4 ms·

For the last 10 years it was all about learning and sometimes the company mission. Now I'm turning 30 so it's mostly about money. Present money or future money

For the last 10 years it was all about learning and sometimes the company mission. Now I'm turning 30 so it's mostly about money. Present money or future money.

lettergram 9y ago
When someone tells me "think of all you can learn!" When trying to sell me on a project / job I always say, "as long as it comes with an ever growing pay check" To me it's just a way "the man" tries to keep us underpaid. Interesting work or experience is not a substitute for money. In truth, the more learning required, the more stress (typically) and thus, the more money I'd like for my services.
ensiferum 9y ago
Amen brother. $$$ what matters the rest is just pretty words.
- lynnetye 9y ago
  I'd love to ask you the same question as I did above: what is your strategy in getting the highest paying job? Do you freelance? Have side hustles? Change jobs frequently? Spend time mastering negotiations?
tasuki 9y ago
Interesting. I don't think you being 30 makes it mostly about money. There probably is some other factor than your age. I'm 32 and for me it's about work-life balance and high quality codebase - apparently that makes me very average.
- expertentipp 9y ago
  I guess it depends on where the OP is from? People from US and developed EU countries already have at least decent salary so they focus on things higher up in the hierarchy of needs, people from countries where outsourcing/low cost centers dominate say "it's all about money" but they simply mean "at least a decent salary":)
tiggybear 9y ago
Money and an admission that everything we do is about money. Please don't make me gargle your "making the world a better place" cumshot, you are in it for money too and I'll respect you 10x more if you will just admit that.
kapauldo 9y ago
I'm turning 50 and most of the list is nonsense.
- lynnetye 9y ago
  These values are certainly not important to everyone. In fact, many people don't use any of these to evaluate jobs/offers. I'm curious though, what do you care about most and how do you compare options and choose the right one based on what you care about most? Ie. if you care about money, do you change jobs frequently in order to negotiate a better salary?
whipoodle 9y ago
That’s right. They can take away the stuff the culture depends on, they can take away the workplace you feel so secure in, but the compensation is written into the contract. Plus that’s the actual reason why we all get up in the morning and do this shit.
- lynnetye 9y ago
  If you don't mind me asking, what strategy do you use to find jobs? Is salary more important to you than equity? Or do you also value benefits/perks? (Ps. I'm the author of this article and am just curious about what exactly motivates you.) Is money the main driver? If so, do you do freelance work or do you always seek full-time employment? Thanks in advance :)
  - whipoodle 9y ago
    I’m just always trying to find somewhere that’s better. If I can make a better salary and get a better job, great. If I can make the same salary but get more equity, in a company that seems likely to be successful, great. (I’m doing that last one now.) It’s not much of a strategy, just realize that loyalty is a mugs game and none of these places actually care about an individual employee, so neither should you care about them. I don’t freelance because I know I would hate all the non-technical parts of the job, and I don’t have much of a network because people drive me crazy so it would be hard to get work in the door. The idea appeals to me though, in the sense of working a job for a while and then not working for a while.
marssaxman 9y ago
The older I get the less it is about money, because life is short, and money starts losing its power to buy happiness quickly once you pass a threshold which is very easy to reach as an experienced software developer. A job which pays a lot of money can also make you miserable, comprehensively so, to such a degree that there is nothing you can spend that extra money on which will make up for it. In my experience the jobs which have paid the most did so because they had to, because nobody would put up with them otherwise; so "best salary in the industry" has become a negative signal.
lynnetye 9y ago
I'm turning 30 soon too. What I care about and look for in a job has changed over the years (and my guess, will continue to change). I was all about the company mission, working somewhere that was growing quickly, and getting hands-on experience. After I burned out a bit, I looked for work/life balance and was focused on making and saving money. After a couple of years, I missed the excitement, passion, and long hours. While I'm definitely hoping to turn Key Values into a revenue-generating business (ie. money is on my mind), I'm really motivated by challenging myself with something new, learning, and this mission to help match companies and job-seekers. But trust me, for the previous 2 years, I was mostly about the money too. (Maybe 60% money, 40% learning the skills to try and start a business of my own.) If I hadn't made money a priority, I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing now.

