
What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on? - robertwiblin
https://80000hours.org/2019/10/anonymous-advice-careers/
======
ggm
Have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, even if it terminates
your employment status. I'm only unkeen to have my name on this, because I
haven't done it, and I wish several times in the past, I had. I respect the
person who did this early in his career in one ISP immensely: it was stunning
to watch somebody say "you're full of shit" to the new CEO, and walk out. (he
was btw, full of shit)

~~~
stencil25
How is that beneficial to someone's career though?

Sure, it shows one's morals and standards, but how does that boost one's
career?

~~~
whiddershins
Well, among other things it can mean you end up in a situation that more
closely aligns with your morals.

This has a number of predictable benefits.

~~~
alexis_fr
...by force. Although I’m sure Edward Snowden feels good ethically, I’m also
sure he has material issues that make him regret (that’s the goal of his
ennemies, after all).

Similarly, a middle manager who has to downsize houses because he stopped
working on weapons for example, it could be even harder for him because he
won’t even get famous for it.

I should know, I’ve made one of those choices in another area.

------
mdorazio
Article comments and comments in this thread seem to miss the point of the
title entirely. Here's some actual advice I don't want my name on, but seems
pretty effective based on working at a lot of different Big Cos:

\- Always go for prestige over purpose. Have a choice between a shiny project
with very little actual impact to the company and a behind the scenes project
that will actually make lives better for employees and customers? Go for the
shiny project. It will look better on your resume and to executive teams, and
will get you promoted faster.

\- Learn the art of looking busy and practice it often. If you _look_ busy all
the time, people will assume you're productive and also not give you a bunch
of extra work for no extra compensation.

\- Play politics. A lot. Especially throwing other people under the bus. The
key is to align your politics with the right power players in your org. You'll
get promoted faster, get more bonuses, and be able to get away with more
things in general.

\- Get the scoop on what's actually going on at executive levels by making
friends with the office managers/personal assistants. You'll get an early
notification of problems coming up, people to avoid, opportunities to take
advantage of, etc.

\- Loyalty is for chumps. Play the game for yourself. If you get a better
offer somewhere else, take it. If your boss is an asshole or putting a glass
ceiling over you, leave. If you need time off, take it. If your team isn't
being effective, throw them under the bus and move on.

~~~
jansan
I will print this out for my teenage sons and make them learn this.

~~~
pmoriarty
How sad. But not at all surprising that someone would eagerly jump on trying
to advance their career by such unethical means.

------
insickness
\- When trying to decide on a new career direction, go onto career websites
such as Indeed.com and look up what is the highest paying and most desirable.
For example, whenever I go for a certification, I do a search for it on
Indeed. I look at how many hits come up, how much it pays, etc.

\- Dress just a little bit nicer/more formal than everyone else in your
workplace. People who don't know you will assume you are more important than
you are and people who do know you will unconsciously associate you with upper
management and you'll be more likely to get promoted. Management promotes
people they "see" as management material. If you look the part, they're more
likely to see you that way.

\- Take audio recordings of your meetings with your coworkers and boss. Use
the recordings to take notes that you may have missed at the meetings.
Particularly in a new position, going back and listening helps to pick up what
people emphasize.

\- If people can see your computer screen, do all your non-work bullshit on
your phone, where people can't see. Keep only work stuff on your computer
screen and you will look productive.

\- Don't ever tell anyone at work anything personal that could be even
slightly controversial, including political beliefs. People like to talk shit
and if they have something on you, it will get spread around most workplaces.
Gossip is cache for people and they'll use whatever they have to make
themselves more likable.

~~~
knaik94
Questions about the audio recording, have you ever had pushback from others?
Is it a ask for forgiveness not permission situation?

How transparent have you been day to day, for example is it visible during
meetings or in your pocket? And do you keep a specific audio recorder/use only
work phone or have you recorded on personal devices like your non-work phone?

~~~
insickness
I hit record on my personal phone before I go into the meeting, then turn the
screen off and put my phone on the table at the meeting. A lot of people put
their phone on the table at meetings.

