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Would You Take A Paycut for More Interesting Work?
HellsAngel asks: "I work in a business consulting firm. While the pay and the benefits are great, the work itself is mundane and boring, consisting of Excel, Access, and VBA macros. Recently, I got a job offer to move to a startup doing OS development and Systems and Network programming, however it would involve a paycut. Would you leave an otherwise perfect job to work on something more interesting?"
"Today, I work as an IT Analyst for a multinational firm doing business consulting. From the looks of it, I've got the perfect job: high pay, extravagant benefits and bonuses, flexi-time, can telecommute whenever possible, and best of all the coworkers are great and have truly become my friends, even the boss.
However, the work I actually do seems to be a waste of my CS education. My current project right now involves hooking up Excel and Access with a little VBA and some macros. The other day I was asked to export a Lotus Notes database into an Excel file and format it. The most programming-intensive project that I've done here was an ASP.NET webapp, for the company intranet.
Am I selling out by continuing to work in my current firm? Should I take the pay-cut to work at a startup where I can make more use of my talents? I'm a recent grad with no loans or credit cards to pay, so I have a low cost of living aside from a girlfriend. Which would you prefer: fun at work, or fun outside of work?"
However, the work I actually do seems to be a waste of my CS education. My current project right now involves hooking up Excel and Access with a little VBA and some macros. The other day I was asked to export a Lotus Notes database into an Excel file and format it. The most programming-intensive project that I've done here was an ASP.NET webapp, for the company intranet.
Am I selling out by continuing to work in my current firm? Should I take the pay-cut to work at a startup where I can make more use of my talents? I'm a recent grad with no loans or credit cards to pay, so I have a low cost of living aside from a girlfriend. Which would you prefer: fun at work, or fun outside of work?"
I bet he's flying cargo planes out of Hong Kong filled with you-know-what.
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
Dude, your job is sweet! Do you really think a high-stress job with less pay and co-workers you hate is going to make you happy? Get a hobby, coach pee-wee football, volunteer with some open-source project but for dear God don't quit your job! No job is perfect but yours is damn close. If you can find fulfillment outside of your work then consider yourself one lucky son of a bitch.
You completely missed the point and managed to come off as an asshole by doing so. I completely agree with the GP (although I disagree with the use of the buzzphrase "Skill Set"). Managers are there to get things done and mere coders, no matter how brilliant they are don't get things done without a fire being lit under their asses. Don't like it? Become a manager and you'll understand where he's coming from. Otherwise enjoy your $15.00 an hour. ASS.
You will never enjoy your work. Work will always suck. Your boss will always be bad. Your co-workers will always be idiots. It's you, not the work. Take the money, save it up, and try for early retirement.
Really. How many times do we hear, "My boss is an idiot" and then the guy goes onto say, "They offered me a job in management, but I'm no manager so I turned them down"? If you think all your co-workers are jerks, no matter wear you work, then perhaps you are a jerk. Anyway, work is not going to be fun for long because you get good at it. Once you get good at it, it's boring. Why do you think professional athletes get so amazingly blase? They play for a living, and yet, it still gets boring for them because they have to do it every day
A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/