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It’s also a matter of culture. For remote employees to be fully productive, the company’s culture needs to be heavily geared towards remote. You can’t have 50%

by pzh 6y ago

It’s also a matter of culture. For remote employees to be fully productive, the company’s culture needs to be heavily geared towards remote. You can’t have 50% of the employees in the office having impromptu hallway conversations and whiteboard discussions while the rest of the team that is remote is half-isolated, separated from the in-office idea generation, and only gets to hear about what was decided by email. You’ll effectively end up creating two classes of employees: the in-office superstars and leaders who are highly paid, and the cheaper remote workers who have a glass ceiling on their career progression and are mostly relegated to the execution of the in-office team’s vision.

hiram112 6y ago
> the in-office superstars and leaders who are highly paid, and the cheaper remote workers who have a glass ceiling on their career progression and are mostly relegated to the execution of the in-office team’s vision. I went remote a few years ago, and last year, without even asking permission, I dropped the lease on my overpriced DC tiny condo and moved a few hours away where rent is half the price, and eventually I'll buy a real home for half the cost of DC. While I definitely had more opportunities to network and hobnob with management while in the office, the reality is it didn't matter in the long run. My salary hasn't gone down since moving, and I save money on tolls, lunches, gas, and now especially rent which is pretty significant. As a developer, I've never once been offered any sort of 'path' to anything other than continued code grinding and JIRA tasks. At best, I'm often give pseudo-promotions to 'team-lead' which includes more work on my end for no extra compensation, respect, or authority. There are so many people who CANNOT code, I've never seen any company I worked for helping their developers move towards the business or management teams. In fact, it's almost as if they actively oppose it and gatekeep any knowledge that's related to sales, customers, revenue, etc. After all, what would they be needed for, if we could do their jobs, too? And if we knew what value we provided, we might get a bit more uppity when it came time for raises and bonuses. Furthermore, most jobs of mine last less than 4 years or so, and if you don't move on you're not getting raises, nor are you accumulating more required buzzwords for the resume. I kind of gave up on moving up the corporate ranks into a management or more respected, higher paid position years ago, and now I play for myself. That means I continue to accumulate money in investments, and hopefully, by about 45, I won't depend on any company's promises or continued raises, and instead can opt out of the corporate system, go live on a beach, and start my own small business. The odds that the stock market will continue paying 8% are far more likely than any company I end up working for will provide opportunities for more pay, authority, and respect, especially for engineers, regardless of how good of friends I am with management or happy hours I attend with them.
- Ididntdothis 6y ago
  "While I definitely had more opportunities to network and hobnob with management while in the office, the reality is it didn't matter in the long run. My salary hasn't gone down since moving, and I save money on tolls, lunches, gas, and now especially rent which is pretty significant." I think being in the office can be very beneficial if you have the ability to talk to management and be viewed as some with potential for promotions. I have tried this but somehow I don't have the ability. My path was always to deliver stuff without needing much guidance. So now I am remote. I will probably not move up much but I have carved out nice niche for myself.

by pzh 6y ago

hiram112 6y ago

> the in-office superstars and leaders who are highly paid, and the cheaper remote workers who have a glass ceiling on their career progression and are mostly relegated to the execution of the in-office team’s vision. I went remote a few years ago, and last year, without even asking permission, I dropped the lease on my overpriced DC tiny condo and moved a few hours away where rent is half the price, and eventually I'll buy a real home for half the cost of DC. While I definitely had more opportunities to network and hobnob with management while in the office, the reality is it didn't matter in the long run. My salary hasn't gone down since moving, and I save money on tolls, lunches, gas, and now especially rent which is pretty significant. As a developer, I've never once been offered any sort of 'path' to anything other than continued code grinding and JIRA tasks. At best, I'm often give pseudo-promotions to 'team-lead' which includes more work on my end for no extra compensation, respect, or authority. There are so many people who CANNOT code, I've never seen any company I worked for helping their developers move towards the business or management teams. In fact, it's almost as if they actively oppose it and gatekeep any knowledge that's related to sales, customers, revenue, etc. After all, what would they be needed for, if we could do their jobs, too? And if we knew what value we provided, we might get a bit more uppity when it came time for raises and bonuses. Furthermore, most jobs of mine last less than 4 years or so, and if you don't move on you're not getting raises, nor are you accumulating more required buzzwords for the resume. I kind of gave up on moving up the corporate ranks into a management or more respected, higher paid position years ago, and now I play for myself. That means I continue to accumulate money in investments, and hopefully, by about 45, I won't depend on any company's promises or continued raises, and instead can opt out of the corporate system, go live on a beach, and start my own small business. The odds that the stock market will continue paying 8% are far more likely than any company I end up working for will provide opportunities for more pay, authority, and respect, especially for engineers, regardless of how good of friends I am with management or happy hours I attend with them.

Ididntdothis 6y ago
"While I definitely had more opportunities to network and hobnob with management while in the office, the reality is it didn't matter in the long run. My salary hasn't gone down since moving, and I save money on tolls, lunches, gas, and now especially rent which is pretty significant." I think being in the office can be very beneficial if you have the ability to talk to management and be viewed as some with potential for promotions. I have tried this but somehow I don't have the ability. My path was always to deliver stuff without needing much guidance. So now I am remote. I will probably not move up much but I have carved out nice niche for myself.