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You're getting downvoted but I often suspect the same thing. I find myself thinking "is this person I'm talking to really writing financial APIs that let you co

by tdeck 3y ago

You're getting downvoted but I often suspect the same thing. I find myself thinking "is this person I'm talking to really writing financial APIs that let you connect Coinbase to your Wells Fargo account because they're 'passionate about empowering financial freedom'?" Somehow I just don't have it in me to believe that. Folks who talk like this are generally in the minority so maybe that's really how they feel, but I always read it as a way to sell yourself.

switch007 3y ago
> but I always read it as a way to sell yourself. That’s exactly it. Why are bosses – who must understand marketing on some level – confused or even depressed by employees engaging in marketing! It doesn’t stop after we are done with the interviewing
atoav 3y ago
Exactly in this case it is very likely more true that: "Guys, we found something for which people pay us money, lets try to give them the impression we are passionate about it". Don't get me wrong, they might be passionate about creating a good product, but they would probably be equally passionate if it was about geodata instead.
mnsc 3y ago
I'm a person that is very much motivated by missions and lofty bullshit. This mean that I would have a hard time writing api integration glue code in the financial sector regardless of compensation. Is this good that I feel this way? Maybe not because it limits my career opportunities but it is what it is. Best gig I've had in this aspect were one where there weren't any mission but I created it for myself and that let me find meaning in my work. The problem with that approach were that the rest of the organization didn't share my mission so there were lot of little conflicts due to this and I wasn't aware enough back then to trace it back to this incompatibility/non alignment.
- vaylian 3y ago
  I think "meaning" is the keyword here. The lofty bullshit might be over the top, but there can still be a kernel of meaning in it.
  - scruple 3y ago
    On my end, I view finding meaning in modern tech work completely misguided. I work because I have to. I'm nice and fun at work because it makes the time pass gently, not because I like being there. I'm an American and there's a million more personally rewarding and productive things I'd rapidly occupy my time with if healthcare was detached from full-time employment.

by tdeck 3y ago

switch007 3y ago

> but I always read it as a way to sell yourself. That’s exactly it. Why are bosses – who must understand marketing on some level – confused or even depressed by employees engaging in marketing! It doesn’t stop after we are done with the interviewing

atoav 3y ago

Exactly in this case it is very likely more true that: "Guys, we found something for which people pay us money, lets try to give them the impression we are passionate about it". Don't get me wrong, they might be passionate about creating a good product, but they would probably be equally passionate if it was about geodata instead.

mnsc 3y ago

I'm a person that is very much motivated by missions and lofty bullshit. This mean that I would have a hard time writing api integration glue code in the financial sector regardless of compensation. Is this good that I feel this way? Maybe not because it limits my career opportunities but it is what it is. Best gig I've had in this aspect were one where there weren't any mission but I created it for myself and that let me find meaning in my work. The problem with that approach were that the rest of the organization didn't share my mission so there were lot of little conflicts due to this and I wasn't aware enough back then to trace it back to this incompatibility/non alignment.

vaylian 3y ago
I think "meaning" is the keyword here. The lofty bullshit might be over the top, but there can still be a kernel of meaning in it.
- scruple 3y ago
  On my end, I view finding meaning in modern tech work completely misguided. I work because I have to. I'm nice and fun at work because it makes the time pass gently, not because I like being there. I'm an American and there's a million more personally rewarding and productive things I'd rapidly occupy my time with if healthcare was detached from full-time employment.