I was one of them! I didn't really have any new leverage, per se, though. Basically I'd reached a point where I'd been asking for a promotion from a Mid-level Developer to a Senior-level...
I was one of them! I didn't really have any new leverage, per se, though. Basically I'd reached a point where I'd been asking for a promotion from a Mid-level Developer to a Senior-level Developer, or at the very least a decent raise. My responsibilities had been increasing over the last year, I'd been soloing a few projects, and I felt either option was deserved. Instead our yearly raises came along and I got the bog-standard QoL raise of 5%. Despite having had these discussions with the two people in the company who set raise amounts. Meanwhile we were posting job listings for positions with less required experience than I had, making $5-$10k more a year than me.
I was furious and felt insulted, so I started looking. Took longer than expected, but by August I had an offer for a Senior-level position at a much smaller company with less responsibilities, making 30% more money. And a whole lot less red-tape and project manager types between me and our clients. It's been seriously wonderful.
A former coworker of mine (who, related to this anecdote, now has a pretty sweet job) argued that you should always be looking at other jobs, and applying for ones that catch your eye, even if...
A former coworker of mine (who, related to this anecdote, now has a pretty sweet job) argued that you should always be looking at other jobs, and applying for ones that catch your eye, even if you're happy and adequately compensated at your current job. After all, you're not risking much, and you might just land something even better than what you have.
A current coworker of mine went out and collected a handful of job offers, not because he wanted to leave, but to present them to HR as proof they were underpaying senior employees. I don't know that this tactic worked, but I do know that they tweaked the compensation structures shortly after he told me this (though I have reason to believe some adjustments were already in the works).
Personally, I have only gotten one raise (in more than a decade of working) that exceeded 4%: an employer gave me 16%, because they knew they were underpaying me and thought I was a flight risk. (And they were right, on both counts, because when I left a month or two later, I got another 30%.)
Granted, software, especially past the junior levels, is very much an applicant's market right now. But it behooves everyone, no matter the industry to show no loyalty to your employer. They sure as hell have no loyalty to you.
After years of allowing myself to be underpaid (until I got sick of it), I'm kind of inclined to agree with your friend. In theory, anyway. In practice I'm way too nice and genuinely like the...
After years of allowing myself to be underpaid (until I got sick of it), I'm kind of inclined to agree with your friend. In theory, anyway. In practice I'm way too nice and genuinely like the people at my current job. Small company, the 3 exec-types are "boots on the ground" as a designer, programmer, and project manager. To move along abruptly so soon after being hired would be really difficult for me. But I think a year or so in I'll probably start looking around.
Given how long the hiring process can take, unless you're confident that you're very in demand, starting the search earlier than you think reasonable is a decent idea. The worst that happens is...
Given how long the hiring process can take, unless you're confident that you're very in demand, starting the search earlier than you think reasonable is a decent idea. The worst that happens is that you ask to push the start date back on an otherwise amazing job.
Isn't unemployment also declining currently, adding more fuel to the "We just don't want shit work" fire? EDIT: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics we're actually down to 4.8, which makes...
Isn't unemployment also declining currently, adding more fuel to the "We just don't want shit work" fire?
Work from home, plus the booming economy, meant a lot of people could abandon shitty service jobs. I think we are going to have to reckon with the fact that many of these super cheap service...
Work from home, plus the booming economy, meant a lot of people could abandon shitty service jobs.
I think we are going to have to reckon with the fact that many of these super cheap service industries that rely on human misery to be sustainable may no longer be viable. McDonald's being open at 2:30 in the morning only works because they could get away with paying some poor sucker a shit wage to stay up flipping hamburgers instead of sleeping. We might reach a point where McDonald's has to offer so much for that position that it is no longer economically viable for them to be open that time of day. In my book, that is probably a good thing.
I was actually wondering what would happen in this instance. Would every big city close at like 10PM? And aside from emergency services and maybe drug stores, would that be a bad thing?
I was actually wondering what would happen in this instance. Would every big city close at like 10PM? And aside from emergency services and maybe drug stores, would that be a bad thing?
I suspect the answer probably lies in automation rather than shutting things down. Walmart and many grocery stores are already removing all their employee run checkouts stands, and replacing them...
I suspect the answer probably lies in automation rather than shutting things down. Walmart and many grocery stores are already removing all their employee run checkouts stands, and replacing them with self-checkout. And that's likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to menial job replacement, given the robotics technology that is just around the bend. E.g. How many robots does it take to run a grocery store?
And in the not too distant future I can easily see burger flipping jobs at McDs, and the like, similarly being replaced by robots too. A bit futher down the line and all driving jobs may go that way too. And even further than that, even "skilled" jobs like diagnosing illnesses or performing surgeries may be relegated to AI rather than relying on us error-prone humans. Which is why, despite my personal misgivings about Andrew Yang and his tactics/rhetoric, I think he is way ahead of the game in worrying about the potential economic impacts of that seemingly inevitable, heavily automated future... and agree with him on pushing for UBI as a way to hopefully counteract the mass unemployment that may come with it.
When I visited Europe about a decade ago, that is basically how things were. With the exception of bars and nightclubs, most things started winding down after dinner time. And it didn't seem like...
When I visited Europe about a decade ago, that is basically how things were. With the exception of bars and nightclubs, most things started winding down after dinner time.
And it didn't seem like that much of a problem, to be honest. Late night and 24/7 stores and fast food are a relatively new phenomenon. Humanity got by just fine for thousands of years before those came around.
