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I've always put in whatever it takes to get the job done. I enjoy my work, and take a lot of pride in doing it well and delighting users. The attitude tends t

I've always put in whatever it takes to get the job done. I enjoy my work, and take a lot of pride in doing it well and delighting users. The attitude tends to attract more responsibility (which can sometimes mean more work) and leadership opportunities. Both in career settings, and organizations where I volunteer. And I've noticed it can be contagious. e.g. If I'm willing to sit "in the trenches" with a developer on my team to help them solve a nasty bug, they'll often take advantage of the opportunity even if it's after hours once the regular workday has quieted down. I do consulting now, and usually charge by the hour. It's a good arrangement - for my clients because they get as much (or little) of my attention as they need, and for me because I know at least when things get demanding my compensation scales accordingly. Once a CEO dragged me into his office and complained I was the highest "paid" person at the company, including himself. I explained why he was getting incredible value, asked him to point out anyone who put in the same hours and suggested hiring more staff so they didn't need to lean on me as hard. On the other hand, there were times I under-quoted fixed contracts, and ended up effectively netting less than minimum wage. But my work ethic stayed the same throughout. I've noticed backlash on HN lately against people who work long hours. I'm not sure where it comes from. If there are devs here who bought into the vision at a startup which didn't pan out and came away feeling cheated, or if it's plain old laziness or entitlement. I get that people have other priorities in life, and that's just fine. I've worked with 9-5ers who diligently stick to the clock. They're focused on family, other interests, etc. Nothing wrong with that. I know people for whom the job is "just a job", not a passion. That's OK too - although sometimes it makes me sad when I get the sense it's not so much a question of work/life balance as it is they just don't enjoy it and might feel more inspired doing something else. Whatever the impetus, it's no reason to beat up on hard workers who've chosen to make their career a priority.

drivebycomment 6y ago
> I've noticed backlash on HN lately against people who work long hours. I'm not sure where it comes from. My pet theory is that with higher wages and popularity, the fraction of engineers who build stuff for fun have gone down and there's more people who are doing it purely for money. They care less about the "craft", the joy of problem solving and building, and don't see their work as their "calling". Rather, it's purely a means to an end, and they only care about minimal efforts and maximal monetary returns.
- SamoyedFurFluff 6y ago
  My suspicion is kind of different- I think as tech has grown it’s become more corporate and has sucked the fun out of things and has become another corporate job where working hard means peanuts comparing to being able to do political games. Of course I’d protest butt-in-chair time as a measure of my hard work. I should be measured based on my accomplishments or efficiency.
  - drivebycomment 6y ago
    I disagree. I came to the SV in 1999. The valley was all "corporate" already and that didn't stop engineers from being engineers. If anything, during last two decades, the overall SV became less "corporate" with "new" generation of startups becoming more and more successful.
yunohn 6y ago
> complained I was the highest "paid" person at the company Given this anecdote, I don’t believe most people are talking about exceptions like you. The majority of people don’t make much money for working long hours, both in blue collar and white collar jobs.
theshrike79 6y ago
> I've always put in whatever it takes to get the job done. I enjoy my work, and take a lot of pride in doing it well and delighting users. > I do consulting now, and usually charge by the hour. There's no problem with this. You get compensated by the extra hours you work. BUT when salaried workers start "doing whatever it takes" without any compensation except for promises of a brighter future, that's when things start falling apart. If the employer isn't willing to pay for overtime, the project clearly isn't in a hurry. Of course everything needs to be ready NOW, but when they actually need to pay for getting it done faster, suddenly it isn't that essential any more. I've been in the industry for 20+ years and I can count the times I've gotten overtime pay with one hand. One of those times paid for a full kitchen remodel (200-300% pay, 24 hours worked over a weekend to get shit working in prod by Monday).

drivebycomment 6y ago

> I've noticed backlash on HN lately against people who work long hours. I'm not sure where it comes from. My pet theory is that with higher wages and popularity, the fraction of engineers who build stuff for fun have gone down and there's more people who are doing it purely for money. They care less about the "craft", the joy of problem solving and building, and don't see their work as their "calling". Rather, it's purely a means to an end, and they only care about minimal efforts and maximal monetary returns.

SamoyedFurFluff 6y ago
My suspicion is kind of different- I think as tech has grown it’s become more corporate and has sucked the fun out of things and has become another corporate job where working hard means peanuts comparing to being able to do political games. Of course I’d protest butt-in-chair time as a measure of my hard work. I should be measured based on my accomplishments or efficiency.
- drivebycomment 6y ago
  I disagree. I came to the SV in 1999. The valley was all "corporate" already and that didn't stop engineers from being engineers. If anything, during last two decades, the overall SV became less "corporate" with "new" generation of startups becoming more and more successful.

yunohn 6y ago

> complained I was the highest "paid" person at the company Given this anecdote, I don’t believe most people are talking about exceptions like you. The majority of people don’t make much money for working long hours, both in blue collar and white collar jobs.

theshrike79 6y ago

> I've always put in whatever it takes to get the job done. I enjoy my work, and take a lot of pride in doing it well and delighting users. > I do consulting now, and usually charge by the hour. There's no problem with this. You get compensated by the extra hours you work. BUT when salaried workers start "doing whatever it takes" without any compensation except for promises of a brighter future, that's when things start falling apart. If the employer isn't willing to pay for overtime, the project clearly isn't in a hurry. Of course everything needs to be ready NOW, but when they actually need to pay for getting it done faster, suddenly it isn't that essential any more. I've been in the industry for 20+ years and I can count the times I've gotten overtime pay with one hand. One of those times paid for a full kitchen remodel (200-300% pay, 24 hours worked over a weekend to get shit working in prod by Monday).