8 ms·

Sorry dude, I disagree. As an employee, an employer, and an investor, I see your action as a giant red flag.

by fixxer 13y ago

amenod 13y ago
The only red flag is that he has waited around when he lost creativity, and even that is not red - at least he had the courage to quit. It is a job of the employee to be creative (talking about design, of course). But it is the job of employer and investors to make an environment that challenges the employer. If they are unable to do that then any really creative employer will (or at least should) leave. @OP: good luck!!! I wish you well on your path, wherever it takes you.
- 6d0debc071 13y ago
  > It is a job of the employee to be creative (talking about design, of course). But it is the job of employer and investors to make an environment that challenges the employer. If they are unable to do that then any really creative employer will (or at least should) leave. Well, that sort of goes back to a common theme in software companies: Are the people being hired as creatives or are they being hired to implement someone else's vision? My experience is that in most roles you're likely to be being hired for the latter - and having intelligence outside of the ability to do your assigned task efficiently is strongly discouraged in them.
- fixxer 13y ago
  He lost creativity? He's, what, 23-24? Shit! Too early for a sabbatical... I didn't lose my creativity till 28.
seiji 13y ago
What action is a giant red flag?
cantankerous 13y ago
You see quitting a job as a red flag? I'm sure that's not actually what you meant. What do you mean?
guynamedloren 13y ago
Not sure if you're being serious or not.. Especially since you profile reads: I'm on sabbatical.
- fixxer 13y ago
  I'm actually fairly serious. I've been bored before, so I hear you. But, I guess I'm kind of surprised that you chose to jump into nothing rather than parlay your way to something else. Seems a little impulsive. Impulsive is a red flag, despite what many on HN think (you can be impulsive, but you better be brilliant too). Now you've got to explain a gap in your res to a potential employer (should you choose to go that route). The employer is going to hear "I got bored" and think "maybe he'll get bored here, too." As for my sabbatical, it is true. I'm on one after spending my 20s earning enough to justify it. I'm not saying it was time well spent, but I got a lot out of it (dealing with corporate BS and powering through boredom to produce value teaches you a lot). It is also an easy narrative to tell. Best of luck. I know you're a clever fella (maybe brilliant, too --- time will tell) and I'm sure you'll figure it out. But, this might end up being a very different lesson than you originally anticipated.
  - bguthrie 13y ago
    An experienced developer does not lack for job offers. You can spend your entire life taking people up on those offers and never get around to doing your own thing. For most people on Earth, historically, that's not a bad place to be: it beats the hell out of starving. But if you have the luxury to do it, I think it's less impulsive than you imagine.
    - fixxer 13y ago
      Ageed. Is the OP an experienced developer? (How many years does he have in a production setting? Would it be worth getting those critical 5 years of experience, despite bouts of boredom?)
    - 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
      > An experienced developer does not lack for job offers. I won't suggest that I know whether or not the original poster made a good decision, but assuming that an experienced developer will have job opportunities on tap is naively short-sighted. The current market in the Bay Area won't last forever. A lot of people today either weren't around in the late 90s or have chosen to forget what happened. In a matter of months, lots of developers went from having a seemingly unlimited number of high-paying jobs to choose from to collecting unemployment. Even if the next down cycle isn't the same as Bust 1.0, a lot of the angel and VC-backed startups in the Bay Area currently eager to pay six figures for even mediocre talent aren't going to survive, and when they're replaced by fewer and fewer startups, many developers will be ill-prepared.
bguthrie 13y ago
One of the great things about leaving a job you dislike to bootstrap a company making something you do like is not having too care too much about what other people think of your employment history.
- GFischer 13y ago
  However, you do need to plan for the eventuality of failure. If you're in your 20s (early 20s?) maybe not so much, but for me (early 30s) it's not so easy. I really want to work on my own company (and I have just started a new side project which I hope to bootstrap, the last 2 washed out early), but I have to pay the bills in the meantime.
jlees 13y ago
It could be viewed as a red flag, but should you be interviewing this person, you'd likely not hear the story framed this way at all. The folks he leaves behind, should you pursue a reference, would probably also have a different version.

