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I diagree, I think this person has the right idea. Corporations aren't people. They have no feelings, no loyalties, no empathy. Sure the people who work there d

by nkrisc 5y ago

I diagree, I think this person has the right idea. Corporations aren't people. They have no feelings, no loyalties, no empathy. Sure the people who work there do, but you all work for the Corporation. Exploit the corporation. Give them exactly what they pay you for an not an ounce more. Stay within the bounds of the law and your personal ethics, but extract from the Corporation just as the Corporation extracts from everything else. Don't tie your identity or self-worth to your contractual obligations to the Corporation. Use the money you extract from the Corporation to enjoy life and the things that do define you and give you your sense of self-worth. The universe does not care if you're good at your job or not. You've only got so many years until you're dead and gone, spend as little of it as possible working and as much of it doing the things as you enjoy. If working is what you enjoy, good for you, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

nebula8804 5y ago
I completely agree with this line of thinking as I enter my 30s. But having lived in Europe for a while and seen the dark side of this "work to live vs live to work" mentality, we have to accept that building cutting edge stuff is the result of many hours of pain and suffering and most of all sacrifice. Somebody has got to do the pain and suffering part so that everyone else can do more of the "just work up to the requirements and not an ounce more" part.
- dbingham 5y ago
  If companies were structured as employee owned worker cooperatives, then that sacrifice would be meaningfully rewarded. As it is now, a lot of people sacrifice so a handful can walk away with the rewards created by everyone else's sacrifices.
- nkrisc 5y ago
  Driven and intelligent people will always be pushing the boundary because they feel a calling to it. The only tragedy is they're often not justly rewarded for it. I'm in the "not an ounce more" camp, but I also don't expect a cent more than I'm owed in return. Those who do push themselves further for the benefit of humanity deserve more than I do.
- deterministic 5y ago
  Why do you want to build “cutting edge stuff”? Honest question. Is it to prove yourself to the world? Out of interest? I am asking because 99.9% of real problems that customers are happy to pay large $ for is not cutting edge. Cutting edge is called cutting edge because it has sharp bits and you will bleed.
pg_1234 5y ago
This x 1000 ! There are not enough upvotes in the world for the parent post, but please add yours.
dasil003 5y ago
You're misinterpreting me here, I never said work overtime or devote your life to the company. My point was that your work and skills are an investment in yourself (especially if you work in software), and you're sabotaging yourself if you take the cynical view that what you do doesn't matter because interviewing pays off more than a capricious promo process. The fact is that doing good work has long-term feedback loops that build your opportunities from both a skills and relationships perspective. Job hopping early in your career will definitely ramp up your salary faster, but over the long-term it pales in comparison to having a good reputation.
- nkrisc 5y ago
  Ok you make a fair point, but that is not what I took away from your original comment. I was not intentionally misrepresenting you.

by nkrisc 5y ago

nebula8804 5y ago

I completely agree with this line of thinking as I enter my 30s. But having lived in Europe for a while and seen the dark side of this "work to live vs live to work" mentality, we have to accept that building cutting edge stuff is the result of many hours of pain and suffering and most of all sacrifice. Somebody has got to do the pain and suffering part so that everyone else can do more of the "just work up to the requirements and not an ounce more" part.

dbingham 5y ago
If companies were structured as employee owned worker cooperatives, then that sacrifice would be meaningfully rewarded. As it is now, a lot of people sacrifice so a handful can walk away with the rewards created by everyone else's sacrifices.
nkrisc 5y ago
Driven and intelligent people will always be pushing the boundary because they feel a calling to it. The only tragedy is they're often not justly rewarded for it. I'm in the "not an ounce more" camp, but I also don't expect a cent more than I'm owed in return. Those who do push themselves further for the benefit of humanity deserve more than I do.
deterministic 5y ago
Why do you want to build “cutting edge stuff”? Honest question. Is it to prove yourself to the world? Out of interest? I am asking because 99.9% of real problems that customers are happy to pay large $ for is not cutting edge. Cutting edge is called cutting edge because it has sharp bits and you will bleed.

pg_1234 5y ago

This x 1000 ! There are not enough upvotes in the world for the parent post, but please add yours.

dasil003 5y ago

You're misinterpreting me here, I never said work overtime or devote your life to the company. My point was that your work and skills are an investment in yourself (especially if you work in software), and you're sabotaging yourself if you take the cynical view that what you do doesn't matter because interviewing pays off more than a capricious promo process. The fact is that doing good work has long-term feedback loops that build your opportunities from both a skills and relationships perspective. Job hopping early in your career will definitely ramp up your salary faster, but over the long-term it pales in comparison to having a good reputation.

nkrisc 5y ago
Ok you make a fair point, but that is not what I took away from your original comment. I was not intentionally misrepresenting you.