The Worst Development Job You've Ever Had?

manavendra asks: "I'm currently working for a solution provider for telcos, and as part of product migration the entire API has to be 'internationalized'. Owing to a legacy architecture, most (if not all) application logic is still embedded in PL/SQL stored packages. My job: find hard coded strings, and replace with calls to the globalization API. Yes there is a script written to handle most tasks, but its quite primitive (not to mention fears of automating 'too much'). Boredom is at all time high. Have tried all means of whittling away the time, and hence this question to other Slashdot users: What's the worst ever job you had to do in the name of 'software development' (or as a software developer)?"

Comments

I know.

[Rhesus Piece]

I know this is cheating, but I must say: the worst development job I've ever had is unemployment. Lots of work, but no pay. Any job is better than no job, so long as you're getting paid.

Re:I know.

[lukewarmfusion]

"Any job is better than no job"

I'm sure some people will challenge that. The worst thing I did was roofing a house and that was only for a weekend. Five layers of shingle to remove, 105 degrees Fahrenheit to work through.

But I still agree with you. McDonald's has jobs, and if you're qualified to work as a developer, you're qualified to flip burgers. Managers for a McDonald's can get paid as much or more than some developer jobs too.

Bottom line? Forced unemployment is not satisfying and the pay is awful.

Re:I know.

[PCM2]

Any job is better than no job, so long as you're getting paid.

Spoken like somebody who's bitter and unemployed.

I've had jobs that made me completely miserable. In fact, the job that paid me the highest salary I ever made was like that.

On the other hand, I spent the last year unemployed and had a pretty great time, all told. I traveled to Italy, Spain, England, a couple of the United States ... I worked the door at a bar for a while, that was fun ... I sat around, I got caught up with friends I had lost touch with, I got involved with personal projects. I kept my ear to the ground about job opportunities, though there didn't seem to be many of them, and eventually I got myself another job.

And right now, unemployment is feeling like the best job I ever had.

Managing unemployment is a skill, of course. Fortunately I didn't blow all my money on 3-D video cards and stereo equipment before I was laid off, and I came up with a decent strategy for managing my finances with no sure income. Moreover, I had enough skills, both technical and communication-wise, that I was able to market myself sufficiently to get some freelance work in the interim between full-time gigs. And when a decent opportunity did show up, I was able to seize upon it and pick up more or less where I left off ... not quite as senior a position, not quite as much money ... but than, that really is the point at which, as you say, a job's a job.

Re:The worst job you can have

[baudilus]

You can have the best job in the world and it still sux because of who you work for.

Like when your boss has chronic halotosis (or "halo" for short.)

mine does.

Keep Your Sanity

[4of12]

Try to come up with more and more clever scripts for finding where changes need to be made rather than doing it by rote brute force.

Not only does it make better use of your brain and avoid boredom, but until you get to the last 1% of changes, it is the more efficient thing to do. Then, at the very end, cave-in and make 10 changes by hand to get the overall beast to work.

There is nothing more mind-numbing than doing repetitious work that a machine could be doing. It's kind of like moving rocks, only worse, because you can't disengage your attention from the task as much as you can when moving rocks.

Re:The worst job you can have

[Short Circuit]

People with OCD (like me) often find pleasure in repetitive jobs. Sometimes I'll even repetitively fiddle with something at hand while I'm thinking about something else.

And just because I'm autistic doesn't make me retarded.

Re:In the name of "software development"

[plugger]

Are they paying you for the completed job, or do you at least make some more cash whenever a snag crops up?

Re:um...

[davew2040]

and you programmers are whining about how rough your lives are because you're getting paid to hit "next" in find&replace?

I have to ask, when you were trying to figure out a way to drive this point home, did you think maybe you couldn't found a better example of a comparatively enjoyable activity? Because that isn't exactly the sort of thing that makes Mom proud.

I think the point most people are making is that their jobs are mind-numbing in exactly the way you describe. Many such programmers might even relish the chance to speak with stupid people, if only to break the monotony. If you're of the crowd that suggests that anyone with a paying job should be happy about it, then I encourage you to grow up.

Re:Here's a good one...

[Anonymous Coward]

One guy apparently didn't know how to use variables, so he'd embed text boxes on the main form, and set their visibility property to false, and use them to store values.

Hang on to this guy. He's got the instincts to be a decent engineer -- he's just missing the knowledge. Send him to some traning classes and mentor him past the noob coding traps.

Re:First was Worst for me

[sharkey]

There is nothing in the world as satisfying as the sight of a former bad boss being led off to serve time in federal Pound Me In The Ass prison.

