4 ms·

> This is a company that employs truck drivers, is how the talk begins. The coders are sometimes taken aback—this differs from the usual change-the-world spiel

by rfrank 9y ago

> This is a company that employs truck drivers, is how the talk begins. The coders are sometimes taken aback—this differs from the usual change-the-world spiel deployed in hiring meetings. Truckers have very different ideas and different experiences from people like you, Seltz-Axmacher continues. Statistically speaking, many of them are Trump voters. They will say things that you may find startling. Not in a malicious way, but because people from, say, rural West Virginia talk differently than people from San Francisco. Can you handle that? It's good to see someone doing more than just talk about this sort of thing; both the employment aspect and the culture clash side of it. Compare that to say, how Google treats its ex-military drone contractors [1]. 1. http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-military-contractor-google-x-employee-collapsed-on-the-job-2017-3 http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-military-contractor-google...

cbanek 9y ago
Excellent read - thanks.
thatwebdude 9y ago
With the amount of regulations in truck driving, I wouldn't be surprised if SV clashes with the culture and work ethic truck drivers have to endure. It's good to see this company hiring drivers themselves; those who are open to improving on this tech.
- rfrank 9y ago
  I think people from most industries that are at the worst risk from automation are willing to help companies who make said automation products, as long as said company doesn't exist solely to put them out of a job and actually listens to them and their concerns. Those are the real rarity.
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
And I love the counterpoint: > "We hire truckers," Seltz-Axmacher tells prospective drivers right before offering them a job. "But we also have a lot of engineers in Silicon Valley. Everything you’ve heard about San Francisco—it’s all basically true. There is something called raw denim, and in San Francisco people wear it, which means that some of your colleagues will pay up to $300 for a pair of blue jeans. They sometimes drink $7 lattes, too. Many of your co-workers will not be from the U.S. They will have accents. Can you handle that?" In my experience, the culture clash seems to me to be more common in technology companies doing hardware projects than in hardware companies adding software to their processes. As a member of the latter, I take exception to this statement: > “We basically have people from two worlds, neither of which has ever talked to each other,” says Seltz-Axmacher, who grew up in suburban Maryland. “That’s kind of what’s wrong with this country.” Perhaps that's true of the founder's life experience, or true of the trucking industry, but most manufacturing jobs seem to be merging these cultures comparatively smoothly. I've been at a couple companies in the automotive industry, and been to hundreds of different plants, and everywhere you look there are blue collar technicians running the machines and white collar engineers building and automating the machines. The situation is not so bad as the article paints it outside the extremes of Ivy League PHD programs contrasted with the trucking industry.
- rfrank 9y ago
  Hah, you're definitely right (I work at an EMS provider). In the context of the piece it seems to me like they're more focused on SF type startups than places like where you or I work. I agree very much with: > ...culture clash seems to me to be more common in technology companies doing hardware projects than in hardware companies adding software to their processes.
- logfromblammo 9y ago
  I'm a software pro, not a trucker, and I have a problem with $300 jeans and $7 lattes. And what is all this I keep hearing about $20 avocado toast? The culture clash is Silicon Valley banging its own cymbals.
  - rfrank 9y ago
    The examples in the article are trite, but the culture clash is a very real thing. I would point to things like the acceptance of alcohol in the workplace, expectations around work/home balance, the comparatively uniform social/political views of SF tech workers (and educational backgrounds), etc.
- lhuser123 9y ago
  > Perhaps that's true of the founder's life experience, ... That's what I was thinking. They might be exaggerating a little bit the difference in culture.
- Animats 9y ago
  Everybody in heavy industry encounters this. There's a whole range of skill levels and backgrounds in an industrial plant. I'm surprised they don't send their engineers through a truck driving course, and have them get a CDL. If you're going to work on self-driving truck software, you need to be able to drive a truck. At least get a Commercial Learners Permit.
PhasmaFelis 9y ago
> The coders are sometimes taken aback—this differs from the usual change-the-world spiel deployed in hiring meetings. That's nice to see, since the change-the-world spiel is almost always howling bullshit.

by rfrank 9y ago

cbanek 9y ago

Excellent read - thanks.

thatwebdude 9y ago

With the amount of regulations in truck driving, I wouldn't be surprised if SV clashes with the culture and work ethic truck drivers have to endure. It's good to see this company hiring drivers themselves; those who are open to improving on this tech.

rfrank 9y ago
I think people from most industries that are at the worst risk from automation are willing to help companies who make said automation products, as long as said company doesn't exist solely to put them out of a job and actually listens to them and their concerns. Those are the real rarity.

LeifCarrotson 9y ago

And I love the counterpoint: > "We hire truckers," Seltz-Axmacher tells prospective drivers right before offering them a job. "But we also have a lot of engineers in Silicon Valley. Everything you’ve heard about San Francisco—it’s all basically true. There is something called raw denim, and in San Francisco people wear it, which means that some of your colleagues will pay up to $300 for a pair of blue jeans. They sometimes drink $7 lattes, too. Many of your co-workers will not be from the U.S. They will have accents. Can you handle that?" In my experience, the culture clash seems to me to be more common in technology companies doing hardware projects than in hardware companies adding software to their processes. As a member of the latter, I take exception to this statement: > “We basically have people from two worlds, neither of which has ever talked to each other,” says Seltz-Axmacher, who grew up in suburban Maryland. “That’s kind of what’s wrong with this country.” Perhaps that's true of the founder's life experience, or true of the trucking industry, but most manufacturing jobs seem to be merging these cultures comparatively smoothly. I've been at a couple companies in the automotive industry, and been to hundreds of different plants, and everywhere you look there are blue collar technicians running the machines and white collar engineers building and automating the machines. The situation is not so bad as the article paints it outside the extremes of Ivy League PHD programs contrasted with the trucking industry.

rfrank 9y ago
Hah, you're definitely right (I work at an EMS provider). In the context of the piece it seems to me like they're more focused on SF type startups than places like where you or I work. I agree very much with: > ...culture clash seems to me to be more common in technology companies doing hardware projects than in hardware companies adding software to their processes.
logfromblammo 9y ago
I'm a software pro, not a trucker, and I have a problem with $300 jeans and $7 lattes. And what is all this I keep hearing about $20 avocado toast? The culture clash is Silicon Valley banging its own cymbals.
- rfrank 9y ago
  The examples in the article are trite, but the culture clash is a very real thing. I would point to things like the acceptance of alcohol in the workplace, expectations around work/home balance, the comparatively uniform social/political views of SF tech workers (and educational backgrounds), etc.
lhuser123 9y ago
> Perhaps that's true of the founder's life experience, ... That's what I was thinking. They might be exaggerating a little bit the difference in culture.
Animats 9y ago
Everybody in heavy industry encounters this. There's a whole range of skill levels and backgrounds in an industrial plant. I'm surprised they don't send their engineers through a truck driving course, and have them get a CDL. If you're going to work on self-driving truck software, you need to be able to drive a truck. At least get a Commercial Learners Permit.

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

> The coders are sometimes taken aback—this differs from the usual change-the-world spiel deployed in hiring meetings. That's nice to see, since the change-the-world spiel is almost always howling bullshit.