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Am I expected to expend my enthusiasm for programming on my employer? I find it insulting that I must be a "nine to fiver" if I advocate for labor. My passion
by camdat 3y ago
Am I expected to expend my enthusiasm for programming on my employer?
I find it insulting that I must be a "nine to fiver" if I advocate for labor. My passion isn't building what my boss wants, it's building what _I_ want.
- gloryjulio 3y agoI would only work more if that means more money (overtime pay, promotion etc). Otherwise that's a no
- varjag 3y agoThere are plenty in the industry get the opportunity to work on what they like working on.
- camdat 3y agoYou're not saying anything here. Sure there are people like that, but the nature of capitalism means that people _must_ work to survive. This requirement precludes finding work you enjoy, and thus those that have the opportunity to work on something they like are in the minority. Put another way, would you quit your job immediately if you're asked to work on something you don't want to do? If not, are you a "nine to fiver"?
- Zetice 3y agoIdeally your incentives get aligned such that you're not spending your enthusiasm on your employer, but on yourself via your employer. You should be invested in the success of the people who you work for, financially (or whatever you value). You're a "nine to fiver" if your incentives don't align. That can be your fault, but often isn't.
- camdat 3y agoThis implies that accepting a job that pays more, even if it doesn't align with your incentives, is being a "nine to fiver", which I disagree with. Innate to our economic system is the tension between labor and employer. Us as laborers want a higher share of the profit from our labor. Employers seek the opposite, and "fulfillment" provides them the means to extract it. Consider the wages of game developers, which have stagnated compared to less "fulfilling" SWE work, because employers are able to supplant higher pay with work that people are passionate about. If being a "nine to fiver" prevents me from falling into that trap, so be it.
- Zetice 3y agoI'm sorry but no, it doesn't imply that at all. Your incentives can be, "Earn enough money to justify spending time on a problem."
- camdat 3y ago> Ideally your incentives get aligned such that you're not spending your enthusiasm on your employer, but on yourself via your employer. If the "via" here is "by giving me money to do what I want", then I agree. GP is arguing that fulfillment from work is necessary to be an enthusiast, thus the assumption that your response is related. Even in the purely financial scenario though, aren't the incentives still in conflict? If both you and your employer's incentive is "earn as much money as possible", then you are both vying for the same pool of profit.