When to Leave That First Tech Job

An anonymous reader writes "Chris Wilson has an interesting piece about a scenario all CompSci/Engineering students dread, getting a job out of college and having it quickly turn sour. He writes: 'The first layoff is tough. After bending over backward, after being a loyal employee, this is the reward? To summarize how I felt: Disillusioned.' He discusses warning signs you should look for in your own work environment that point toward "Getting out". An interesting read, especially for aspiring engineers or engineers out on their first job."

Comments

Stop voting republican?

[grumpygrodyguy]

There's your first tip. After all, there's not much point in strategizing about 'when to leave' when the IT job market is non-existent.

Oh, for Pete's sake...

[The Dodger]

...our kung fu grip on .NET...

Uhm...

The first layoff is tough. After bending over backward, after being a loyal employee, this is the reward? To summarize how I felt: Disillusioned.

Oh, get the fuck over it. Grow up, welcome to the real world.

Don't work in cubicles, ever. Working in cubicles is the sure sign that you're not working for a successful company.

Bullshit. I work for a top company - tens of thousands of employees, an instantly recognisable name, multi-billion turnover, a top-choice destination for graduates, recognised in lists of the best places to work, constantly in the top three of our industry. A lot of our people work in cubicles, including some of the smartest and best developers and technology people on the planet.

Just How Dumb is Management, Anyway?

Just how dumb are you? You have, that, 15 months experience out of college, and you have the idiocy to write an article like this? Do you actually realise the potential impact of this? Part of my job is interviewing and selecting candidates for our graduate programme, as well as lateral hires. If I ever hear your name as a potential hire, I'll veto it.

Oftentimes, a non-technical manager, or an "old hand" who's edge is no longer sharp will be impressed enough to listen to your technical advice. If they were smart, they'd actually take it. [...] If you find yourself in a situation where management is disregarding the sound technical advice they should be basing decisions on, you need to expedite your job search.

Bullshit. It's just as likely that they're more experienced than you and have the smarts to think about the wider picture, not just the narrow technical scope that you think you're expert in. Try asking them why they've made the decision and learning something from them instead of throwing a juvenile hissy fit.

If you tell management that it will take 8 days, and they turn around and tell you they think it will take six, you need to leave.

This guy's a loser.

Guess what? A company does not, repeat, not revolve around an inexperienced, prima donna, overinflated programmer. You are there to contribute to the company, not the other way around. If the circumstances demand that you do an 8-day job in 6 days, then pull out your fucking finger, put in some overtime and fucking get it done. Otherwise get the fuck out of that seat and out the door to make way for someone who can do the job.

If you're not happy with the amount of money that you're making, do a reality check.

Hahahaha... Really? Ya think? As part of that reality check, why don't you have a long, hard think about exactly how good you actually are?

If you're so smart, why did you leave it until May of the year you were supposed to graduate to start looking for a job? If you're such a fucking .NET ninja, then why aren't you working at a decent company, rather than some crappy local software company?

Upstairs here at my firm, we have some of the smartest Comp Sci grads in the world. Why aren't you among them?

Yeah, here, take your reality check, go cash it and here's the extra 90 cents you'll need to afford a Big Mac.

Oh, and while you're there, pick up a application form for a burger-flipping job.

D.
..is for Don't reply. It would be a waste of good oxygen.

Zero sympathy here m8

[threaded]

Interesting read but sorry alarm bells started ringing for me when I scanned this:
".NET Ninjas" "top-notch software" "nuclear power industry". I would have avoided the job like the plague at that. If you'd studied harder at college you would know why, and no, that wasn't actually an anti M$ comment, but it was your first reaction? Hmm, them bells are ringing louder..

I don't think software is the career for you. Maybe you should go back to college and study law or accountancy.

If you take the advice, you'll thank me for it one day.

literally?

[phriedom]

"...a case of literally not seeing the forest for the trees."

"Literally" is not a word to add emphasis, it has a specific meaning that is opposite of how you are using it. It conveys that you are not using a figure of speech and you intend the words to be taken at their most basic meaning. But you are using a figure of speech. It is actually a case of figureatively not seeing the forest for the trees.

Re:Oh My...

[Pray_4_Mojo]

A) This was your fisrt job. If you truly feel you can judge everything about the working world from your first job, you're shallow, incompetent and pathetic.
And if you're confident enough in judging my experience by only a 3,000 word article, it would stand to reason that you are either a) infinite in your wisdom, or b) Equally (if not more so) shallow, incompetent, and pathetic.
B) If you think succesful companies don't have cubicles, you're in for a very rude awakening when you get jobs #2 and #3, etc.
The defense contractor I work for is one the major ones. And I have an office. The sound you're hearing is me NOT having a rude awakening.
C) You were working for a startup. You should have demanded a very lucrative stock package. Most startups (and I really need to stress most--ask the SBA) fail! That's a risk you take and the stock package is the payoff if the comapny succeeds.
Nuclear Utility contractors aren't exactly start ups. You have to be established in one field or another and working inside the plant to get a chance to play with software. So rather, the company in question would give the appearance of a steady paycheck, with the potential for rapid expansion. (Assuming a certain software package isn't so customized for one plant or fleet that it can be sold to another fleet of power plants w/o customization.)
D) .NET is highly untested and nuclear power plants are the zenith of mission critical. If any nuclear power plants adopt .NET to run their plant, I'm moving to the moon.

And if we can screw the lightbulb that keeps you open for business in a little tigher, you might realize that one of the most regulated industries in america might have regulations about what software can do what, and perhaps they were followed. That some of the paperwork might need a DATABASE. For all intents and purposes, the software developed was "class c" software -- not mission critical. And mission critical decisions of plant management couldn't be made with data coming from that system.
The advice I was giving (the article) was written because I found myself telling a lot of friends of mine the same advice over and over as they got closer to graduation. Unlike a lot of people graduating from my class, I did land a job in my field. A job. So that gave me credibility as opposed to all the recent grads who had to move back in with their parents.
I'm still getting calls from recruiters. I have skillsets that are in demand. So I'm going to leverage that. You need a developer, but won't give him an office he wants? Too bad. Life goes on for both parties.
Since today is a day where I'm offering free advice: I pity you for easily accepting mediocrity into your life.