~~~
krageon
Do not actually do this, as in many places this is illegal. Check first
whether or not it is 100%, entirely legal with a source that is not someone
who tells people on the internet to record others without consent.

------
nostrademons
It's interesting that nearly all of these pieces of advice are fairly non-
controversial. What's the point of posting stuff anonymously if it's the same
stuff that most people would be happy to attach their name to?

~~~
robertwiblin
Hi Nostrademos — I was involved in this project. We asked a lot of questions
and the answers to some others were quite a bit more controversial (we're
going to release a new question each week or thereabouts).

But one thing we learned in the process was that seriously successful people
doing their thing feel pretty gagged.

It's not worth it for them to write even things that seem uncontroversial to
you or me, because someone out there might hate it, or misinterpret it, and
start creating problems for them.

~~~
nostrademons
Yeah, I figured it was something like that. There are plenty of things that I
believe are true but don't say because the blow-up potential just isn't worth
it. (And I'm someone who actually _likes_ arguing on the Internet.)

Why not do something _actually_ anonymous, though? Put up a form box on your
website where people can write anything in response to the prompt, and let
folks access it through Tor? Then post the results with the appropriate
disclaimer. You might need to moderate it a bit to cut out crap like
"PENIS1!!11!1!", but you might also get some genuinely interesting commentary.

Then again, this is basically what Blind does.

~~~
scarejunba
Yeah, but then, like Blind, you just get a bunch of bullshitters. The problem
with Blind is that you're getting long-term career advice from a 23-year-old
who's obsessed with 'TC'. Even if that person's obsession is in line with
yours, he rarely has the experience to tell you what's going to work. Most
posts there come from a place of anger and insecure showing-off that they're
unlikely to be useful.

------
impendia
> When you’re in college... Your time is less valuable

This really jumped out at me.

As a college student, I've never had so many opportunities available to me at
once -- nor so little maturity with which to take advantage of them.

That said, I certainly agree with taking care of low-level health problems,
the sooner the better.

~~~
dev_dull
Mobility but no means, versus means but no mobility.

Most people find later in life that they actually had more means then they
realized.

~~~
PaulOlteanu
So what things should someone in university atm look to do to ensure they're
maximizing their means

~~~
Scoutmaster
Be seen. Volunteer for on-campus events that are organized by the university
(find the person running something, and ask them directly if there's anything
you can do to help them).

Always ask "Is there anything else I can do to help" after completing a task.
Always be the first to start volunteering (show up early) and the last person
to stop volunteering (stay late).

If you're a person of good character and genuine spirit, people will notice
and talk about you. People will ask your help with bigger things. Repeat.

~~~
merpnderp
If you do this, you'll quickly get snatched up into some professor's research
project and forced into grad school, like it or not. There you'll be forced to
get your PhD and spend your life doing well paid research in something you're
terribly interested in. Awful.

------
mnm1
Work is irrelevant beyond a paycheck. Don't stress out over anything if it
doesn't involve you getting fired. Work as little as possible. Get as much
done as you can working as little as possible as long as it doesn't stress you
out. Never lose sleep over work. Never work unpaid overtime unless you'll lose
your job over it. Never care if your bosses are angry or unhappy as long as it
doesn't affect you having a job. Don't let their emotions affect yours.
Nothing is important enough at work to go out of your way for. There are
others along this line I'd advice. Obviously this doesn't apply if you are a
doctor but for most jobs it does.

~~~
algaeontoast
This. I never understood why people at a startup I worked at (even after it
was acquired by a FAANG) gave a shit what happened after hours. There was an
ops guy actually trying to slack people at 3am. At one point they tried to
contact me again on the weekend, my boss decided she'd ask why I didn't seek
"ownership of the problem" (one of the god awful basically fascist "workplace
principles" of said FAANG). My response was basically, I don't work for a
startup, it was the weekend, I don't work on weekends. I left about three
weeks later, my boss also accidentally sent me a PIP offer minutes before I
was going to send in my 2 weeks notice. Got a bonus $20k for leaving a shit
company ;)

~~~
croh
Agree. I tried to tell boss hire more people if you want 99.99 % uptime. But
he complained about money. Then I quit.

------
CommieBobDole
Chaos is opportunity: If you want to learn a lot of things and gain a lot of
responsibility quickly, work in an organization or area where the roles and
processes are poorly defined. You'll be given responsibility for anything you
take on and don't screw up, and you can use that experience to either move up
in the organization or move to another organization that's maybe a little less
chaotic.

