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Over time I've come to disagree with this sentiment. If you're a software engineer you should consider yourself a craftsman. Treating your job as a "shift" mea
by underdeserver 7y ago
Over time I've come to disagree with this sentiment.
If you're a software engineer you should consider yourself a craftsman. Treating your job as a "shift" means you don't care about your craft.
The reason I'm not a founder today is that I've observed that founders don't have well rounded lives. I want 5 workdays a week to consist of 8-9 hours of work I'm invested in and care about, 8-9 hours of personal life (relationships, socializing, working out, reading, personal projects, hobbies, TV and games, etc.) and the rest in sleep. I want two days a week off.
So what, I have to give up doing work I care about because of it? I don't think so. I choose work I think is important, technically deep and challenging, and if droppings hit the fan and I get laid off - I can be proud of what I did and understand that the pain is real and that it will pass.
Better to have loved and lost.
- techybuddha 7y agoYou’ve never lost and loved something too much yet. This can be very bad advice for many people.
- underdeserver 7y agoWhy would you assume that?
- bluntfang 7y agobetter to have loved something that's not making someone else more money than what they think your work is worth.
- theMajorMinor 7y agoWhat is the risk here? A person who pursues their here and now with the most intention and passion will learn more on the job than the same individual who is just "putting their time in." Why can't you help build someone elses dream and your own? Is it possible the details of someone elses dream provide focus for yours? I think the former individual will better weather a layoff than the latter. Furthermore, the person who is "just putting their time in" is a less attractive hire.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y agoI think you can look at this from a mercenary perspective too. It costs nothing more to show up and work hard than it does to show up and do the minimum. You're giving up the same amount of time either way. But there's a lot more upside for hard workers, at least at firms that have a career track for software engineers. There are other variables, but other things being equal, folks who get things done tend to advance faster. I definitely agree that you should not break your back and work 24/7 for someone else's vision. Or at a minimum you need to consider how factors beyond your control might zero out your investment. But that goes for anything.
- helij 7y agoNever in the history of the humanity was hard work rewarded the same as speaking and looking nicely.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y agoSure. Better to be beautiful and honey tongued than ugly and an asshole. But either way you're better off working hard than being lazy.