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I feel seen! I've spent my entire career as a web dev (15+ years) almost exclusively working for non tech companies: solar companies, nonprofits, museums, susta

I feel seen! I've spent my entire career as a web dev (15+ years) almost exclusively working for non tech companies: solar companies, nonprofits, museums, sustainability funds, etc. I loved it! The pay was much lower (50 to 100k), but generally livable, and the people were awesome -- folks from all walks of life, not all tech bros, a lot of women, etc. Good work life balance (I've worked a total of maybe 6-7 hours of overtime in my whole career), no weekends or holidays, no crunch. No bonuses or equity either, but that didn't bother me. But more than anything, I got to work in interesting verticals, whether it's alongside energy engineers, battery experts, world-renowned conservation scientists, archeologists, etc. People who love what they work on, making small but meaningful contributions to the real world (as opposed to like enshittified ad tech or crypto pyramids). Would strongly recommend, if you can get over the lower pay (like you don't have a family or mortgage yet) and the lack of prestige (you're just another minion in the machine, not a privileged SWE). It's a lot of fun, though you also lose the opportunity to work with experts in your field (who are usually at proper tech companies), exchanging depth for breadth. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

ioblomov 3y ago
My pre-startup career was in advertising (before the dominance of social networks) where salaries were quite competitive and the creative atmosphere made you forget the ad biz was still corporate America. Another huge benefit was complete technical autonomy: so long as you met deadlines, they didn’t micromanage (because they lacked the domain expertise). I imagine corporate lawyers outside of law firms have a similar experience. All in all, trading the prestige for autonomy, greater work/life balance, and slightly less pay was well worth it. Update: two more advantages… 1. Technical interviews are far less grueling. Fewer applications mean a more personal and realistic interview process. 2. More stability through the business cycle. A small engineering department in a medium to large company is more likely to weather layoffs than a Big Tech firm looking to cut costs.

ioblomov 3y ago

My pre-startup career was in advertising (before the dominance of social networks) where salaries were quite competitive and the creative atmosphere made you forget the ad biz was still corporate America. Another huge benefit was complete technical autonomy: so long as you met deadlines, they didn’t micromanage (because they lacked the domain expertise). I imagine corporate lawyers outside of law firms have a similar experience. All in all, trading the prestige for autonomy, greater work/life balance, and slightly less pay was well worth it. Update: two more advantages… 1. Technical interviews are far less grueling. Fewer applications mean a more personal and realistic interview process. 2. More stability through the business cycle. A small engineering department in a medium to large company is more likely to weather layoffs than a Big Tech firm looking to cut costs.