~~~
thepaulstella
+1

Chaos is a ladder.

------
dev_dull
> * Gain the trust of people who have a lot of influence. One big benefit of
> working with such people is that you can learn a lot; another is that if you
> do good work, they come to respect and trust you — and that can be crucial
> in getting the best jobs.*

Best advice in that article. Find the people who are clearly the thought
leaders and ask them to mentor you.

~~~
alexpotato
+1

I've read multiple accounts of successful people having essentially this story
and it's really stuck with me:

I went into a meeting with my mentor.

During the meeting, a lot was said by different folks.

After the meeting, my mentor asked me: "What happened in the re?"

I proceeded to give him a rough outline of what was said.

They responded: "That's what was SAID. Here is what actually happened: Person
A said they were ready but they are clearly not b/c $X. Person B said they had
$Y but that's not true because we already know $Z".

END OF STORY

This kind of guidance is priceless because it saves you potentially years of
trial and error trying to learn how to read between the lines.

------
throwaway6890
Consider your choice of field carefully. I loved programming and yet doing it
for a living and climbing the ladder made me start hating it. IMHO the tech
field is overrun with young, bright, energetic people, most of whom are
dreamers with their own private techno-utopian fantasies who secretly harbor
the belief they'll be multi-millionaires or billionaires in a few short years.
Dreamers are mostly innocent but there are lots of cutthroat assholes and
psychopaths (as there are in many fields). The blood (money) in the water
attracts some seriously disturbed people. Greed is everywhere, and in many
forms.

Do something you love that doesn't require you to compromise your morals.

I wish I had been a musician. I wish I had focused on finding the right mate
instead of so many nights programming, even though it brought me some fame and
some money. I'm a little fucked up because I chose tech over loving the right
person, and they are gone now.

~~~
croh
So true. Actually early days of programming are good when you enjoy it. But
once you decide to work for money, it becomes shit. This applies for
everything. Real problem is money. Programmer makes lifestyle-changing-money
in early days which keep them in constant fear to lose. As long as you're
disconnected from money and doing your shit without bothering about others,
everything works well.

This is the reason I keep telling myself life is long. Try as many things as
possible. Don't fear to start again as there ain't such thing as security. But
alas my stupid mind... still seeks security over bewilderment.

~~~
blub
The quantity of money plays a decisive role in an industry's transformation
into a cutthroat, toxic environment.

SWE is now already there, but it used to be much more relaxed when there
weren't so many billions floating around. Start-ups and the out of control VC
money are one of the worst things that happened to this industry.

------
strictnein
Trying to answer the question as written:

1\. When people discuss politics at work, it is far, far better to say nothing
than to say anything that goes against the prevailing politics of your
company.

2\. There is never a circumstance where you should question any program
designed to help groups that your company has deemed are underrepresented, no
matter how unfair you feel it is that those same opportunities aren't
available more broadly. Not only are these efforts frequently highlighted
publicly, they are often lead by VPs with buy-in all the way up the executive
chain. There is zero upside here.

The correct approach is to talk to your leader about how you could incorporate
similar training/learning into your career plan.

------
munherty
This fell short, I was looking for something edgy.

For example: It pay$ to change jobs early in ones career. If you stay longer
than 2 years out of some missplaced loyalty youll miss out of some quick
dollars. Tons of caveats but in general it works. Now caveat it seems to peak
around your 5 or 6th switch.

Source: All my mates and I have switched at the cadence and weve averaged a
15% increase in salary

~~~
opportune
I agree, switching often is kind of a self correcting phenomenon - if you are
always switching to places that pay significantly more, once switching often
starts to hurt you, you will just stay at your current place until you’ve been
there long enough for it to not hurt you.

