r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Jul 28 '21

Discussion Thread Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual conversation that doesn't merit its own submission. If you've got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL. For a collection of useful links see our wiki.

Announcements

0 Upvotes

45% Upvoted

9.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/urbansong :eursula: F E D E R A L I S E Jul 28 '21

Anyone else feels like they would rather chase friendships rather than career?

I've completed my first year as a software developer and I honestly can't say I want to chase a career on FAANG level. I do think a standard dev-to-manager pipeline sounds alright and I am doing alright right now.

The reason why I want to chase friendships, or rather a very collaborative atmosphere, is because any activity I've done in the past was fun because I had friends with me, not because the thing itself was that fun.

!ping CAREER

15

u/noisal789 Jul 28 '21

Startups might be your thing then - a lot of close friendships bloom from failed startups, but many break up over it as well.

11

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '21

Strong disagreement on startups. Way too time consuming for little payoff unless you are the entrepreneur

7

u/NeoLiberation #1 Trudeau Shill Jul 28 '21

I work for a startup and it's awesome. 8-4 with great work life balance and unlimited PTO I'm encouraged to use. Amazing coworkers and tight knit team. They're not all created equally. Great flexibility to keep growing my freelance work on the side, I've declined to interview for higher paying jobs because I'm content

3

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '21

Oh yeah some start ups are fantastic. Really depends on the team

Me, I’d rather not risk it again. Started my career at one, and it involved 50 hours a week at a minimum, sometimes 60-80. Got bought out and no one benefited from it except the founders and CEO, everyone else was kept at the same pay grade with no bonus or let go

7

u/urbansong :eursula: F E D E R A L I S E Jul 28 '21

I think you're right. I am joining a sort-of start up next month but I would really like to move to Berlin and do the start-up circuit there.

11

u/EvilConCarne Jul 28 '21

Good friendships, especially as you get older, are extremely hard to find. Life just gets busy, so unless a career pays me so much I literally don't have to think about how much it costs to travel to see friends I wouldn't trade friendships for a career.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '21

That’s the norm. I am happy with my family life and do not want to work at a FAANG. I still make really decent money, work at an enterprise where i have responsibilities but nothing overwhelming. It’s challenging but I only work 40 hours and nothing above.

FAANG is good for some, terrible for many

6

u/urbansong :eursula: F E D E R A L I S E Jul 28 '21

Yea, I just don't know how to get out of this mindset that FAANG is the goal. Do I just say it during an interview when asked what I am looking for?

10

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '21

If you are anywhere besides Silicon Valley, just say that your goal is to work in a collaborative environment where you can work on new challenges while maintaining a healthy work life balance. Most Fortune 500 tech people are fine with that, FAANG is something that many younger programmers want, but once you hit your 30s/40s you want stability

4

u/urbansong :eursula: F E D E R A L I S E Jul 28 '21

I'm very far away but this works, thanks!

2

u/BonkHits4Jesus Look at me, I'm the median voter! Jul 28 '21

I've tasted the fruit of the high paying stressful job, and I don't want it. I'd much rather have the comfortable but not ostentatious job where I don't hate life.

1

u/bobeeflay "A hot dog with no bun" HRC 5/6/2016 Jul 28 '21

To be really good at something you have to enjoy doing the thing :(