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jesuis_14

82 karma · joined October 25, 2021

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jesuis_14··on Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
It's mostly about deciding what you want your life to be, and then that big decision impacts other decisions about your work life.

I grew up in a family where my parents worked normal (non-tech, non-professional) jobs and never talked about work when they were home. We would take cheap vacations in the summer for 3+ weeks and they never checked in at work to hear how things were going or whether or not the xyz project was approved.

If you work in technology, you're probably used to your work life spilling over, in terms of time, thoughts and concerns, into your life outside of work. Culture, which is a social phenomenon, has great effects on the lives of individuals, but there is usually ample room for the individual to decide what their approach and attitude will be.

People who hate working with you are a problem. It could stem from a cultural mismatch or from people who are better at their jobs than you are and aren't as inclined to work with someone on their level (I'm writing descriptively here, no judgment) or from a toxic environment, like some I've had the displeasure of finding myself in. What's going on there? Look at it honestly and without emotion, which is hard to do at first.

By observing and understanding how the world works, which is one of the most important skills you can possess, it is quite easy to observe what is the most common way to achieve a goal, to the point where it is sometimes surprising to see how delusional most people are. For example, if you want to build a muscular physique, it's easy to do the following: observe what most people who are muscular do - given some starting points (endo- or ectomorphic, tall/short, genetically weak or strong points) - and follow what they did at different stages of muscle development. But what you often see when you go to the gym is a large number of non-muscular people doing all sorts of bizarre exercises or protocols that people who have achieved success never did. Same with diets or learning or doing business.

And the same with career development. To get a, say, director position at Big Tech, say FAANG and company, the most common way is to move from IC to manager to director at a FAANG and co, either vertically within the company or horizontally with some possible down-leveling or a mix of the two. Now the second step is to look at how people are promoted, and it's a combination of technical skills, personality (someone has to promote you, remember, you're not promoting yourself), actions (e.g., backstabbing or turning the other way often works, this is unfortunately the world we live in, to the point where the "be nice" movement advocated by people in positions of high power makes me laugh, because to get to their position it's very likely they were only being nice in their minds. But I don't tolerate bad actions in my world), and timing. Do I have the technical skills? Do I have the personality? Do I have the right timing? Clearly, it's all situational, which is the second thing you should learn in combat sports (the first is being able to fight), i.e. you have to somehow adapt to the situation that arises in the fight (yourself and your opponent).

You might read this and say, no, it's not that easy. But actually it is, conceptually. Then, one sometimes cannot achieve the technical proficiency necessary for a certain position and peace. But at least one doesn't run in circles thinking that the secret to a great career is in adding brown sugar to coffee.

Then, one last (of many) aspect to consider is that new positions and advancements often don't provide a linear increase in "professional currency," but at the n increment, where n is much larger than 2. Say, you're working as an IC at the Nooneknows company with a certain skill set and you get by luck, skill and whatever else a position at a FAANG. In 6 months, you'll be contacted by 10-100 times the number of companies that were interested in you before. A good effort can be enormously rewarded.

But first, think about what you want to do with your life. You only live once, that will never change, and taking control of your life, forgetting as much as reasonably possible (we all want a piece of it) of validation from friends, family, neighbors and society at large, is the necessary first step toward a great, wonderful life.

jesuis_14··on Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
Between 200k and 250k Euros depending on bonuses and value of shares
jesuis_14··on Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
It is a technical director of engineering position, but as we know jobs are more nuanced than the title they have
jesuis_14··on Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
Of course it can be, especially if one can work remotely or can do other things they are interested in. I mean, for sure it sounds bad (parasite!), but it does not feel right at all to me this (very US- or US-driven) attitude that one's contribution to the world is through work or family.

Let's say I am the daughter of rich parents and I inherit a fortune. It happens, am I right? For some (intuitively "right") reason, it is not considered as bad as getting "free" money from a corporation, which has intrinsically zero control over spending at the individual level. Paraphrasing some Blade Runner here, "I have seen people paid...". And while the fortune is inherited just for sheer luck (I don't think anyone has chosen their parents), most of the time those cushy positions are coming after years or decades of hard study and hard work. How many of those inheriting good money said, "I don't want it, I have no worked for it". Some, for sure. But the vast majority pocket the money, maybe do some charity or some work, and carry on.

Sure, one feeling the need to work effectively can change jobs, we all can do it. But there are many other opportunities to have a good time and good impact on the world outside of a corporate job. If the money is coming in and who's distributing the money is ok, who am I to say no to good fortune?

jesuis_14··on Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?
In the last year or two, I have not "worked" more than 1-2 hours a day on average--some days for a grand total of zero hours. The quote/unquote is not there by accident. I manage a team and some projects, and most of the time I let other people do the technical work while I get to chat with higher ups or give some general direction on where the work should go.

I consider myself very competent in my field even though I stopped doing purely technical work some time ago, but there are a lot of very good coders out there, but not enough "lazy pragmatists" like me.

My team likes me because I don't micromanage, I support them as much as I can and can entertain them with some good jokes, career advice and a general openness that is hard to find in professional circles.

I have also been able to work remotely for months, and when I say remotely I mean in very remote places.

I also make top money for European standards.

Some will see me as a "parasite", but they would be very wrong. I do exactly what I am asked to do, I am positive and upbeat and always ready to support the team at large when needed. Others may ask, "is she not getting bored?", but the answer is "are you kidding me?". I can spend time with my kids and partner, climb mountains, and brunch on the regular with my girlfriends.

Maybe (surely?) it will end at some point, but like someone said, "tomorrow is not promised to anyone".

I might start a coaching service at some point, as I believe most professionals (forget about the SV types, I am talking about other geographies) are far from having a real understanding on how big companies work and what should be done to have a comfortable and impactful professional life (I am a top performer!), while at the same time enjoying this splendid world we are lucky to live in.

jesuis_14··on Lambda School leaked documents show poor performance over the last two years
In my very honest opinion, pg's essays, with some brilliant exceptions, are at the level of analysis that would be considered exceptional for a middle school student, average for a high school student, and "why are you wasting my time with platitudes" for a grad student.

But when I published my essays, I have 5 readers including my mother, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

jesuis_14··on Lambda School leaked documents show poor performance over the last two years
Funny how the pg was rooting for him by calling Allred "relentlessly resourceful" while it was clear even to naive ears and eyes that it was the lies that were relentless and the resources were mostly talking a great game, but with no results to back it up.
jesuis_14··on Lambda School leaked documents show poor performance over the last two years
I'm curious about the future of Lambda School. Apparently, the co-founders have been lying about the numbers for years like there's no tomorrow, but the money still came in.

It's pretty clear that the business is not sustainable nor does it have much hope of becoming profitable even in the short term.In addition, the school's reputation is tarnishing, and there have also been a few clashes with the institutions that must provide the certifications necessary for the school to operate.

The co-founders, particularly Allred, between the constant lies, problems with reporters, and personalities that many psychiatrists would call delusional do not bode well.Even the casual observer would easily notice his bizarre statements, the furious backpedaling observed over and over, the constant distractions that can be inferred from his almost pathological tweeting about anything but what concerns his position as CEO of a company that is making promises to people who are often in need.

You could say that these visionary leaders are what is needed to disrupt entrenched industries, and that the fight with the authorities are the result of the status quo trying to hold the line, and that some lies are nothing more than making the future, present. I just don't see it for Lambda School.