
Dark side of pampered software engineer - dannylandau
http://www.businessinsider.com/dark-side-of-a-valley-software-engineer-2016-7
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CM30
Which seems to present the interesting divide between European software
engineers and American ones.

In the US, you get pampered, but seem to have lots of late nights, 'crunch'
time, etc. In Europe, you get far lower wages but it's treated almost solely
as a 9-5 job.

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sotojuan
A lot (maybe most) programming jobs in the US are 9-5 but they're not at
companies or places HN would be interested in discussing.

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kemiller2002
I have to disagree with this. Most IT jobs in the U.S. aren't 9-5. Every place
I've interviewed have always hinted at the fact that it's not a 40 hour a week
job. This may sound jaded, but companies really do expect to get more than
what they pay for, and it's not just the silicon valley ones. I think the real
issue is that most programmers feel a dedication and passion to what they do
and they want to see the project succeed, and so the get taken advantage of.

~~~
copperx
It's ridiculous to frame it like that. I'm sure most surgeons also want to
make sure their patients benefit from a surgery, but I'm sure they don't get
taken advantage of.

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1888franklin
The "dark side" described here is programmers not using our labor power for
the right things, not really a downside to _having_ labor power. Instead of
being seduced by fancy campuses, we can insist on better working conditions. I
work 15 hours/week, mostly on my own schedule, with low pressure. My free time
is more important to me than a six figure salary, living in the valley, or
free lunch.

Generally speaking, programmers in the US have the labor power to shape how we
work. But many of us buy into a certain idea of what success means and how to
get there. Really no one to blame but ourselves on that count.

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ZeroFries
I would love to do this at some point. May I ask how you managed to get a 15
h/w job?

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J_Darnley
He is a Linus Torvald, a John Carmack, or a Chris Sawyer. He has the skills,
the experience, and the name to demand that.

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copperx
I'm intrigued now. Who is this 1888franklin?

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J_Darnley
Honestly, I have no idea. However, that is the kind of person he would need to
be to get a 3 hour a day programming job. Or he is full of shit and talking
out of his ass but that would be uncivil so I better not say that.

~~~
Mandatum
Or he's a programmer with a respectable hourly rate (100+) and only works a
few days a week remotely who lives in a cheap area. Any decent programmer can
attain this.

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nikdaheratik
It's kind of strange for them to use the word "pampered" when a large number
of the perks are basically ways for the company to justify using more of the
employees "free" time by taking care of many of the day-to-day practicalities
that could take them off-site, like laundry and cooking, or exercise and
getting a professional to work those neck muscles to reduce the stiffness from
working at a computer for 10+ hour days. I'm sure if some of them could hire a
lower wage worker to sleep for them, they'd probably do that too.

I don't envy the SV crowd much, but many of the perks are about maximising the
amount of time the employees can work over most other considerations. And
looked at through that lens, very few of the "perks" a really much in the way
of pampering.

