5 ms·

There are different kinds of people though (uh oh, one of those analogies). There are people who are content to work on unambitious stuff. People who, say, are

by seiji 13y ago

There are different kinds of people though (uh oh, one of those analogies). There are people who are content to work on unambitious stuff. People who, say, are happy to do python stuff at reddit working on translation and obsessing over starcraft, all while transitioning their personal appearance towards more of an unkempt, yet smiling, middle-eastern shop owner vibe. Then, there are people who have a larger, possibly delusional, view of themselves. They don't see the point in non-self-directed work. These people tend to see the world as "I could be making something to help millions of people — why am I sitting here fighting mysql crapping itself the same way for the 40th time this year? Is the computer working for me or am I working for it?" Why does the second group of people put up with not being in the prestigious X teams? That's between them and their lack of backbone to assert themselves (or lack of social connections to become part of the 'in crowd'), but I'd wager there are more silent resentful types than happy lower-rank people.

nostrademons 13y ago
The second group of people, once they try to actually build something to help millions of people on their own without anybody to blame, often find that fighting MySQL crapping itself is an integral part of building anything that helps millions of people.
- michaelochurch 13y ago
  Postgres.
  - nostrademons 13y ago
    ....is handy, I used it myself for my startup and liked it a lot better than MySQL. Regardless, you're going to face annoying schleps whatever you work on.
    - michaelochurch 13y ago
      That is true. Even the most exciting work has mundane and difficult elements. There's no avoiding that. What's infuriating is when it's all the mundane stuff, because management took the exciting parts and made them political favors.
      - jsolson 13y ago
        > What's infuriating is when it's all the mundane stuff, because management took the exciting parts and made them political favors. Yeah, that would be awful. Thankfully Google isn't that sort of place.
raldi 13y ago
And then there's the 99% between those two extremes, who have ambitious long-term goals but feel the best way to reach them is through patient perseverance, as opposed to getting frustrated right away and quitting in disgust at the first sign of a setback. > Why does the second group of people put up with not being in the prestigious X teams? In my case, it's because there are plenty of impactful, prestigious, and fulfilling positions elsewhere in the company, and many of them are a better match for my skill set. BTW, I decided to pick someone at random who had helped millions of people, and see what their career was like. The first name to come to mind was Jonas Salk. Here's an excerpt from his Wikipedia page: By 1947, Salk decided to find an institution where he could direct his own laboratory. After three institutions turned him down, he received from William McEllroy, the dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, an offer which included a promise that he would run his own lab. He accepted, and in the fall of that year, left Michigan and relocated to Pennsylvania. But the promise was not quite what he expected. After Salk arrived at Pittsburgh, "he discovered that he had been relegated to cramped, unequipped quarters in the basement of the old Municipal Hospital," writes Bookchin. As time went on, however, Salk began securing grants from the Mellon family and was able to build a working virology laboratory, where he continued his research on flu vaccines. And it was a result of that long period of hard work that he got the invitation to work on a polio vaccine. It's a good thing he didn't quit in a huff when the going got tough.

by seiji 13y ago

nostrademons 13y ago

The second group of people, once they try to actually build something to help millions of people on their own without anybody to blame, often find that fighting MySQL crapping itself is an integral part of building anything that helps millions of people.

michaelochurch 13y ago
Postgres.
- nostrademons 13y ago
  ....is handy, I used it myself for my startup and liked it a lot better than MySQL. Regardless, you're going to face annoying schleps whatever you work on.
  - michaelochurch 13y ago
    That is true. Even the most exciting work has mundane and difficult elements. There's no avoiding that. What's infuriating is when it's all the mundane stuff, because management took the exciting parts and made them political favors.
    - jsolson 13y ago
      > What's infuriating is when it's all the mundane stuff, because management took the exciting parts and made them political favors. Yeah, that would be awful. Thankfully Google isn't that sort of place.

raldi 13y ago

And then there's the 99% between those two extremes, who have ambitious long-term goals but feel the best way to reach them is through patient perseverance, as opposed to getting frustrated right away and quitting in disgust at the first sign of a setback. > Why does the second group of people put up with not being in the prestigious X teams? In my case, it's because there are plenty of impactful, prestigious, and fulfilling positions elsewhere in the company, and many of them are a better match for my skill set. BTW, I decided to pick someone at random who had helped millions of people, and see what their career was like. The first name to come to mind was Jonas Salk. Here's an excerpt from his Wikipedia page: By 1947, Salk decided to find an institution where he could direct his own laboratory. After three institutions turned him down, he received from William McEllroy, the dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, an offer which included a promise that he would run his own lab. He accepted, and in the fall of that year, left Michigan and relocated to Pennsylvania. But the promise was not quite what he expected. After Salk arrived at Pittsburgh, "he discovered that he had been relegated to cramped, unequipped quarters in the basement of the old Municipal Hospital," writes Bookchin. As time went on, however, Salk began securing grants from the Mellon family and was able to build a working virology laboratory, where he continued his research on flu vaccines. And it was a result of that long period of hard work that he got the invitation to work on a polio vaccine. It's a good thing he didn't quit in a huff when the going got tough.