Yup, it is still like that. Most places close down around 8pm with few exceptions. Sunday is completely closed in Germany as well, don't forget that :) If you work a night shift, you get extra...
Yup, it is still like that. Most places close down around 8pm with few exceptions. Sunday is completely closed in Germany as well, don't forget that :) If you work a night shift, you get extra salary and other bonuses, so it's rarely feasible to have stores open all the time. Fast food places, depending on where they are, do the math and just have varying opening times. During the week they might close at midnight, on the weekend they might stay open till 2-3am (I guess that's still worth for the social folks who stop there before going home?) but then they open later the next day.
If you go to rural and village-y places, you have little shops close at 5pm even, that wouldn't be weird. And on the opposite side you have so-called Spätis that are a famous part of Berlin because they're open very long or all night.
I was one of them! I didn't really have any new leverage, per se, though. Basically I'd reached a point where I'd been asking for a promotion from a Mid-level Developer to a Senior-level Developer, or at the very least a decent raise. My responsibilities had been increasing over the last year, I'd been soloing a few projects, and I felt either option was deserved. Instead our yearly raises came along and I got the bog-standard QoL raise of 5%. Despite having had these discussions with the two people in the company who set raise amounts. Meanwhile we were posting job listings for positions with less required experience than I had, making $5-$10k more a year than me.
I was furious and felt insulted, so I started looking. Took longer than expected, but by August I had an offer for a Senior-level position at a much smaller company with less responsibilities, making 30% more money. And a whole lot less red-tape and project manager types between me and our clients. It's been seriously wonderful.
A former coworker of mine (who, related to this anecdote, now has a pretty sweet job) argued that you should always be looking at other jobs, and applying for ones that catch your eye, even if you're happy and adequately compensated at your current job. After all, you're not risking much, and you might just land something even better than what you have.
A current coworker of mine went out and collected a handful of job offers, not because he wanted to leave, but to present them to HR as proof they were underpaying senior employees. I don't know that this tactic worked, but I do know that they tweaked the compensation structures shortly after he told me this (though I have reason to believe some adjustments were already in the works).
Personally, I have only gotten one raise (in more than a decade of working) that exceeded 4%: an employer gave me 16%, because they knew they were underpaying me and thought I was a flight risk. (And they were right, on both counts, because when I left a month or two later, I got another 30%.)
Granted, software, especially past the junior levels, is very much an applicant's market right now. But it behooves everyone, no matter the industry to show no loyalty to your employer. They sure as hell have no loyalty to you.
After years of allowing myself to be underpaid (until I got sick of it), I'm kind of inclined to agree with your friend. In theory, anyway. In practice I'm way too nice and genuinely like the people at my current job. Small company, the 3 exec-types are "boots on the ground" as a designer, programmer, and project manager. To move along abruptly so soon after being hired would be really difficult for me. But I think a year or so in I'll probably start looking around.
Given how long the hiring process can take, unless you're confident that you're very in demand, starting the search earlier than you think reasonable is a decent idea. The worst that happens is that you ask to push the start date back on an otherwise amazing job.
Isn't unemployment also declining currently, adding more fuel to the "We just don't want shit work" fire?
EDIT: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics we're actually down to 4.8, which makes it particularly interesting that workers are controlling the workforce.
Work from home, plus the booming economy, meant a lot of people could abandon shitty service jobs.
I think we are going to have to reckon with the fact that many of these super cheap service industries that rely on human misery to be sustainable may no longer be viable. McDonald's being open at 2:30 in the morning only works because they could get away with paying some poor sucker a shit wage to stay up flipping hamburgers instead of sleeping. We might reach a point where McDonald's has to offer so much for that position that it is no longer economically viable for them to be open that time of day. In my book, that is probably a good thing.
I was actually wondering what would happen in this instance. Would every big city close at like 10PM? And aside from emergency services and maybe drug stores, would that be a bad thing?
I suspect the answer probably lies in automation rather than shutting things down. Walmart and many grocery stores are already removing all their employee run checkouts stands, and replacing them with self-checkout. And that's likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to menial job replacement, given the robotics technology that is just around the bend. E.g. How many robots does it take to run a grocery store?
And in the not too distant future I can easily see burger flipping jobs at McDs, and the like, similarly being replaced by robots too. A bit futher down the line and all driving jobs may go that way too. And even further than that, even "skilled" jobs like diagnosing illnesses or performing surgeries may be relegated to AI rather than relying on us error-prone humans. Which is why, despite my personal misgivings about Andrew Yang and his tactics/rhetoric, I think he is way ahead of the game in worrying about the potential economic impacts of that seemingly inevitable, heavily automated future... and agree with him on pushing for UBI as a way to hopefully counteract the mass unemployment that may come with it.
When I visited Europe about a decade ago, that is basically how things were. With the exception of bars and nightclubs, most things started winding down after dinner time.
And it didn't seem like that much of a problem, to be honest. Late night and 24/7 stores and fast food are a relatively new phenomenon. Humanity got by just fine for thousands of years before those came around.
Yup, it is still like that. Most places close down around 8pm with few exceptions. Sunday is completely closed in Germany as well, don't forget that :) If you work a night shift, you get extra salary and other bonuses, so it's rarely feasible to have stores open all the time. Fast food places, depending on where they are, do the math and just have varying opening times. During the week they might close at midnight, on the weekend they might stay open till 2-3am (I guess that's still worth for the social folks who stop there before going home?) but then they open later the next day.
If you go to rural and village-y places, you have little shops close at 5pm even, that wouldn't be weird. And on the opposite side you have so-called Spätis that are a famous part of Berlin because they're open very long or all night.