However, in terms of leveling/promotions, I think this stops pretty early. And
it’s also possible to end up somewhere like Netflix where there may not be a
place paying better for your experience/level. In particular it seems you need
to grind out more than 2 years to get promoted to a managerial position or for
any n>4, go from Ln to Ln+1 (except for maybe at a fast growing startup). So
once you have 5 years experience you might be able to keep getting pay
increases, unless you’re already near the top of market, but probably won’t
get title promotions

------
adrianpike
"HR does not operate with your interests at heart, do not talk to them."

\-- Anonymous

~~~
clinta
Be smart enough to determine if your interests align with the company's
interests before talking to HR. Sometimes they do.

~~~
owenmarshall
That’s a _dangerous_ thing to try. We like to think we are smart but even the
lowest level HR person knows things that aren’t even on our radar.

Ever had a complaint made against you? Possibly - maybe it was quietly filed
away. Ever wonder if people are paying attention to when you come into the
office? They are.

I went through an outsourcing at my last job and for nine+ months the only
people that knew it was coming was executive leadership, the CIO, and his HR
staff.

HR is risky because they have hidden information in spades. The interests you
think align might not after all.

------
s3nnyy
Most programmers invest a lot of time in coding and related activities (learn
the newest framework) but this thread is again a proof that most neglect all
other aspects of their career (e.g., regular salary negotiations).

I worked as a programmer for several years and now I run a tech recruitment
consultancy (coderfit.com). Programmers come to me daily with various
problems. I am writing up all the individual solutions _that lead to more
money_ in a book. It covers career growth, interviewing, job search, and
salary negotiation; please have a look here: “Coderfit: Make more money as a
programmer”: [https://gumroad.com/l/cdrft](https://gumroad.com/l/cdrft)

------
jdauriemma
It's actually very useful to try to visualize the social relationships that
underpin the people you work with every day. Make a diagram and identify
people who are supportive, people who are forthright, people who are
untrustworthy, people who are obstacles, who are their friends, who are their
adversaries, etc. Update it from time to time. When you want to push an
agenda, you'll have a better understanding of the political context and can
plan accordingly.

~~~
alexpotato
I've seen the most basic version of this as a chart with two axes:

Axis 1: How much political influence does this person have?

Axis 2: How easy are they to influence?

Some key points: \- Axis 2 is from your perspective

\- It's good to keep in mind that the chart might look different for other
people

As an example: you might find it easy to influence person B who only has mid-
level influence.

However, Person B might be able to influence someone you have no chance of
influencing.

You can also add other dimensions such as "What does each person value e.g.
money/influence/respect" etc

------
Erudite_Genius
Never see a job as a career.

The ONLY PATH for wealth is to work for yourself by starting and building your
own business.

Make no mistake... You are always building a business, and if you're not
building YOURS, you are building THEIRS.

~~~
JMTQp8lwXL
A lot of people become industry insiders by building other people's
businesses. Then, when they can't overcome the inefficiencies, they leave and
start their own business. This is the story of Zoom, and others.

Building someone's else's business, as a launchpad for your own, isn't a bad
idea.

------
reaperducer
Make friends with people who have keys. Janitors, secretaries, maintenance
guys. Win the trust of people who are trusted with the keys to the company.
You never know when you might need a favor.

~~~
blaser-waffle
My grandfather said something to the effect of: "the 'real' work happens on
the golf course and in the secretary pool".

------
chasd00
In large businesses there are channels of money flowing through the
organization like blood vessels, some small, some unbelievably big. Find one
and plugin a straw. If it goes dry, take off, and find another.

(this is basically the ugly side of consulting)

------
breakerbox
When I was an intern at an Aerospace org, I had a mentor that was the head of
engineering of several smaller companies at once emphasize one point - Always
align yourself positively with people 2-3 levels of leadership above you. That
is, if necessary, skirt around your direct report(s) if you have something to
bring to the table for higher up people. It is how you move up faster, but of
course, strains your short term relationship with your direct report. Haven’t
had the chance to try it yet, but maybe others can chime in?

~~~
exolymph
Build those relationships in advance, and only go around your manager if you
absolutely have to and are reasonably confident that higher-ups will side with
you. They will be useful regardless.

