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A lot of people in tech struggle with the frustration of being fired, or potentially being fired. This post helps to relieve some of the stigma associated with

A lot of people in tech struggle with the frustration of being fired, or potentially being fired. This post helps to relieve some of the stigma associated with that, and coming from someone who very clearly worked hard at a notable company for a number of years, is also a reminder that people change, and companies change. Did you read the post? Is there anything about it that you found detestable?

JDiculous 12y ago
I did read the post and didn't find anything detestable at all. It just didn't have much substance given that it's the top post on the front page of HN. He basically just said he got fired, and that being fired has too harsh of a stigma attached to it. Ok, I agree, but is that it? He didn't even touch on why he was fired. If he was anonymous software engineer at <insert unknown company>, I doubt this would've gotten any attention. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but when I read this post, the first thing that popped to my head was "senior employee fired from high-profile tech company uses subliminal social media marketing to reach front page of HN and land next job." But hey, props to him, it seems to be working.
- codezero 12y ago
  Hm. I think you are probably right that an anon random programmer wouldn't have hit the top of the front page, that's a good point, but I also think that when a well known engineer is lamenting about being fired it sends a different message than a random person. That is, being well known and successful doesn't make you immune to reality :) I do agree, though, that he could have elaborated. Not about why he got fired, I think that's too nuanced and is not likely to really help anyone beyond satisfying base desires. What would have been helpful is the hindsight: what can YOU do today to avoid falling into this situation yourself? I'm willing to bet that it's too recent for him to have these insights. From my own experience, I've learned that you should prioritize who your manager is over who your company is. Managers have a great power over your advancement and success at a company, both socially and productively. They can empower you to succeed, or they can take credit for your work, while simultaneously making you look like a burden. Finding a great manager is really hard, and I think that's at the root of why many people end up getting fired, or even end up dissatisfied in their work. Looking back on my career, I've had many different kinds of managers, but one of my earliest ones stood out. I was 16, running a dial-up ISP and it got completely and totally hacked by an acquaintance. They didn't actually mean to cause data loss, but they did and I had to answer for it. My manager at the time stood between myself and the owner of the company who was furious, and took the blame, then stayed with me through the night manually re-entering customer data and getting things back on line. I've had good managers since then, but that's the exact kind of situation that people end up running into in their jobs which can change the course of their employment. You can do a lot of things to make sure you remain productive and to appear to be valuable to a company, but if your manager doesn't want you working there, they can do a lot to diminish all your contributions. Anyway, thanks for replying, it definitely helped me understand your point of view :)
- brianpgordon 12y ago
  The fact that this is the top post is, in itself, sufficient justification for it being the top post. Apparently people care about Zach, or find it intriguing that GitHub fired its greatest ambassador.

JDiculous 12y ago

I did read the post and didn't find anything detestable at all. It just didn't have much substance given that it's the top post on the front page of HN. He basically just said he got fired, and that being fired has too harsh of a stigma attached to it. Ok, I agree, but is that it? He didn't even touch on why he was fired. If he was anonymous software engineer at <insert unknown company>, I doubt this would've gotten any attention. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but when I read this post, the first thing that popped to my head was "senior employee fired from high-profile tech company uses subliminal social media marketing to reach front page of HN and land next job." But hey, props to him, it seems to be working.

codezero 12y ago
Hm. I think you are probably right that an anon random programmer wouldn't have hit the top of the front page, that's a good point, but I also think that when a well known engineer is lamenting about being fired it sends a different message than a random person. That is, being well known and successful doesn't make you immune to reality :) I do agree, though, that he could have elaborated. Not about why he got fired, I think that's too nuanced and is not likely to really help anyone beyond satisfying base desires. What would have been helpful is the hindsight: what can YOU do today to avoid falling into this situation yourself? I'm willing to bet that it's too recent for him to have these insights. From my own experience, I've learned that you should prioritize who your manager is over who your company is. Managers have a great power over your advancement and success at a company, both socially and productively. They can empower you to succeed, or they can take credit for your work, while simultaneously making you look like a burden. Finding a great manager is really hard, and I think that's at the root of why many people end up getting fired, or even end up dissatisfied in their work. Looking back on my career, I've had many different kinds of managers, but one of my earliest ones stood out. I was 16, running a dial-up ISP and it got completely and totally hacked by an acquaintance. They didn't actually mean to cause data loss, but they did and I had to answer for it. My manager at the time stood between myself and the owner of the company who was furious, and took the blame, then stayed with me through the night manually re-entering customer data and getting things back on line. I've had good managers since then, but that's the exact kind of situation that people end up running into in their jobs which can change the course of their employment. You can do a lot of things to make sure you remain productive and to appear to be valuable to a company, but if your manager doesn't want you working there, they can do a lot to diminish all your contributions. Anyway, thanks for replying, it definitely helped me understand your point of view :)
brianpgordon 12y ago
The fact that this is the top post is, in itself, sufficient justification for it being the top post. Apparently people care about Zach, or find it intriguing that GitHub fired its greatest ambassador.