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Sorry for the blunt question, but how does it feel to go from something where you make something valuable to ...that? (At least I feel what I do give me meanin
by matsemann 5y ago
Sorry for the blunt question, but how does it feel to go from something where you make something valuable to ...that?
(At least I feel what I do give me meaning)
- emteycz 5y agoProviding liquidity to the market is valuable too, as well as rapid reallocation of capital where it's needed. Not to say there aren't differences, of course. But I feel like your comparison is condescending. These people do valuable work too.
- einpoklum 5y agoStock traders don't "provide" anything, they're just playing a part in a poor, and exploitation-buttressing, system of exchange and resource allocation.
- swalsh 5y agoThat's a very shortsighted view.
- amelius 5y agoShortsightedness is exactly the problem with daytrading.
- emteycz 5y agoWell don't daytrade if you're shortsighted, for sure. But if you think daytraders can afford to be shortsighted, you're very wrong - it's one of the most exposed professions in this regard, the market will react weeks or months in anticipation of an event.
- goncaloo 5y agoMost developers work on meaningless, "make the rich richer", products anyways
- kimsant 5y agoBut you can find something meaningful (very easy), or start your own business (easiest moment in history to rise 1million), or teach in a bootcamp... There are 100 options. Wasting a wonderfull mind just because... sad
- sam_lowry_ 5y agoDunno, finding something meaningful to work on has been really hard for me, personally. It's either a big drop in revenue or bullshit projects
- ctvo 5y agoWhat a load of shit. This is the same mindset folks who pop up to yell at some Google engineers have. Why are you using your skills to collect data for adtech! You could be helping bring clean drinking water to the world! People value what they value, and should be able to work in fields that bring them happiness and don’t break the law without your judgement. Who are you to tell anyone what’s meaningful?
- tux3 5y agoIt's unfortunate that adtech enjoys less popularity than bringing clean drinking water to the world. That's really a tragedy and the main thing wrong with the world. I wish I could do wildly unpopular things without people criticizing me. Who the hell is everyone else, to dare judge me? I am above judgement.
- ctvo 5y agoOr you know, do the polite thing and keep quiet? The sentiments from you, and the original post I was replying to, have inherent privilege baked into them. A South Asian person with family who depends on them for remittances is ignored. A family with a child with special needs that require specific health insurance coverage is ignored. There are so many reasons people do the work they do. Presumably you think people who work in adtech, for example, are somehow morally inferior. It's this sophomoric view of the world that's bothersome. To tell anyone they should consider teaching at a coding bootcamp instead of what they're doing ... I have no words. I'd love to hear how these folks are changing the world for the better. It's much easier to tell others what they should do with their time and money.
- taormina 5y agoHey, if you were working in advertising or crypto, you’re probably about breakin even in the “meaningfulness” department
- tonmoy 5y agoDon’t know about GP’s details, but IMO trading brings quite a lot of value to society especially compared to at least some non-sense tick the box software jobs. Trending brings liquidity and makes resources available to where it is needed.
- usremane 5y agoThe term valuable is subjective. What really matters is whether you are happy in whatever you’re doing. People who make good money in trading are mostly going to spend some too somewhere which indirectly puts food on table for others.
- PerilousD 5y agoWhen I first started out I actually got to develop, write and deploy complete applications as opposed to endless updates or tiny sections of some larger project. It was an amazing feeling seeing something you write being run by dozens or even hundreds of users around the world. If the code you write today is meaningful to you that's great but its been a LONG time since I could look at something running that I wrote and feel any sense of ownership in the deal. I used to tell my team - when we have a bad day something crashes or doesnt work right. When my wife has a bad day somebody may have died literally (she's a nurse). Perspective!
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Cloudef 5y agoTbh, i dont really feel i ever do anything valuable with software either
- matsemann 5y agoFair enough, and probably more people feel that way? Not all tech is good tech, especially not if one follows the money. But I feel the stuff I've done in my career have had a direct impact on people's lives, but perhaps it's because I self select for those kind of projects because that matters to me?
- dageshi 5y agoMastering something like trading to the point where you can earn a living from it is probably pretty meaningful to a lot of people.
- JKCalhoun 5y agoMy guess is that you do the more "meaningful things" in your spare time. Likely day trading affords you a little more of that?
- 55555 5y agoGiving back to the world is just one way to be satisfied. Being great at something, or even just learning, are often sufficient.
- city41 5y agoIn my twenty year dev career I can count the meaningful projects on just a few fingers.
- kirso 5y agoHave been thinking a lot about this. There are more ways to make an impact, such as earning a good salary and re-investing / donating to build trees, renewables or serve any of the UNDP goals that are helping society. In fact that is probably more impactful that personally picking fruit in the garden. I guess it just depends on the place itself not being generally net negative to society compared to the impact you can make with it. Here is a good primer: https://80000hours.org/ https://80000hours.org/