Best option when you have a frustrating manager, although not always feasible:
Quit and work somewhere else with better management.

------
nostromo
Someone should _actually_ write the article that goes with this headline --
it'd be super interesting.

------
croh
1\. Get a disease something like migraine/sinus where quick medical treatment
not possible and symptoms not visible. If you tell people that you need urgent
leave to attend some function, they feel like cheated. Instead use this
disease and take leaves you want. They feel compassionate.

2\. Always show your in hurry to manager. You can do this by running with
laptop when meeting colleague for chit-chat.

------
maxk42
Unless required by law in your profession: Don't go to college.

~~~
freedomben
I don't know if this is serious or not, but really these days learning to code
and engineer software without college is extremely doable, and you can be
ready to work in under a year (faster with boot camps and such, but the cost
there may not be worth it). I know many, many highly successful developers
that didn't go to school at all. They taught themselves to code and built
something cool, then started working. By the time most people leave school
with a mountain of debt, they are making 20 to 30k more than entry-level
engineer would make. You really don't need college anymore.

------
tclancy
If the company's one way of making it to the next payroll/ funding round is to
fire you, they will. Don't be more loyal to the company than they are to you.
Learn to be a mercenary when it comes to salary talks in reviews.

------
dagw
A slacker who can kiss butt and play politics will almost always beat a hard
worker who can't when it comes to most metrics that matter, like salary, work
life balance, lack of stress at work etc.

------
breakerbox
Not controversial IMO, but useful.

Most companies are stuck in the dark ages, despite what you think after
browsing HN. A lot of money to be made in consulting if you can market
yourself well.

~~~
non-entity
But aren't they stuck in the dark ages because they don't want to pay to get
out of it (seeming as tech is just a cost center)?

------
dmitrygr
Value all parts of compensation that you cannot easily sell at zero. Options?
Zero. RSUs for a private company? Zero. Promises for future raises? Zero.
Actually: any promises - zero. (Promises on signed paper may _sometimes_ be
worth more than zero)

Always remember that the place you work at has no (and owes no) loyalty to
you. Calculate accordingly.

~~~
undefined3840
Honestly this is bad advice. Sure, you shouldn’t plan your life around
striking it rich but if you’re going to take a job thinking the equity comp is
worthless then you are probably choosing the wrong company and/or going to
negotiate poorly.

Late stage growth companies that offer RSUs can be sold on secondary markets,
so even though it’s not as easy to sell it is probably not worth 0 unless
something is very wrong, which again is something you should assess before
accepting any offer.

~~~
adrianpike
Strong disagree - you absolutely need to factor in liquidity effort alongside
vesting schedule and face value for equity comp, and in general for most non-
public companies that liquidity capability is zero.

\- RSU's that I can only dump on a secondary market are worth a fraction of
their face value. \- Grants in a company that'll never have a liquidity event
are worth a fraction of their face value. \- Options in a public company are
definitely worthwhile, but I shouldn't be negotiating their face value one-to-
one with cash.