Yes, there is, and you apparently got to experience it, you lucky bastard. It's seeing a former bad boss being led off to server time in a federal PMITA prison, and knowing that YOU HELPED PUT HIM THERE!

OT: sig reply

[robslimo]

I'm being modbombed for my opinions. Check my posting history.

OK, I checked your posting history. I saw Trolls, Flamebaits, Off Topic and so on. Every one of them well deserved with the possible exception of one which was probably considered a little too pro-Microsoft for this crowd. Even that was delivered in a tone I would consider baiting flames.

So, if you consider your karma valuable enough to complain in your sig about being modbombed, simply state your opinion in a (1) non-inflammatory fashion and (2) on topic. If you follow those two principles, you'll be OK.

A refreshing beverage may help as well.

BTW, this comment is completely off-topic and I fully accept any karmic repercusions.

Re:Hands down.

[los furtive]

That's a really tough way to learn "Never ask before installing software you need."

I can't stress how much what you said is one of the most important pieces of advice to be given in my life.

When I was doing a leadership course in the military someone asked if it was okay to do something a certain way, our platoon commander said no, you can't.

He then explained that in the future, that whenever we came to a decision where we had doubts whether we'd be 'allowed' to accomplish a task a certain way, but knew that if the answer was "no" that it would be a hell of a lot harder to complete the task, then the best solution was to do it anyway, the worst that happens (within reason) is that they say you can't do it again. But if any benefit is gained, then you have just taken the initiative, and benefited from it.

Seriously, it changed the way I applied myself, and has paid off quite well.

Worst job ever?

[TerryAtWork]

Worst job ever?

--Getting a call from an America consultant (no names) for this 6 month Clarion gig in Miami for a big insurance company (no names).

--Having done this for a very professional Cdn firm (contract renewed twice) I figured it had to be better because it was American. I take the deal.

--Drive 2 hours to the border. Try to get TN visa. Turned back for lack of documentation (University transcript)

--Drive home. It is a long weekend in Canada. University closed. Wait.

--Endure rigmarole and pay $ for dox. Takes all day. Drive back to border next day.

--Get third degree from US Customs. Reluctantly issue TN visa. Charge 50 USD.

--Drive to Miami. In Titusburg Florida meet hacker legend the Cheshire Catalyst. See a shuttle launch. Highlight of the trip.

--Arrive on the spot. Its now an AMERICAN long weekend. Wait.

--Tuesday. Go to the office. The instant I walk towards the elevator three security guys jump out of nowhere. A Black guy in a suit with sunglasses and a walky talky and two white guys in uniform. They demand to know why I'm there. They check out my story and disappear, and I never see them again, but I know they're watching. This does not happen in Canada (and this was WAY before 9/11 too.)

--At the office, nothing is ready. Run around looking for cables for my computer. Have to install own copy of Clarion 5. Spend rest of day getting LAN access. NT shop. Sys admin has never heard of Groups so I have to be assigned access to each resource separately. CoWorker smiles right in my face as he welcomes me to the shop.

--Wednesday - was given the code I was to work on on a floppy disk. Really. At this time I realized this is an amateur shop. Ask Smiling Coworker question regarding Clarion initialization which I had not done for a very long time. He smiles, answers, and goes and tells my new boss I am incompetent.

--Friday. Fax in my time sheet and phone consultant that its there, like I did at the Cdn job. He tells me the firm is letting me go. I break into a flop sweat instantly.

--I confront the boss. You see, I was not supposed to find out about this then. He tells me this isn't for learning experiences. This is when I figure it out about Smiling CoWorker. I tell the boss I do not appreciate this treatment. I do not raise my voice or use profanity. I pack and leave the office. I do not erase any of my work. Someone had to be the professional there and it wasn't them.

--Leave the building. I never see security, but I can feel their eyes on my back.

--Go back to digs. Call consultant. He asks me what I said to the boss, as the boss called him the moment I left the office. So, not only is this guy heartless and brainless, he's gutless too.

--Cry myself to sleep. I really did and I was 43 at the time.

--Wait a week for my cheque. Intercept it just as they are about to mail it...

--drive back to Canada. Lose about $1,000 and all my respect for American management. I am home before the shuttle I saw take off lands. I later read a book that says 'At a new job, beware the guy who's really friendly'. Too true.

Re:Here's a good one...

[Ozan]

Uhh sorry but an aspiring engineer is not afraid of RTFM! This guy undoubtedly was. You don't learn enough in classes to never having to read manuals again.