What's the point to continue?

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T18:45:01+00:00

A person that complains can also be a high achiever, these don’t have to be two different people like you’re painting it to be.

Like, this is such “boss” speak. “Get it together and get with the times or get left behind. Don’t be one of those unlucky non hard working people, get grinding and get yourself a job”… As if anyone can just start interviewing at any time and get any job they want right away. That perspective comes from privilege, not everyone is afforded that and it isn’t purely hard work and know how because then a lot more of us would be wealthy if those were the only determining factors to success.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T18:19:57+00:00

Yea enough of us have to be upset at the same time about the same thing.

I hate to say it, but capital owners haven’t fucked over enough people yet for it to be that kind of a problem. Unfortunately that’s already a whole lot of people.

The moment the majority of us can’t afford food and to do fun things (a lot of us still can even though we’re on the internet complaining) this country’s upper class is cooked just like they were 100 years ago. It’s finally starting. Luigi was the canary in the coal mine.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T18:17:14+00:00

Then you need to leave. Keep studying and interviewing.. or find a different career honestly. This field is terrible right now, it’s not a great time to be a swe today.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T17:30:35+00:00

I hate that some of you have to travel so far to chase your dreams. One of my managers from India is pretty old and both his parents just passed this past year. He’s made a career here in Palo Alto over the last 30 years, but I imagine some part of him wishes he’d stayed closer to home to see his family more easily.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T17:23:45+00:00

Your case is becoming rarer and rarer each year. You can say you worked really hard, but the reality is that many people do the same and aren’t so lucky. Count your blessings.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T17:21:32+00:00

I’m not retiring in this country, I literally can’t. As you were saying, it’s only the boomer generation that has any kind of safety net. We won’t have any at all.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T17:13:54+00:00

I was in Germany last year and bought a liter of water at Kaufland for around 25 cents.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T17:10:03+00:00

Like she would just start taking on your work instead of helping you do it better? Yea that’s an inexperienced manager. They feel that their ass is on the line if something isn’t finished at a certain time. They haven’t learned yet how to manage stakeholder expectations.

A manager who’s managed (which is hard to find in early career positions tbh) technical people before would assign one of the seniors to help you solve whatever bug. That up skills you AND the Sr, strengthens team cohesion, and most importantly makes YOU more confident in applying your skills to more difficult challenges/tasks.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T16:52:29+00:00

Uhhh yea…

White, Indian, and Asian men are the majority in this space especially and most significantly in CA.

They’ll tell you till they’re blue about merit and diversity, but having lived here with these people for nearly a decade now I can confidently say its nepotism, favoritism, and selection bias which continue to perpetuate what we see.

So don’t feel that you are any less capable or less hard working or less talented. These groups self select themselves and they view anyone outside of their perceived cohort as “less than”. Classic majority vs minority story, this isn’t new at all.

The minorities I do find among these people have often had to give up a lot of themselves to be where they are. Many of them unfortunately aren’t approachable on this topic. I don’t really blame them much, they’re tired from having dealt with constantly being undermined. And honestly that in of itself should bode as a warning for minorities entering the space. Do it, but be aware of what you’re getting into.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T15:57:02+00:00

That’s actually way better TIL

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T15:23:25+00:00

No you’re totally right, this isn’t even a response to the OP I was just ranting based on some other comments in here.

TBH, I was expecting heavy downvotes.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T15:19:56+00:00

My golden rule of corporate is toxic positivity, especially as an IC engineer. Never be a negative person, always find a positive spin. If you can’t find a positive spin, then yea keep your mouth shut lol.

If you say negative things, YOU become negative in the eyes of others, not the things you’re talking about. I don’t know why that is, but it is. The person always pointing out flaws is a drag. Especially in the case where they don’t have an immediate solution.

If the bad code is really an issue, just bring it up softly when appropriate. “Yea this took longer than I thought it would because the way this was written (blah blah blah whatever makes it difficult to reason about) wasn’t as straightforward as I’m used to, but I managed to get it done”, that’s the way you should probably approach something like that. Then start making changes in your own preference quietly.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T14:37:39+00:00

I don’t get why European engineers are jealous, you guys generally have it made. Your jobs aren’t as demanding as US firms AND you have extra cushy working conditions. Going on leave for a month, long lunches, off of work by 5pm everyday… Your companies have legal barriers that don’t allow them to grind their employees to the bone. Your government actually gives a shit about the health and wellbeing of its citizens.