For the last 10 years it was all about learning and sometimes the company mission. Now I'm turning 30 so it's mostly about money. Present money or future money.

lettergram 9y ago

When someone tells me "think of all you can learn!" When trying to sell me on a project / job I always say, "as long as it comes with an ever growing pay check" To me it's just a way "the man" tries to keep us underpaid. Interesting work or experience is not a substitute for money. In truth, the more learning required, the more stress (typically) and thus, the more money I'd like for my services.

ensiferum 9y ago

Amen brother. $$$ what matters the rest is just pretty words.

lynnetye 9y ago
I'd love to ask you the same question as I did above: what is your strategy in getting the highest paying job? Do you freelance? Have side hustles? Change jobs frequently? Spend time mastering negotiations?

tasuki 9y ago

Interesting. I don't think you being 30 makes it mostly about money. There probably is some other factor than your age. I'm 32 and for me it's about work-life balance and high quality codebase - apparently that makes me very average.

expertentipp 9y ago
I guess it depends on where the OP is from? People from US and developed EU countries already have at least decent salary so they focus on things higher up in the hierarchy of needs, people from countries where outsourcing/low cost centers dominate say "it's all about money" but they simply mean "at least a decent salary":)

tiggybear 9y ago

Money and an admission that everything we do is about money. Please don't make me gargle your "making the world a better place" cumshot, you are in it for money too and I'll respect you 10x more if you will just admit that.

kapauldo 9y ago

I'm turning 50 and most of the list is nonsense.

lynnetye 9y ago
These values are certainly not important to everyone. In fact, many people don't use any of these to evaluate jobs/offers. I'm curious though, what do you care about most and how do you compare options and choose the right one based on what you care about most? Ie. if you care about money, do you change jobs frequently in order to negotiate a better salary?

whipoodle 9y ago

That’s right. They can take away the stuff the culture depends on, they can take away the workplace you feel so secure in, but the compensation is written into the contract. Plus that’s the actual reason why we all get up in the morning and do this shit.

lynnetye 9y ago
If you don't mind me asking, what strategy do you use to find jobs? Is salary more important to you than equity? Or do you also value benefits/perks? (Ps. I'm the author of this article and am just curious about what exactly motivates you.) Is money the main driver? If so, do you do freelance work or do you always seek full-time employment? Thanks in advance :)
- whipoodle 9y ago
  I’m just always trying to find somewhere that’s better. If I can make a better salary and get a better job, great. If I can make the same salary but get more equity, in a company that seems likely to be successful, great. (I’m doing that last one now.) It’s not much of a strategy, just realize that loyalty is a mugs game and none of these places actually care about an individual employee, so neither should you care about them. I don’t freelance because I know I would hate all the non-technical parts of the job, and I don’t have much of a network because people drive me crazy so it would be hard to get work in the door. The idea appeals to me though, in the sense of working a job for a while and then not working for a while.

marssaxman 9y ago

The older I get the less it is about money, because life is short, and money starts losing its power to buy happiness quickly once you pass a threshold which is very easy to reach as an experienced software developer. A job which pays a lot of money can also make you miserable, comprehensively so, to such a degree that there is nothing you can spend that extra money on which will make up for it. In my experience the jobs which have paid the most did so because they had to, because nobody would put up with them otherwise; so "best salary in the industry" has become a negative signal.

lynnetye 9y ago

I'm turning 30 soon too. What I care about and look for in a job has changed over the years (and my guess, will continue to change). I was all about the company mission, working somewhere that was growing quickly, and getting hands-on experience. After I burned out a bit, I looked for work/life balance and was focused on making and saving money. After a couple of years, I missed the excitement, passion, and long hours. While I'm definitely hoping to turn Key Values into a revenue-generating business (ie. money is on my mind), I'm really motivated by challenging myself with something new, learning, and this mission to help match companies and job-seekers. But trust me, for the previous 2 years, I was mostly about the money too. (Maybe 60% money, 40% learning the skills to try and start a business of my own.) If I hadn't made money a priority, I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing now.