churchofturing's comments

I think it's relative, really. The redundancy waves have a rhythm to them, and if you avoid one you're safe until the next. Contrast this to one of my previous experiences at a startup where I came in on Monday to discover there was no money, the CEO had been funnelling company funds to his boyfriend and once discovered the small office had turned to Lord of the Flies.

I wouldn't say I have the perfect job security, but I'm reasonably assured I'll get paid this month and I try not to worry about situations that haven't happened yet. I think if I had a family that depended entirely on me I'd be much more concerned.

I'm not sure I'd call it stockholm syndrome directly, but I'd agree it's definitely some form of conditioning.

> Does "career development" just mean "more money"? If so, why not just say "there are opportunities to make more money"? If not, what is "career development" that is not just becoming more deeply buried in an organization with the various dysfunctions described in the rest of the post?

In life, everyone that thinks a lot is eventually confronted with the reality that we're all just minor players within much bigger systems. When you follow this thread, pretty deep questions start to fall out like "how can I be just in an unjust society?". Or "what's the best way that I, as an individual, can have a positive impact on my community?". Or "Is there any point in trying to change systems given my small role within them?".

To these types of questions there's various different responses and consequences. Some people dive in feet first and engage heavily with the mechanisms they have to enact change (such as local politics, grass roots political movements, activism etc). Some people, overwhelmed by the weight of the system, disengage entirely.

Now to answer your question, I believe in the work that we're doing (or else I probably wouldn't have joined). Career development at the company isn't just more money (though that's obviously a component), it's being given more responsibilities alongside the capacity to enact more and more change.

Faced with a dysfunctional organisation that you're a part of, what do you do? The options as I see it are roughly:

- Change companies, and acknowledge that the dysfunction is insurmountable.

- Do your job and stay at the position you're in.

- Embed deeper into the dysfunctional organisation, with the view that you can be an agent for positive change.

>Is it still satisfying if that software is bad, or harms many of those people?

To some people, yes. There are people out there that take satisfaction in doing harm. Not me, nor do I believe the work I do is harmful. I didn't think I had to be so granular as to say "It's satisfying to write software I believe is a net positive to society used by millions".

I really enjoyed how you ran with this thought, it made me chuckle. I've been warring with the Mongols for some time and if history is anything to go off, things aren't looking great.

Thanks for reading!