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Not necessarily. You can escalate things to your boss. Or then their boss. They talk to the coworker about it. It doesn't have to (and shouldn't be) a public in

Not necessarily. You can escalate things to your boss. Or then their boss. They talk to the coworker about it. It doesn't have to (and shouldn't be) a public inquisition. Maybe you do some one-on-one sessions / mentoring to try to help them. Maybe you're not patient enough to try this. It's certainly easier to leave most of the time. The code aspect is all shades of gray. I've seen code that "functions" but has such unacceptable levels of performance, quality, duplication, security problems, etc. that it would barely qualify as "working" and certainly not maintainable. You can't polish a turd.

999900000999 2y ago
I didn't have that experience, I was basically told that I should shut up and get used to working with code that doesn't functionally do anything . Then when I complain later my manager was like, even though the code doesn't do anything it makes our metrics look better. Imagine seeing function1(){ ApiCall("1") } function2(){ ApiCall("2) } Over and over again.
- icedchai 2y ago
  I'd tell them I am not shutting up and this is a major problem affecting the quality of the product. I would then speak to the boss's boss about it and start complaining about the boss doing a poor job, encouraging fake, meaningless metrics to game the system. Maybe they'll get get fed up and tell you to GTFO. Probably not though. The thing about broken organizations is that they take forever to fire anyone, so use that to your advantage while you look for other jobs.
  - sgarland 2y ago
    > The thing about broken organizations is that they take forever to fire anyone, so use that to your advantage while you look for other jobs. My last place was horrendously broken in many aspects, and fired people at the drop of a hat.
  - 999900000999 2y ago
    That seems like a whole lot of work, compared to just finding another job and walking out . I'm not trying to change the world, I'm trying to make money so I can save and retire preferably before I turn 50. If I've learned anything about life is that you need to pick what battles you want to fight. If option A is argue with numerous people and openly expose multiple layers of incompetence, to the point where my manager and my coworkers are going to hate me . Compared to, option B , keeping my head down until I can jump ship and then hoping the next place isn't as bad. I'm picking B. You gain nothing by going above and beyond your pay grade.
    - icedchai 2y ago
      I mean, if you don't care about the company, product, or project, then yes, you are right. Lay low and move on. Some fights definitely aren't worth it. If you do care about more than your paycheck, maybe it is. And do you really care if some incompetent hates you? I hate working with incompetent people, so some mutual feelings are perfectly fine. It may even improve the situation, at least temporarily: They'll reduce their interactions with you to avoid conflict, since most people are rather conflict avoidant.
      - recursive 2y ago
        Bad impressions can be contagious. Some "incompetents" have political capital.
        mlhpdx 2y ago
        IMHO labeling people “incompetent” is a bright orange flag. Sometimes it is true, but far more often it’s a genuine lack of respect.
        999900000999 2y ago
        >function1(){ ApiCall("1") } >function2(){ ApiCall("2) } Quoting from earlier in the thread, see this and tell me the person writing it is competent. The polite way to put it is "there might be a skill mismatch". Plenty of people get slowly drifted into programming roles they aren't qualified for. At the end of the day, I'm not some super hero looking to drastically improve every company I work for. It's fine to walk out if your not vibing with your co workers. Always say it's about money, you never know who you'll see again.
- dotancohen 2y ago
  Write a test case and file a bug.
seadan83 2y ago
That is a difficult escalation. When talking to your boss, it's almost always better to be discussing the solution to business problems, specifically those that are financially incentivized goals of your boss. Talking about other problems, and suddenly you're 'that' guy. The boss might stop listening even and decide you are the problem, and not the fugly baby.

999900000999 2y ago

I didn't have that experience, I was basically told that I should shut up and get used to working with code that doesn't functionally do anything . Then when I complain later my manager was like, even though the code doesn't do anything it makes our metrics look better. Imagine seeing function1(){ ApiCall("1") } function2(){ ApiCall("2) } Over and over again.

icedchai 2y ago
I'd tell them I am not shutting up and this is a major problem affecting the quality of the product. I would then speak to the boss's boss about it and start complaining about the boss doing a poor job, encouraging fake, meaningless metrics to game the system. Maybe they'll get get fed up and tell you to GTFO. Probably not though. The thing about broken organizations is that they take forever to fire anyone, so use that to your advantage while you look for other jobs.
- sgarland 2y ago
  > The thing about broken organizations is that they take forever to fire anyone, so use that to your advantage while you look for other jobs. My last place was horrendously broken in many aspects, and fired people at the drop of a hat.
- 999900000999 2y ago
  That seems like a whole lot of work, compared to just finding another job and walking out . I'm not trying to change the world, I'm trying to make money so I can save and retire preferably before I turn 50. If I've learned anything about life is that you need to pick what battles you want to fight. If option A is argue with numerous people and openly expose multiple layers of incompetence, to the point where my manager and my coworkers are going to hate me . Compared to, option B , keeping my head down until I can jump ship and then hoping the next place isn't as bad. I'm picking B. You gain nothing by going above and beyond your pay grade.
  - icedchai 2y ago
    I mean, if you don't care about the company, product, or project, then yes, you are right. Lay low and move on. Some fights definitely aren't worth it. If you do care about more than your paycheck, maybe it is. And do you really care if some incompetent hates you? I hate working with incompetent people, so some mutual feelings are perfectly fine. It may even improve the situation, at least temporarily: They'll reduce their interactions with you to avoid conflict, since most people are rather conflict avoidant.
    - recursive 2y ago
      Bad impressions can be contagious. Some "incompetents" have political capital.
      - mlhpdx 2y ago
        IMHO labeling people “incompetent” is a bright orange flag. Sometimes it is true, but far more often it’s a genuine lack of respect.
        999900000999 2y ago
        >function1(){ ApiCall("1") } >function2(){ ApiCall("2) } Quoting from earlier in the thread, see this and tell me the person writing it is competent. The polite way to put it is "there might be a skill mismatch". Plenty of people get slowly drifted into programming roles they aren't qualified for. At the end of the day, I'm not some super hero looking to drastically improve every company I work for. It's fine to walk out if your not vibing with your co workers. Always say it's about money, you never know who you'll see again.
dotancohen 2y ago
Write a test case and file a bug.

seadan83 2y ago

That is a difficult escalation. When talking to your boss, it's almost always better to be discussing the solution to business problems, specifically those that are financially incentivized goals of your boss. Talking about other problems, and suddenly you're 'that' guy. The boss might stop listening even and decide you are the problem, and not the fugly baby.