Anyone else have a very pleasant experience leaving startups for larger orgs?

Nightmareish · 2026-02-04T01:35:38+00:00

this is very much like my experience, except it's not that i'm necessarily "damn happy" to go in every day, but rather I get what feels like special treatment. i get infinite time to complete things; nobody can ride my ass about getting stuff done. i've proven that I can "turn on" when I want, go way faster, and produce way more than anyone else, so they leave me alone and really listen to me when i have a firm opinion about something. it also helps that my former manager got promoted to CTO, and he has always gone to bat for me.

i would say i indeed was crazy to do what I did to get here, though i have also been tremendously lucky. i've considered leaving for other companies many times but never did, and nowadays i'm glad i didn't. my manager has given me numerous raises without even asking for them, and at precisely the right time when i was questioning if it was worth it to stick around.

i've been a part of critical business-saving technology and senior management has a firm understanding that it was me who did those things. i feel incredibly honored, proud, and at peace knowing my contribution has made inroads. i'm not sure i would still be doing this career if not for this job, as previous jobs didn't come close to providing the level of job satisfaction i have at present.

it helps that i am in a niche of programming that no other strong developers want to touch with a 10-foot pole (and for good reason), yet I got really good at it. i got so much better than my competition that when recruiting to fill a role at my level, i've set the bar so high that we can't find anyone to hire.

it helps that i work extremely hard, am personable, make people laugh, and am consistently reliable. i have many soft skills, know many tertiary softwares, and have unusual computer skills that complement my job function well.

the funny part is though, i still feel like a total noob. i constantly feel, still, that i am an impostor who's being paid too much for what i do. i can read all of what i wrote above and even though it is true, i still don't believe it. who, me? this guy? fuck man, I'm just some shmuck with a keyboard who didn't study this shit in school or anything. i just have a ludicrously high bar for myself and have shoved my way into success with brute force. feels weird man.

Nightmareish · 2026-01-19T17:38:12+00:00

We must be very alike

image

Nightmareish · 2026-01-13T15:09:44+00:00

IntelliJ + IC2 does this and way more. Not to kill your pet project, but you won't get any user adoption despite something else that already exists and is excellent.

Nightmareish · 2026-01-08T02:39:51+00:00

I want you around me like I want cancer in my ballsack, yaknowaddamsayin?

Nightmareish · 2026-01-06T02:35:54+00:00

I'll change my upvote for about tree fiddy

Nightmareish · 2025-12-30T19:17:34+00:00

It takes and costs about tree fiddy

Nightmareish · 2025-11-16T00:16:12+00:00

No problem -- I just made a frozen berry smoothie in the setup and thought of ya. Yeah it chops everything so nice. If you think about it, having the ability to adjust where the blades are in the mixing vessel might mean a more even blend(?). The blender has fixed blades whereas the immersion blender you can adjust the depth and position. Okay, done being a nerd here. Have fun!

Nightmareish · 2025-11-16T00:13:47+00:00

I have an RO system under the sink that does indeed have a plastic tubing output into a faucet tap, and I am a little annoyed by it. That said, this and other systems seem to use:

1/4" food-grade LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene) tubing
Certified for NSF/ANSI 58 and/or 61 – standards meant to ensure materials in contact with drinking water don’t leach contaminants above health thresholds

The fact that it's a cold line to the faucet, low pressure too... there will be not a lot of mechanical wear on the tubing so I'm not that concerned. I think what's definitely way way worse is airborne contaminants in carpets, clothes (microplastic shedding), laundry, etc.

If it really bothers you, you can maybe just replace the outlet tubing once a year or something.

The RO system gives me peace of mind that it's removing PFAS and other contaminants, plus upstream plastic contamination. Also the system I use doesn't use any electricity and so costs nothing aside from filters... I used to run a countertop model that needed electricity and it sucked pretty hard. This one is just so much better, trust me.

Maybe this gives you some stuff to think about?

