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There are downsides to this. The early parts of my resume read like a list of major software project disasters of the 1990s. Among other things, I worked on Tal

There are downsides to this. The early parts of my resume read like a list of major software project disasters of the 1990s. Among other things, I worked on Taligent OS and WorkplaceOS. (Never heard of them? That's my point.) As a result of chasing interesting problems (and a stint as a university sysadmin), my salary history led me to be significantly underpaid for most of my career.

als0 5y ago
For anyone else wondering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_OS
- andai 5y ago
  > Workplace OS is IBM's ultimate operating system prototype of the 1990s. It is the product of an exploratory research program in 1991 which yielded a design called the Grand Unifying Theory of Systems (GUTS), proposing to unify the world's systems as generalized personalities cohabitating concurrently upon a universally sophisticated platform of object-oriented frameworks upon one microkernel. > With protracted development spanning four years and $2 billion (or 0.6% of IBM's revenue for that period), the project suffered development hell characterized by empire building, feature creep, and the second-system effect.
bumby 5y ago
>my salary history led me to be significantly underpaid for most of my career. I feel like this misses the point of the article. The author claims its important to enjoy what you're working on. They make no claims that doing so is a way to maximize your salary. I know tech gets paid well now but that wasn't always the case. Decades ago people went into medicine or law or finance if they wanted to optimize for pay and prestige. Only relatively recently has tech joined that list.
- mcguire 5y ago
  It's hard to enjoy what you are working on after you realize it's going from your fingers straight to the trash. And then you find yourself junior to someone who was getting 6 figures straight out of programming bootcamp three years ago. (And good luck trying to convince them that their genius idea has never actually worked.)
  - bumby 5y ago
    Those are both good, but I think distinct, points. >It's hard to enjoy what you are working on after you realize it's going from your fingers straight to the trash. I think this is more true of the two. Purposeful work is important to feeling fulfilled. Work that isn't appreciated isn't likely to leave one feeling like they have a purpose at work outside of generating a paycheck. I think the other point is probably less wise. There will almost always be comparisons in which one falls short in terms of salary, even up to the billionaire class level. For me personally using that as a gauge is a recipe for constant unhappiness.
space_ghost 5y ago
The only screenshot [0] I can find of TaligentOS looks remarkably like The BeOS. Did some TaligentOS guys move on to produce the BeOS? [0] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7Gi8GgW0AAoguu.png https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7Gi8GgW0AAoguu.png
- dhosek 5y ago
  Yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taligent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taligent The whole convoluted story of Taligent and WorkplaceOS is something to behold. It's a pity because the initial promise back in the early 90s was something I was genuinely excited about but alas, it was all promise and no shipping
  - mcguire 5y ago
    Quick anecdote: One of IBM's guys got back from Cupertino (Taligent was across the street from Apple) (I worked for IBM in Austin) and had his head in his hands. He kept repeating "they think mice only have one button".

als0 5y ago

For anyone else wondering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_OS

andai 5y ago
> Workplace OS is IBM's ultimate operating system prototype of the 1990s. It is the product of an exploratory research program in 1991 which yielded a design called the Grand Unifying Theory of Systems (GUTS), proposing to unify the world's systems as generalized personalities cohabitating concurrently upon a universally sophisticated platform of object-oriented frameworks upon one microkernel. > With protracted development spanning four years and $2 billion (or 0.6% of IBM's revenue for that period), the project suffered development hell characterized by empire building, feature creep, and the second-system effect.

bumby 5y ago

>my salary history led me to be significantly underpaid for most of my career. I feel like this misses the point of the article. The author claims its important to enjoy what you're working on. They make no claims that doing so is a way to maximize your salary. I know tech gets paid well now but that wasn't always the case. Decades ago people went into medicine or law or finance if they wanted to optimize for pay and prestige. Only relatively recently has tech joined that list.

mcguire 5y ago
It's hard to enjoy what you are working on after you realize it's going from your fingers straight to the trash. And then you find yourself junior to someone who was getting 6 figures straight out of programming bootcamp three years ago. (And good luck trying to convince them that their genius idea has never actually worked.)
- bumby 5y ago
  Those are both good, but I think distinct, points. >It's hard to enjoy what you are working on after you realize it's going from your fingers straight to the trash. I think this is more true of the two. Purposeful work is important to feeling fulfilled. Work that isn't appreciated isn't likely to leave one feeling like they have a purpose at work outside of generating a paycheck. I think the other point is probably less wise. There will almost always be comparisons in which one falls short in terms of salary, even up to the billionaire class level. For me personally using that as a gauge is a recipe for constant unhappiness.

space_ghost 5y ago

The only screenshot [0] I can find of TaligentOS looks remarkably like The BeOS. Did some TaligentOS guys move on to produce the BeOS? [0] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7Gi8GgW0AAoguu.png https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7Gi8GgW0AAoguu.png

dhosek 5y ago
Yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taligent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taligent The whole convoluted story of Taligent and WorkplaceOS is something to behold. It's a pity because the initial promise back in the early 90s was something I was genuinely excited about but alas, it was all promise and no shipping
- mcguire 5y ago
  Quick anecdote: One of IBM's guys got back from Cupertino (Taligent was across the street from Apple) (I worked for IBM in Austin) and had his head in his hands. He kept repeating "they think mice only have one button".