
Ask HN: What is the most frustrating part of working in the software industry? - minionslave
After graduating college, I was faced with the cold hard reality of life. Working in software is just like any other industry, it&#x27;s not always the magical fairy land I was told.<p>I became aware of competition, micromanagement and unrealistic deadlines. I have made several mistakes due to my naïveté and being unaware of those things.<p>For those who have been working in the industry for a while. Is there anything I should watch out for if I want to succeed? Does working in the industry requires playing some office politics?
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itamarst
Here are some things I've learned the hard way:

1\. Negotiate your salary. That means doing research up front about what you
can get, and then making sure you ask for it, and making sure you don't let
previous salary set baseline for what you get. Read this _before_ you start
looking for a job:
[http://valerieaurora.org/howto_salary/](http://valerieaurora.org/howto_salary/)

2\. If you really aren't happy at work, or if there's layoffs, start looking
for a new job. Don't hang around hoping it'll get better. It might, but it
might not, and better to look for new job while you're still employed then
after you've left (voluntarily or otherwise).

3\. Some companies will want you to work long hours. This is total bullshit
and counter-productive and you should avoid such companies
([https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/08/18/productive-
programme...](https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/08/18/productive-
programmer/)). Find out during the interview process (tactfully and
carefully!) and walk away (politely and without mentioning the reason!).

(You can get the full stories of the many and varied career and software
mistakes I've made over the years over at
[https://softwareclown.com](https://softwareclown.com)).

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psyc
I worked in the industry for 20 years, at all kinds of software companies. If
I can _help_ it, I'll never work at a company again. The single most
frustrating thing is the extent to which programmers are forbidden, by
process, from being programmers and doing programming. Even after 15 years,
and with "senior" in my title, _most_ of the time (not _all_ of the time) I
was constrained by process to make tiny, incremental changes, adorned by a ton
of very low-utility process. My day to day work was seldom different, and
often _more_ tedious, than the work I did in my first year in the industry.
Management considered every code change to be _a risk_ , rather than _my
profession_ , and everybody had to work to the lowest common denominator of
capability on the team.

Now I work for myself and actually do programming all day.

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toexitthedonut
False sense of security of your job.

I worked for more companies that had problems with their budget or even
payroll _after_ stepping into the programming career, than I have when I was
working jobs with a lower entry barrier like cashier or workshop assistant. I
never had an employer burn me money-wise before becoming a programmer.

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bossybowser
For me, it's just all about education.

Never stop studying your field.

You will naturally rise to the top and you won't have to play any silly office
politics as it will become quite clear that your skills far outmatch those of
your peers.

Most people go home and watch TV or play Xbox, or get drunk.

Don't be most people.

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matt_s
You need to understand what your definition of success is, this may take a
while to formulate and will also change over time. If you want to be more
involved with business side functions then knowing different personality types
and how to work with them will help you be successful.

No matter what profession you are in, there will be office politics or team
dynamics to some extent. Different sets of personalities interact differently.

Focus on what you like best about writing software and try to find companies
that allow you to do more of that and less BS.

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bartvk
I've had great success just doing my job, and ignore the small stuff. I don't
really care for office politics, and I've always kept myself out of it.

The joy of software engineering, in my opinion, can be found when you focus on
getting fun work. If that was not available at my current job, I have always
been able to switch.

For the last couple of years, I've gotten a nice extra boost by changing
specialization (from embedded to iOS) ND starting as a contractor instead of
regular job.

For me, software engineering is usually good fun.

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RNeff
Watch out for the endless arguments between programmers on emotional topics
like: what is the best programming language, operating system, database,
framework, UI toolkit, vi versus emacs, spaces versus tabs, trivia in style
guides, etc.

A programming language is a tool, not a religion, and the fact that you only
know one does not make you qualified to discuss the issue.

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tboyd47
Being made to use technologies you don't like at work.

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tedmiston
Open floor plan offices