It's possible you've had a great outcome liquidating some equity from a
private company, in which case I'm super stoked for you and that's a great
outcome - but it's not the norm.

~~~
undefined3840
Yes, which is why you should be negotiating for more RSUs to compensate for
the additional risk and illiquidity.

My point is that if you join a startup thinking your equity is and will
forever be worthless, then why do you care if you get 10 or 10000 shares? To
not care is bad advice for anyone joining a company that has a path toward IPO
or acquisition. And if you don’t think a startup has any path then why are you
joining a company that is offering you equity comp in the first place?

------
jmpman
Determine who the most savvy executives are in your line of business. When
they start jumping to other opportunities, it’s time to sharpen your resume.

------
id_21150930
The following is (very?) controversial advice. Depending on your situation, it
may be bad advice. There are too many downsides to list, so please use your
best judgement.

Before voting or commenting please remember this HN guideline:

>Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone
says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith

...and for what it's worth, I absolutely wouldn't want to work with the person
I'm describing below.

1\. Lie strategically.

When looking for a job/project, lie about what you know, what you've done, who
you know, what you can do for the company, etc.

Many times you are never actually called on to prove these things.

If you are sure you'll be called on to prove them, still lie, but study them
as much as possible beforehand.

2\. Do what matters for the people the matters.

Figure out what metrics count. Ignore or give away everything else.

Who controls your next promotion? Who could potentially refer you to your next
job?

These are the people you need to please before anyone else. If you have time
to please people who won't advance your career, don't. Look for ways to
improve your relations with those who matter -- or ask them to introduce you
to others like them.

3\. Extract value from everything you do.

Look at every opportunity you would normally pass on and figure out how you
can use it to your advance. Maybe you can refer someone, maybe you can take it
on and subcontract it out.

Never pass up any opportunity without first asking how you can extract value
from it.

4\. Everything is negotiable.

Your severance package? Negotiable. Your working space? Negotiable.

Figure out what matters to the people who you interact with and use those
levers to push for your desires.

The threat of a lawsuit, or an actual lawsuit, can be used in negotiation,
even if the lawsuit would be unfounded.

5\. Take as much data with you as you can.

When employed, you have access to an incredible amount of valuable data,
resources, and tools. Take full advance of these while employed, but also
remember that you will move on from your position at some point.

Back up whatever you can without being noticed. Who knows what can come in
handy in the future.

\---

Caveats:

Most of this is unethical. Some of it is illegal.

Understand your risk tolerance. Understand your environment.

Doing any of these can, and likely will, burn bridges. Many industries are
tightly knit. People talk. Be smart.

~~~
id_21150930
Apologies for the formatting, it seems new accounts cannot edit their posts.

~~~
id_21150930
@dang, would you be able to delete this? I reposted with better formatting but
didn't realize that new accounts cannot delete comments either!

------
the_resistence
A great lesson to learn as early as possible. Your boss may be good in a very
niche space but a horrible, demented human being and functional alcoholic. Get
away from him/her as quickly as possible. You will lose years of productive
growth trying to "solve" them for the good of the business and relationship.

------
heelix
Use the foulest language you can in passwords. Makes it unlikely it will get
shared.

------
pkalinowski
If you don’t know something, say „I don’t know, but I’ll check”. Find the
answer/solution and share it publicly. People will notice your knowledge and
remember thing you know. It will open doors later.

------
scarejunba
Here, mid to big company ULPT. I'll never let my name be next to this:

\- _Get a reputation as a guy who wears everything on his sleeve_. You fucked
up? You're going to say "I fucked up. Give me a chance to fix it. Thanks for
your help so far. If you can find the time, I'd appreciate if you could also
help me with Y". Likewise "this is fucking retarded" if you see something
fucking retarded. Use the word 'fuck'. People love "straight talkers" and
people especially love the kind who swear because they see them as honest
people. Don't use it in an angry manner, more in an obvious bemusement at the
state of the world. It's fucking retarded that some machine has a locale
different from the rest and we forgot to specify the character encoding for
bytes to string so that machine misinterprets UTF-8. No individual is fucking
retarded. You're not pointing fingers at anyone but the universe for this
having happened. Then you fix it. Rarely, but at crucial moments, exploit this
with lies.

\- _Always try to punch above your weight_. Your organization is in shambles.
The new product isn't taking off, your boss is leaving, your boss's boss is
leaving. You're asked to take over your boss's responsibilities. No one else
wants this. They can't guarantee success. Take it. Take your boss's boss's job
if he's gone. If they're hesitant, use words like 'interim' and 'acting'.
People suck at firing and you can always Marissa Mayer your way through ("the
patient was dying; it's a wonder I kept them alive this long"). This is all
opportunity.

\- _When you do the extra thing, make it visible_. Someone fucked up and your
site is dropping a fifth of traffic. You were planning on taking it easy that
weekend: drop some acid, go with your friends to listen to Lane 8, maybe go
home with a girl you met there. Don't do it. Instead fix the site but make it
visible. Tell your boss, "I'm going to take a couple of days off. Last weekend
really finished me off.". Make sure you make everyone look good, updates all
the time on company Slack. "Oh shit, turns out our health check didn't detect
this condition for one of our five servers. _That 's_ what it was!" See, no
blame, "we" made the mistake. Then put in a protective layer around that.
Improve the health check _and_ take the server out. Now go have some fun. Do
this early and you'll get a reputation as a hero. Live off of it.

\- _Always be bold_. Make strong assertions. Then back them up. If you're
convinced of the opposite of your original assertions, correct it as soon as
possible. Go back to the guys you told the wrong thing to, uncorrect them
clearly. "Guys, I fucked up. There's an edge case where JSON isn't valid YAML
and we hit it". No one is making a decision on a particular engineering
problem and the meeting is drawing to a close? Use the words "All right, looks
like we don't have much time here but I think it'll be useful to leave with a
default option just so we can scope future discussions. How about we consider
X our default". No one's even going to fight you on that. If they do, they're
forcing indecision.

\- _Make others look good_. They made a mistake? No, _we_ did. Sometimes maybe
it was even _you_ who failed to spot the mistake. Together, you all made
something nice? No, _they_ made something nice. They'll be obligated to say
"Yeah, I only did X, you did all the Y". Accept that with grace.

\- _Be likable_. Dress nicely. Be friendly. Be unassailable, for instance:
Curmudgeonly coworker makes a disparaging remark about your code? If it's
right, don't silently eat it with a "Addressed comments". Hit them with the
"Thanks for the detailed review. Made the changes requested. By the way, also
found article X that describes a general principle for this". Positively
framed. You retain your dignity and portray security (irrespective of how
insecure you are). In software, people _adore_ "plucky guy who learns" because
they imagine that he'll be good at the asymptote. Exploit it.

\- _Stick your neck out in low-risk situations_. Some dude in Sales wants a
quick feature and the cost is going to be felt by an engineer far in the
future? Do it, even if you have to do extra hours. Then coast on your
reputation as a doer. Someone else will pay the price. You can double down by
"I don't think we should generally do it, but if it will really help I can do
it but it'll take me some work. I need you to not go tell all the other sales
guys that I did this, though". They'll tell the other sales guys that you do
things but not what. Perfect. Now in their heads those guys think you made
magic.

------
jmpman
Don’t take a job unless you know what job you plan to take afterwards.