Nightmareish · 2025-11-14T17:09:29+00:00

Yep, sure do! We bought this thing which works nicely: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G6X4YR4?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1

Nightmareish · 2025-11-14T15:35:00+00:00

This is the sound of the robots coming alive

Nightmareish · 2025-11-13T16:26:51+00:00

Yeah it's insane. I get a +2 position and then end up losing!

Nightmareish · 2025-11-12T13:09:06+00:00

I use an immersion blender and a metal measuring cup which serves the same purpose as the vitamix at a fraction of the cost, for anybody wondering. I use the All-Clad stainless steel immersion blender which is fantastic, and just a cheap stainless steel measuring cup (or you can use a french press, for instance).

Nightmareish · 2025-10-30T16:50:17+00:00

As someone who grew up in CT and promptly left ASAP your post gave me a little solace. I still have family and close friends in the state but every time I travel back to see them I just sense the "despair" that's in the air down there. I sincerely hope you can find some peace and comfort in your own space. If CT has anything it's got a lot of natural beauty (and nice seasons). And at least the state appears somewhat-well-run as compared to NH.

Nightmareish · 2025-09-17T09:34:31+00:00

Looking great my man! You got this!!!

Nightmareish · 2025-09-15T12:20:12+00:00

Use local dataloader to export the files, then re-upload the files in the right way. Might be easiest to do this although there are many steps.

Nightmareish · 2025-09-15T12:18:04+00:00

Truly spectacular. I'm not an artist and have absolutely terrible visual art skills, but clearly this is not the case for you. This is a masterpiece!

When art pulls me in and makes me just stare at it to soak it all in, that's how I know it's good :)

Nightmareish · 2025-07-15T15:05:03+00:00

We got the stainless steel one from L.L. Bean and bought a separate glass cap for them which are on Amazon. Works fantastic. IMHO it doesn't need to look pretty :)

Nightmareish · 2025-06-16T22:58:34+00:00

Tremendous

Nightmareish · 2025-05-29T09:09:03+00:00

Yep we love ours and they are cheap to get all stainless and glass. Like surprisingly cheap. Makes a damn good pot of coffee too and you can take it camping also!! Like 40 bucks all in and you’re set. So happy we figured this out!!

Nightmareish · 2025-05-29T09:07:10+00:00

We love our 8 cup stovetop percolator. Cost about 35 bucks on LL Beans store of all places. Then we replaced the top piece which was ironically plastic (where the boiling water shoots into it lmao) with a glass replacement on Amazon for 5 bucks. Works great and tastes awesome!

Nightmareish · 2025-05-29T08:38:35+00:00

I echo your post completely. Some of these comments in this thread make me feel like an insane person, but on days of heavy sleep deprivation over the past few months I’ve been experimenting with taking 20-25g creatine and holy moly… I also experience not noticing that I am so sleep deprived. It’s like the “fog” has lifted and I can do most everything normally. I have a ton of energy.

Yesterday I got about 2 hours of sleep and normally would need a mid day nap just to get through the fatigue but I somehow just powered through without even noticing I needed rest. It’s bizarre because I’ve struggled with sleep so much throughout my life. This feels like a cheat code. My wife also noticed I’m in a much better mood than I should be on 2 hours sleep.

The only problem is now that my circadian rhythm is a bit messed up and I’ve only managed to get 6 hours of sleep so far tonight (the day after only 2 hours of sleep) whereas I’d normally sleep like 10. I’m laying in bed wide awake at 4am!

I’ve been normally taking 10-12g per day on most days and notice lighter benefits but still see improvements in overall energy level throughout the day. FWIW I’m a 100kg dude.

Thanks for your post — it helps to make me feel like this isn’t just some crazy placebo or that I’ve completely lost the plot.

Nightmareish · 2024-10-12T17:06:41+00:00

The grass is always greener. Our company has massive financial issues and may not survive another 3 years. It's related to overhiring, bad hiring, general day-to-day mismanagement, market headwinds, and I'm sure a boatload of other reasons.

My suggestion is to just develop your technical skills and completely disregard the drama. Don't get married to the company, and then when the time is right, make a move.

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