Software as a profession sucks, a rant.

[Jack]

we can all talk in generalities.  In general what BlueSage says is true.
But some of the best work and most interesting I have done was for a
very large international oil company (building and moving mainframes
and users around - software and data wise - with a very small team),
a large natural gas producer (another NYSE company) doing simulations
of tankers and another project doing one of the first major company
e-filings - back in the 1970's (prior to that it was submittin 10 copies of
20 volume sets of 3" 3 ring binders for one return).

Small comanies and consulting have also had their great projects.

At every company there is 'bad work'.  Boreing, un-interesting,
repedative, but I have also run into people that just LOVE that
kind of work. ... Different needs and wants for everyone.  The best
most of us can hope for is to find a spot where we feel needed,
wanted, and productive, all with enough challenge and variety to
keep us from getting bored to often.

IMHO, trying to please someone else is a loosing struggle.
Do good work, you are proud of, serve your customers, and hopefully
see some of the fruits of your labor ocassionally.  If you depend on
other to say 'good job' all the time, you can grow bitter and
resentful, at least I did.

><> ... Jack



On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 4:40 PM, Richard Pieri <richard.pieri-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Oct 22, 2009, at 1:28 PM, theBlueSage wrote:
>> Big Company == Higher Wages == Boring work/slave mentality.
>>
>> Small company == Smaller wages == Interesting innovative work
>
> I disagree.  I've worked as a sysadmin for small, medium and large
> companies and I have to say that the size of the company has little
> bearing on pay and type of work.  What matters is senior management
> and what it collectively wants out of the company.  A smaller company
> with a cash cow that management simply wants to milk to death is going
> to have a boring work/slave mentality and below average salaries.  A
> larger company with management that wants to build on success and
> branch out in new directions and crush the competition can have above
> average salaries and interesting work.  What really sucks is when
> there is a significant management change like happened at my last job,
> when a dynamic management team is replaced (or encouraged to leave --
> same thing) by a stagnant, brown-nosing collective.
>
> --Rich P.
>
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