organization because none of them would pay similar to what I'm paying now...I would be forced to somewhere else), liking my small town commmunity, being able to be close to my parents, and having a small family (one 6-year old daughter with another on the way).
A few years back I took an opportunity to go up to the Bay Area and work for eBay, but I was uncertain about job security (combine the Glassdoor reviews mentioning mid-year staff cuts and my own impostor syndrome feelings made me feel like I could be one of those people), work-wise it actually wasn't more fulfilling than my current position (I had a lot more freedom to define my own projects and work at the college)...plus the salary wasn't really much more than I had already been making when I factored in cost of living changes...then to top it off my family was much further, and my wife (fiance at the time) and I weren't living together so that added additional stress.
So in the end, I ended up making the decision to come back to the college (and luckily it was to a slightly upgraded position).
It's not perfect, but overall, I definitely feel like I made the right choice.
Would I love to work for a startup? Definitely! I think there's a ton I still want to learn and can learn, but at the same time I don't want to place myself or my family in any sort of bad financial position because I don't know the future and which company out there would be even more perfect than my current job.
There aren't a lot of jobs in the area either. My wife and I have discussed moving down the coast to Raleigh/Durham area since there are a lot more jobs around there and we have some family near there. But I imagine it would be hard to apply and get interviews for jobs when you're not in the area.
My wife says if we are to move it has to be in the next 2 years - before the kids are in middle school. The thought process there being that they will solidify friendships, clubs, sports, etc. before high school.
Since I've moved into management it is hard to apply for remote jobs that look very appealing career-wise. I fear employers see the management history and think "this guy hasn't coded in years".
So many factors to take into consideration that it numbs you into staying.
Your life really is a little bit brighter when you wake up in the morning and don't dread going to work.
I don't want to move.
The town that I live in is a nearly ideal place to raise kids. Good public schools, educated and tolerant populace, nearby university, things like high caliber music programs, and stuff is close enough together that they don't have to spend 1/2 of their life in a minivan.
It's a pedestrian- and bike-friendly town. My spouse and I both bike to work. The kids walk, bike, or take public bus to school. I think this is better for their bodies and all of our brains.
Interviews for someone suffering from imposter syndrome are awful - how are you supposed to come across well if you already feel like you're not good enough for the job?
I stayed at my last company for at least a year more than I wanted to because I didn't think I was good enough to get a job elsewhere. Although I feel like I've recovered somewhat from the worst of my I.S, this question made me realise I haven't just yet - the thought of interviewing elsewhere inspires just as many "Oh but you haven't learned much lately, you've fallen behind the crowd, they won't want you etc.. etc...".
But, to be fair, a certain number of people who think they have it probably really couldn't code their way out of a wet paper bag.
Find a remote programming gig, or just do a few hours on elance.
I had similar feelings when I was working tech support, now 13 years later I'm not coding so much anymore and am now managing devs.
On the other hand, I didn't even receive an acknowledgement from Heap, template or otherwise. It is fine, really. But I just want to get this out there as an addendum to your comment.
I'll make sure we get back to you ASAP.
Education is holding me back, I started working at a newspaper when I turned 20 as a Graphic Designer, moved to IT, then to the Web Department. Fast forward 9 years, now my position is mash up of all of these. Everything I have learned has been self taught, I feel like a Jack of all traits master of none. I feel I lack a solid foundation on the fundamentals.
>How do you think you can get out of it.
Honestly I don't know if I can get out of it without putting my life on hold. Which, I can't since I'm pretty much paycheck to paycheck and about to get married. I'm currently trying to teach my self Java to add to my tool chain. (html, css, javascript, php). I'm hoping I can collect enough skills that if I do apply for another job my lack of education will not hurt my chances so much.
>What keeps you there?
The steady income.
>Benefits?
We have them, but definitely not here for them.
>Pay?
Awful, I'm a couple of dollars over an In-N-Out burger flipper. I'm on the Central Coast in California, not many tech jobs around)
>The job is easy?
After 9 years it better be. :-)
But i'm in a comfortable position too. I have a team who respects me and my input, I have good friends at work who i would hang out with any day of the week, I have decent holiday, increasing pay, great benefits... but I won't make my company a $million company, nor will I change the position of this company in many significant ways. Tech is not their focus, so suggesting we use Neo4J goes on deaf ears.
and so i'm still writing a language that should be dead... that few other companies would take a chance on me because of this... and still i walk the earth
I've reached the pinnacle of technical jobs in my area (lead developer). The job is easy, I do pretty much what I want when I want, work 40 hours or less a week, the commute from home to office is 5 minutes - I can bike it in 10, and eat lunch at home each day. My quality of life is hard to beat. My job also allows me to experiment with many new technologies, so it can be somewhat challenging.
Beyond that, I make a decent salary for the area and combined with my wife's income and low cost of living, we are able to save A LOT.
I'd like to have a remote position, but the above reasons + imposter syndrome keep me from even applying.
I was also working in a rapidly obsolescing industry, journalism, where demand for reporters and editors is decreasing sharply. People in those positions often feel like they can't make the jump, because they lack the skills to be considered for work in another industry.
While that's not always correct, it is true that early career choices can commit you to economic sectors that end up not doing well. And then you're playing catch up with other candidates who spent their years building more desirable skills.
I went to a lot of stress during that period, but on the other hand it felt comfortable, sharing only a few hours of the day to touchbase gave me freedom to organize the time with the family, there were not many challenges other than managing a big ball of mud, and the hourly rate was much better than my colleagues did working on-site.
On the other hand, there was no prospect of new challenges, or technologies or salary, this was a small business. I did some side projects recently and it gave me confidence to move forward: there were many other companies willing to work remotely with newer technologies and with a better rate.
Sometimes I roll in, don't code much and finish at 5 on the dot. It's partly due to laziness but more to do with weak moral and lack of autonomy. Moral where I work is appalling because the company I work for has been on a steady decline due to the clients being in their 70s/80s and almost being wiped out by a competitor a couple of decades ago.
I'm surrounded by suppressed talent that wants to do a good job by exploiting a younger market in order to secure the company's future, but the management here won't listen.
I know this job won't be here forever, but I'll have jumped ship before the cuts get made. I'm moving to Canada and hope to get into the startup scene or start something by myself (consultancy or startup). Until then, I'm resisting a move to London, which does have much better opportunities but the insane cost of living is not worth it.
My pay has dropped over the past few years when you factor in health care premiums and cost of living. I'm living paycheck to paycheck, but in my area developer pays are only now just slowly creeping up from 2008 levels. I don't want to move with kids in school.
I really, really keep hoping the pay in the area goes up soon, as I'm disliking my days more and more.
Sure, I'll jump ship in a few years but until then I'll try to learn as much as possible!
Bad job, but oh so happy.
I really just can't figure out if I'm depressed because I dislike my job or I dislike my job because I'm depressed.
My escape plan is to move to B2B software sales. I know I might be optimistic but it has all the points that are appealing to me.
- large salary based on performance (good luck working your ass off on that API or optimizing product for a fixed salary)
- no programming (so I have brain cells left to work on my own projects after I come home)
- profit generation culture (when you are a cost overhead like many engineers, you tend to be treated like a machine and measured for efficiency, you tend to compete with other engineers, I'd rather be paid more to win and I love a good race I can run on my own against others, not have senior engineers or managers slow me down.)
- Everyday is a new ball game
https://www.wealthfront.com/tools/startup-salary-equity-comp...
If you have the requisite talent and drive to do this, seems like a nice move.