~~~
Sammi
Yes. Every job is a stepping stone to the next one. Plan where you're heading.

What jobs do you need on your CV to get that job that you really want?

------
Ill_ban_myself
Move jobs after a year or so for more money regardless of whether you like
your employer.

Circumstances change. Your salary stays with you long after that great manager
has moved on.

------
hitekker
Non-controversial, manufactured advice that pretends to be insightful.

------
anonadvice2
Get an Adderall or Vyvanse prescription. There are plenty of doctors who will
prescribe it without grilling you too hard for a legitimate ADHD diagnosis.

~~~
breakerbox
This is worth other people chiming in on.

~~~
Balgair
Adderall prescriptions are perfectly fine if you need them to treat ADHD or
narcolepsy, but it is an amphetamine and should be treated soberly as such.
Though addiction with proper medical supervision is known to be low, in
recreational and non-therapeutic usage, addiction is significant [0].
Amphetamine addiction is known to not be the most pleasant experience.
Withdrawal and relapse cycles are also not very pleasant.

I'd not advise lying to your MDs in order to try to get Adderall. If you feel
that your job requires you to fake ADHD or narcolepsy in order to do good
work, it's time to find another job. Money will not buy your health back, it
will not buy years of your life back, and is not worth a chance (small as it
is) at an amphetamine addiction.

Honestly, good sleep, exercise, and eating right are the ways to help you get
an edge on the competition. Mostly because no one ever does it. Granted, I
take a few cups of coffee in the morning to get going too, so I suppose I am a
bit of a hypocrite here. :P

It's not rocket science, faking a disease to score amphetamines is a poor
decision.

[0]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall)

[https://www.addictions.com/meth/](https://www.addictions.com/meth/)

------
danzig13
Lost causes exist. If you’re in one, run.

------
ulisesrmzroche
Sell hard drugs at work! (Jk jk!)

------
id_21150930
There is nothing here that I wouldn't mind attaching my name to.

