So many hard truths in one post, the only bit I disagree with is this: > I'd say suck it up, then move on somewhere else and hope that it will be better. IME

So many hard truths in one post, the only bit I disagree with is this: > I'd say suck it up, then move on somewhere else and hope that it will be better. IME the next place is likely to be not much different and you can quickly be labelled a job hopper, which becomes self reinforcing if all you can pick up are short term contracts. > They may express interest in the outcome of the fixes (better stability, etc). But ... well you will find somehow there's never enough time to actually invest in achieving those outcome This nails it. Everyone says they care about quality for instance, but few are willing to invest the time/money that it takes to produce high quality (or even decent quality) software. Organisations need to be judged on actions not words, if there is a constant pipeline of features to add but no time allotted to refactoring then they don't care about quality. As for personal advice for anyone in this situation, mine is to learn not to care, detach yourself from your work, it's been a boon to my mental health over the last few years. The company releases a turd? I no longer give it a second thought, if they didn't want a turd then they would put the right structures in place to prevent turds, but if they don't care then why should I? Another one is to put some distance between my side projects and work, in the past they've always been somewhat work related, often experimenting with tech that is directly applicable to the company I was working for. I find I'm happier when my side projects are completely different technology stacks.