Sorry dude, I disagree. As an employee, an employer, and an investor, I see your action as a giant red flag.

by fixxer 13y ago

Sorry dude, I disagree. As an employee, an employer, and an investor, I see your action as a giant red flag.

The only red flag is that he has waited around when he lost creativity, and even that is not red - at least he had the courage to quit. It is a job of the employee to be creative (talking about design, of course). But it is the job of employer and investors to make an environment that challenges the employer. If they are unable to do that then any really creative employer will (or at least should) leave. @OP: good luck!!! I wish you well on your path, wherever it takes you.

6d0debc071 13y ago
> It is a job of the employee to be creative (talking about design, of course). But it is the job of employer and investors to make an environment that challenges the employer. If they are unable to do that then any really creative employer will (or at least should) leave. Well, that sort of goes back to a common theme in software companies: Are the people being hired as creatives or are they being hired to implement someone else's vision? My experience is that in most roles you're likely to be being hired for the latter - and having intelligence outside of the ability to do your assigned task efficiently is strongly discouraged in them.
fixxer 13y ago
He lost creativity? He's, what, 23-24? Shit! Too early for a sabbatical... I didn't lose my creativity till 28.

seiji 13y ago

What action is a giant red flag?

cantankerous 13y ago

You see quitting a job as a red flag? I'm sure that's not actually what you meant. What do you mean?

guynamedloren 13y ago

Not sure if you're being serious or not.. Especially since you profile reads: I'm on sabbatical.

fixxer 13y ago
I'm actually fairly serious. I've been bored before, so I hear you. But, I guess I'm kind of surprised that you chose to jump into nothing rather than parlay your way to something else. Seems a little impulsive. Impulsive is a red flag, despite what many on HN think (you can be impulsive, but you better be brilliant too). Now you've got to explain a gap in your res to a potential employer (should you choose to go that route). The employer is going to hear "I got bored" and think "maybe he'll get bored here, too." As for my sabbatical, it is true. I'm on one after spending my 20s earning enough to justify it. I'm not saying it was time well spent, but I got a lot out of it (dealing with corporate BS and powering through boredom to produce value teaches you a lot). It is also an easy narrative to tell. Best of luck. I know you're a clever fella (maybe brilliant, too --- time will tell) and I'm sure you'll figure it out. But, this might end up being a very different lesson than you originally anticipated.
- bguthrie 13y ago
  An experienced developer does not lack for job offers. You can spend your entire life taking people up on those offers and never get around to doing your own thing. For most people on Earth, historically, that's not a bad place to be: it beats the hell out of starving. But if you have the luxury to do it, I think it's less impulsive than you imagine.
  - fixxer 13y ago
    Ageed. Is the OP an experienced developer? (How many years does he have in a production setting? Would it be worth getting those critical 5 years of experience, despite bouts of boredom?)
  - 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
    > An experienced developer does not lack for job offers. I won't suggest that I know whether or not the original poster made a good decision, but assuming that an experienced developer will have job opportunities on tap is naively short-sighted. The current market in the Bay Area won't last forever. A lot of people today either weren't around in the late 90s or have chosen to forget what happened. In a matter of months, lots of developers went from having a seemingly unlimited number of high-paying jobs to choose from to collecting unemployment. Even if the next down cycle isn't the same as Bust 1.0, a lot of the angel and VC-backed startups in the Bay Area currently eager to pay six figures for even mediocre talent aren't going to survive, and when they're replaced by fewer and fewer startups, many developers will be ill-prepared.

bguthrie 13y ago

One of the great things about leaving a job you dislike to bootstrap a company making something you do like is not having too care too much about what other people think of your employment history.

GFischer 13y ago
However, you do need to plan for the eventuality of failure. If you're in your 20s (early 20s?) maybe not so much, but for me (early 30s) it's not so easy. I really want to work on my own company (and I have just started a new side project which I hope to bootstrap, the last 2 washed out early), but I have to pay the bills in the meantime.

jlees 13y ago

It could be viewed as a red flag, but should you be interviewing this person, you'd likely not hear the story framed this way at all. The folks he leaves behind, should you pursue a reference, would probably also have a different version.