So here is my (very?) controversial advice.

Depending on your situation, it may be bad advice. There are too many
downsides to list, so please use your best judgement.

Before voting or commenting please remember this HN guideline:

>Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone
says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith

...and for what it's worth, I absolutely wouldn't want to work with the person
I'm describing below.

\---

1\. Lie strategically.

When looking for a job/project, lie about what you know, what you've done, who
you know, what you can do for the company, etc.

Many times you are never actually called on to prove these things.

If you are sure you'll be called on to prove them, still lie, but study them
as much as possible beforehand.

\---

2\. Do what matters for the people the matters.

Figure out what metrics count. Ignore or give away everything else.

Who controls your next promotion? Who could potentially refer you to your next
job?

These are the people you need to please before anyone else. If you have time
to please people who won't advance your career, don't. Look for ways to
improve your relations with those who matter -- or ask them to introduce you
to others like them.

\---

3\. Extract value from everything you do.

Look at every opportunity you would normally pass on and figure out how you
can use it to your advance. Maybe you can refer someone, maybe you can take it
on and subcontract it out.

Never pass up any opportunity without first asking how you can extract value
from it.

\---

4\. Everything is negotiable.

Your severance package? Negotiable. Your working space? Negotiable.

Figure out what matters to the people who you interact with and use those
levers to push for your desires.

The threat of a lawsuit, or an actual lawsuit, can be used in negotiation,
even if the lawsuit would be unfounded.

\---

5\. Take as much data with you as you can.

When employed, you have access to an incredible amount of valuable data,
resources, and tools. Take full advance of these while employed, but also
remember that you will move on from your position at some point.

Back up whatever you can without being noticed. Who knows what can come in
handy in the future.

\---

Caveats:

Most of this is unethical. Some of it is illegal.

Understand your risk tolerance. Understand your environment.

Doing any of these can, and likely will, burn bridges. Many industries are
tightly knit. People talk. Be smart.

------
2OEH8eoCRo0
Be female. The pendulum is swinging back and overcompensating. At my workplace
women are given opportunities and preferential treatment that men are not. And
I work in defense software.

~~~
gota
I assume you're being downvoted not because what you said os controversial -
it is in the spirit of the topic - but because it is not advice at all. Its
just misogyny.

"Women - make a point of branding yourselves in linkedin, communication,
personal branding to leverage the advantages that are being offered, use the
overcompensating in treatment of women to your advantage" \- still stupid,
less overtly misogynistic, at least posted in the format of an advice

~~~
2OEH8eoCRo0
How is it misogyny? Do you work where I work? I feel weird even saying it
because it does feel misogynistic but it matches my actual experience at my
current job.

~~~
tomhoward
It's not "career advice" \- i.e., something people can contemplate and act on
to improve their career. It's just inflammatory social commentary.

~~~
2OEH8eoCRo0
You are right about that. It was a bit tongue-in-cheek but it's obviously very
poor advice.

------
humble_engineer
If you find yourself alone around a woman you work with, leave the room,
building, or do whatever you can to not be alone with them.

~~~
scarejunba
I'd say the opposite. Exploitation of this sort is vanishingly rare. It isn't
worth optimizing for. Instead, be incredibly normal with everyone, girls and
boys alike. Maybe you like their clothes, or you wonder how their vacation
was, or you just want to share this new restaurant you like. If you're
likable, people literally _will not believe_ you could do bad things. If, for
some reason, a cosmic ray hits the universe's RNG for you and you somehow
encounter the exploitative femme fatale who's setting you up for a fake sexual
assault suit, all the other women will back you up anyway because even though
they're attractive, you were always professionally nice to them, and it wasn't
even out of a sense of insecurity because you could casually make small talk
like you were comfortable. You'll absolutely kill the case. And more
importantly, in the happy path, you'll encounter a lot of people who you can
work with productively.

------
NotAnEconomist
Know where the skeletons are buried.

Punch back, especially upwards.

Know an analyst at the investment bank with the largest holding in your
company.

------
Traubenfuchs
tl;dr - express dark triad behaviour

This thread leaves me in despair.