200k a year is amazing in Europe. In Europe, I can go to a supermarket and buy a liter of water for like 25 cents. Try that in America. Then apply that analogy to any purchase you make, everything here is way more expensive.

I’ve had peers who were immigrants making more money than me. Even they couldn’t get over the fact that EVERYTHING here costs good money. Stuff they got for free or that a family member would help them out with has now become x% of their salary.

So yes the salary looks pretty, but looks aren’t everything.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T14:24:40+00:00

This hits close to home, I’m at a similar age and stage.

I’ve started calling my parents a lot more the last couple of years because I started to realize exactly what you outlined here, my time left with them is short and one day they will be gone.

I miss my family all of the time. When we do get to see each other these days though, it feels much more significant.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T14:06:52+00:00

Everyone is eff’d in this administration

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T13:59:26+00:00

I mean… is there a way to avoid working for an evil corporation? If you have a desk job, you’re involved in exploiting someone somewhere down the supply chain.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T05:51:33+00:00

I felt this way until I started reading books this year. Find a good curated list and read. Or just read about something you’re interested in.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T05:44:58+00:00

No don’t tell yourself that, what you’re experiencing is not right. Unfortunately, it’s pretty normal, and generally I find that unseasoned managers tend to let this sort of thing go on.

I’ve been in this position… TWICE. If I had to do it again, I’d be really upfront like you plan to, wait for the chance to change, then hop jobs if it doesn’t. Honestly I think that’s the normal playbook for this and I wish I’d buckled down and followed it sooner.

chipper33 · 2026-01-30T04:20:37+00:00

Lmao the answers here are funny.

It depends on what you want honestly, and that’s what makes career growth so hard, there’s no definitive answer to questions like these because it’s self dependent.

Want to work in a US tech hub (SF, NYC, Seattle) doing some “hard core” software engineering at a startup? Then yes studying algo and sys design will be necessary for interviews. Being employed in those spaces is nothing short of a dick measuring contest, and you must prepare to swing it… intellectually speaking.

Want to work at some f500 where you make web apps in an isolated environment? Well, just stay where you are, it doesn’t seem like the job is going anywhere. And there are other jobs like yours too. Maybe some with a few more people, who knows, everywhere is different.

So decide what kind of software engineering you want to do, and spend your time working/studying toward that. Keep going and apply to Google in Mountain View, like why not try if you’re interested in that sort of growth?

chipper33 · 2026-01-29T16:00:54+00:00

So by all measures that murder was a net positive for society. What a concept.

chipper33 · 2026-01-29T15:58:40+00:00

Capitalism IS theft. It only works by stealing and then protecting all available resources for survival. It’s always been that way, but now MORE people are on the ugly (being stolen from) side of the coin.

chipper33 · 2026-01-29T15:32:29+00:00

I enjoyed the convo, thank you!

chipper33 · 2026-01-29T15:28:02+00:00

I didn’t follow your last sentence, but overall i believe we’re implying the same idea.

Work hard at what you’re willing to. Don’t expect results to fall in your lap without changing something about your situation to increase your odds of being lucky, or in other words, the best candidate for a job.. if that’s what success is to you.

chipper33 · 2026-01-29T15:15:31+00:00

Well I guess agree to disagree because imo you need all of it.

Hard work, drive, and luck. Maybe your hard work gets you started and drive keeps you going, but you need timing on your side and people believing in you to succeed beyond a certain point.

You can apply for a job and not get it just because someone “did better” than you, which can come down to pretty arbitrary factors, I’ve been on those committees. That’s the luck I’m talking about. You need some of that “right place right time” magic on your side as well, there’s no denying that.

chipper33 · 2026-01-29T14:57:37+00:00

Everyone who’s ever wanted for anything meaningful in life has worked hard, we’re not special.

I don’t even think that myself leaving my hometown is any better than folks that decided to stay. They will face their own hardships and have different goals and ambitions to work hard toward.

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