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What does pay have to do with a job being an "office" job? Are corporate lawyers and accountants not office jobs? If you work in an office, then by definition,

What does pay have to do with a job being an "office" job? Are corporate lawyers and accountants not office jobs? If you work in an office, then by definition, you work an office job.

akhilcacharya 8y ago
Accountants usually don’t have lavish perks or doctor-level paychecks though. The lifestyles of all of the big2+elite startup engineers I know is miles different from the characters in the movie. I watched the movie much later than most people on this website and was most shocked by the fact that he was neighbors with a construction worker. That sort of class co-mingling seems vanishingly rare in my social circle.
- systemtest 8y ago
  In Europe it's pretty normal for software developers to live next-door to a construction worker. If the construction worker is very experienced or a contractor he may even earn more than you do.
- purple_ducks 8y ago
  > Accountants usually don’t have lavish perks or doctor-level paychecks though Accountants absolutely have lavish perks bestowed upon them by the "Big 4" - annual week abroad in foreign destinations for team building. > doctor-level paychecks though Neither do devs. In Europe, accountants are paid better than devs. With better hours(except at quarter end) and a straightforward career path..and no-BS job interviews. Chartered accountants (still talking about company employed- not sole practice) earn even more - like 30% more than a senior dev.
  - awylie199 8y ago
    As a Chartered Accountant who qualified at a Big Four firm in London, this is the first I've heard of any of these things. Though it is possible to make more money as an accountant, there are far fewer directors and partners than there are senior devs.
  - lunchables 8y ago
    It blows my mind how little developers seemed to be paid in Europe. I guess it's just a matter of supply and demand? With the massive cost differential I am amazed we don't see more remote/out-sourcing from California to the UK. Sure there are disadvantages, the time difference, culture, etc but it's basically half the price, or better?
    - DaiPlusPlus 8y ago
      My friends at Google’s London offices are paid comparably to my friends at Google’s Kirkland (Seattle) office. All my other UK friends at low-profile companies are paid a fraction of that (certainly less than half, arguably for the same work, even in London). The only explanation I have for it is entrenched low salary expectations and also knowing you’re competing with India, whereas on the US West Coast (which is where I live now, though I graduated in the UK) employers have already decided to hire local instead of elsewhere so you don’t feel an unstated pressure to compete on-price with others. The fact Amazon and Microsoft are local also helps.
- Aeolun 8y ago
  Not everyone is living in the US though. For us EU residents it’s still fairly relatable, even though salaries have risen here as well, it’s nothing like the US.
- beardedwizard 8y ago
  How many accountants or lawyers do you know? There are two accountants in my family and they are extremely well compensated, one a CFO. Regarding class co mingling, really? Your statement seems like a projection. Where does it come from? I doubt you have spoken to many of your neighbors, much less asked what they do. My neighbor is literally a construction worker.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    >My neighbor is literally a construction worker. Ditto. Which is very handy from time to time. :-)
  - 52-6F-62 8y ago
    Have to agree. I live in a building with lawyers, bankers, sales people, construction workers, paramedics, and so on.
- amyjess 8y ago
  Trust me, most of the software engineering world in real life is nothing like Big N and elite startups. Silicon Valley is a weirdness magnet that's not representative of the rest of the country. Enterprise Java and .NET shops are all over the US, and those are much more like Office Space. In fact, I'm fairly sure Office Space was filmed in Texas, not California.
  - ryandrake 8y ago
    Exactly. Whenever people here talk about the “typical software developer’s” career or salary or working environment, they point to top outlier employees at top outlier companies and pretend that’s how the average tech worker lives. For every level 7 Facebook or Google engineer diving into a swimming pool full of RSUs, there are probably 100 mid level programmers at HugeConsultancy body shops and medium sized zombie Enterprise Java companies working shoulder to shoulder and sharing apartments. Helps to keep that perspective.

What does pay have to do with a job being an "office" job? Are corporate lawyers and accountants not office jobs? If you work in an office, then by definition, you work an office job.

akhilcacharya 8y ago

Accountants usually don’t have lavish perks or doctor-level paychecks though. The lifestyles of all of the big2+elite startup engineers I know is miles different from the characters in the movie. I watched the movie much later than most people on this website and was most shocked by the fact that he was neighbors with a construction worker. That sort of class co-mingling seems vanishingly rare in my social circle.

systemtest 8y ago
In Europe it's pretty normal for software developers to live next-door to a construction worker. If the construction worker is very experienced or a contractor he may even earn more than you do.
purple_ducks 8y ago
> Accountants usually don’t have lavish perks or doctor-level paychecks though Accountants absolutely have lavish perks bestowed upon them by the "Big 4" - annual week abroad in foreign destinations for team building. > doctor-level paychecks though Neither do devs. In Europe, accountants are paid better than devs. With better hours(except at quarter end) and a straightforward career path..and no-BS job interviews. Chartered accountants (still talking about company employed- not sole practice) earn even more - like 30% more than a senior dev.
- awylie199 8y ago
  As a Chartered Accountant who qualified at a Big Four firm in London, this is the first I've heard of any of these things. Though it is possible to make more money as an accountant, there are far fewer directors and partners than there are senior devs.
- lunchables 8y ago
  It blows my mind how little developers seemed to be paid in Europe. I guess it's just a matter of supply and demand? With the massive cost differential I am amazed we don't see more remote/out-sourcing from California to the UK. Sure there are disadvantages, the time difference, culture, etc but it's basically half the price, or better?
  - DaiPlusPlus 8y ago
    My friends at Google’s London offices are paid comparably to my friends at Google’s Kirkland (Seattle) office. All my other UK friends at low-profile companies are paid a fraction of that (certainly less than half, arguably for the same work, even in London). The only explanation I have for it is entrenched low salary expectations and also knowing you’re competing with India, whereas on the US West Coast (which is where I live now, though I graduated in the UK) employers have already decided to hire local instead of elsewhere so you don’t feel an unstated pressure to compete on-price with others. The fact Amazon and Microsoft are local also helps.
Aeolun 8y ago
Not everyone is living in the US though. For us EU residents it’s still fairly relatable, even though salaries have risen here as well, it’s nothing like the US.
beardedwizard 8y ago
How many accountants or lawyers do you know? There are two accountants in my family and they are extremely well compensated, one a CFO. Regarding class co mingling, really? Your statement seems like a projection. Where does it come from? I doubt you have spoken to many of your neighbors, much less asked what they do. My neighbor is literally a construction worker.
- ghaff 8y ago
  >My neighbor is literally a construction worker. Ditto. Which is very handy from time to time. :-)
- 52-6F-62 8y ago
  Have to agree. I live in a building with lawyers, bankers, sales people, construction workers, paramedics, and so on.
amyjess 8y ago
Trust me, most of the software engineering world in real life is nothing like Big N and elite startups. Silicon Valley is a weirdness magnet that's not representative of the rest of the country. Enterprise Java and .NET shops are all over the US, and those are much more like Office Space. In fact, I'm fairly sure Office Space was filmed in Texas, not California.
- ryandrake 8y ago
  Exactly. Whenever people here talk about the “typical software developer’s” career or salary or working environment, they point to top outlier employees at top outlier companies and pretend that’s how the average tech worker lives. For every level 7 Facebook or Google engineer diving into a swimming pool full of RSUs, there are probably 100 mid level programmers at HugeConsultancy body shops and medium sized zombie Enterprise Java companies working shoulder to shoulder and sharing apartments. Helps to keep that perspective.