Slashdot Mirror
Do You Like Your Job?
G-shock asks: "I've worked for the government (NASA), large public companies, and small startups as a software engineer. They all have something in common. It seems like management at this company is just winging it. I find myself putting all my energy, both mental and emotional, into a project only to be disappointed by decisions made by management. I really feel like management at my current employer is disconnected from what is actually going on. They manage a project, but not the people. They also seem to lack any real vision. Direction is constantly changing and proper time is not given to engineer these changes correctly. This leads to mandated quick and dirty solutions that end up being maintained with great pain for long periods of time. All this leads to me feeling cynical about the work I'm doing. What I want to know is, how can I feel good about the work I'm doing if I don't have confidence in my management? How many of you are happy with your management? Why? Why not? What can I do about this? Thanks in advance for your insight." Considering that this seems to be a common problem in technology companies, and seeing as we have been producing software for basically half a century, do you think that managing software projects is a different beast than the management of anything else? How many of you have had this problem in your career and what did you do to adjust?
The gods created managers to keep our species from competing with them.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
... at this point, I wish I had a job.
Less Talk, More Beer.
You ask me if I like my job? I absolutely love it! Being a garbageman is the best profession in the world! You wouldn't believe all the wonderful things have discarded, and I get them all, _for free_!! Plus, I get to see cute little racoons and bacteria and greet them every day at work. It is really fun when I find a discarded banana, then I get an extra special snack.
Plus, being a garbageman gives me lots of time to think about the universe and discuss it with clients like Dilbert!
God I hate them^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hbless them.
Looks can be deceiving. Or CAN they?
I'm going to come along and ask you shift yourself into positive mode, mmmkay?
If you could plow through those TPS reports, that'd be great... Yeah, okay, and I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday, mmmkay, greaaaaat...
Every unemployed tech worker can sympathize with this guy
There are two problem with having a boss who does/ used to do what you are doing now:
1: They are under the impression that if they think something is easy, then it is easy. This is even worse when they are brilliant, and you are merely adequate, and
2: They know what you should be doing. It is a lot harder to fool your boss with 'Just stress-testing the network' (with Quake Deathmatch), when he used to do it too!
But then, sometimes he joins in!
"This is a Hollywood movie: when it comes to the Laws of Physics, they're lucky if they get Gravity!" --- my wife
I got me some crack, I want me some hoes!!!
I would have taken the three weeks pay and then got fired!
Its time for a new poll anyways...
Do you like your job?
-Yes!
-No!
-What job?
--SONET
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. --Benjamin Franklin
Anyone else find it funny that these are the people that end up managing the CS and CPE graduates when they get a job after college? Maybe this is the reason why management sucks so much.
Any sufficiently advanced influence is indistinguishable from control.
Oh please, we all know its because you don't want it /.ed
--
"Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos." - Homer Simpson [1F10]
this is slashdot. you're a network admin. the real reason is you don't want your pager to go off, telling you in shrill tones that every router you own has just gone Tits Up due to inbound traffic... ;-) You can be honest here, you're among friends.
(And yeah, I agree with you, working in a casual atmosphere rules. It's worth the pay cut if you have to take it, to show up wearing what you want and know that you have a good chance of making it through the day without getting screamed at.)
News for Geeks in Austin, TX
I'm trying not to talk to my plant right now. Unfortunately, I've moved it where I bump into it frequently and have to resist apologising.
FUNNY STORY: I was working for a major Un*x vendor implementing 64 bit support in the dev tools.
On a dare, one of our engineers messed with the manager:
Engineer: "We tried hard, but could only get 63 bits to work."
Manager: "That's ok. We can get that last bit in a patch."
"No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
Is this "Linux" anything like NT 3.5? Cause I'm a freaking wizard at NT 3.5. My brother in laws a dentist, and I setup a nice little 3-computer network in there so his receptionist could email him directly with patient info and such. NT 3.5 Server on a 1Ghz machine to handle all the "back end" stuff (technical term).
If you're still looking please let me know. I can do some research and find out if Exchange/Outlook is available for Linux.
It hurts when I pee.
I work for AOL.... need say no more... ggghhhhh
Cruise TT
the problem with my job is I got involved with my boss romaticly. That is a big problem since when we fight it affects my job so now I have a great job but a shitty relationship
http://Lenny.com
Ive worked for myself and still hated my boss. I just can't win
http://Lenny.com
Just Over Broke.
I think that many people feel that a technical manager is better, but I disagree. I don't totally disagree, but I do to some degree.
A technical manager is good iff they know the limit to their knowledge. They shouldn't make decisions outside of their knowledge.
A manager is good iff they support their employees to do their job (aka run interference).
There are many qualities that make for a bad manager so we should best leave those alone.
int main() {
while (Manager_EMPLOYED) {
for (int i=0; iDIRECT_REPORTS; i++) {
if (employee[i] != HAPPY) {
root = findRootProblem();
correctProblem(root);
}
for (int i=0; iDIRECT_REPORTS; i++) {
if (employee[i] == jobComplete) {
giveRaise(employee[i]);
}
else {
if (employee[i] == blocked) {
runInterference(employee[i]);
}
else if (employee[i] == resourceStrapped) {
realignProjectPlan();
}
}
}
doProjectPlan();
doBudget();
hire();
fire();
}
}
Probably needs some work but it is at least better than most I've worked with.
rev