Ask HN: Why are you still at your current job?

1. It pays the bills. I make more than 97% of people in the US. I'm going to get paid a guaranteed 15% bonus at the end of this year. There ain't no way I'm getting fired from here: I know that this employer really can't afford to fire even mediocre people due to the sky-high cost of replacing them.

2. The people here are .. mediocre. I'm not learning anything. I'm not 100% sure whether anyone gives half a turd about the project I'm working on. And I have to dress like a damn fool. (Business casual sucks.)

3. I'm still here because I haven't found anything better just yet. The roof isn't on fire & this job kind of does what it's supposed to do for my family, so I can afford to take the time to find something better. I am actively doing that.

4. I'll leave once I've found an opportunity that I love. I'll know it when I see it.

1) I'm stuck. Can't make it at a programming job since my major was not CS.

2) Freelance doesn't really work without a portfolio to gain traction

Horrible situation because money was never an issue to me. I just wanted to pursue my passion. If I was able to remotely work for $20/hr. I would gladly move to a low cost of living country.

1. People, I have some really good colleagues. Then the flexible work hours, nobody really cares if I come in at 6, have a 4 hour lunch break and the finish my work from home, as long as I am able to attend our meetings, and all of those I can do online. I finished my drivers licence this way. Third is the breadth of technologies I get to use.

2. Better compensation. I know the company I work for is below average in my location/profession. Second, I'd like to see more drive towards quality and less on showing barely running mvp's out of the door.

3. I have a small child, so I am willing to forgo better pay if I know that nobody will even blink if I suddenly get from my desk at noon that I need to run an errand and don't return. Second reason is, that in a year we will release new mayor version of our produce and I would really like to see it in better state than barely working MVP :)

4. If my current situation changes, i.e: if my daughter is in kindergarden and wife at work I would exchange the flexible hours for higher pay.

1. The environment is generally positive, love my co-workers and I do a reasonable job as a platform engineer.

2. Would love to have more input in the direction of certain aspects of the product.

3. My #1 priority is work-life balance. It is taken care of here.

4. If work starts becoming tedious (monotony?) and starts eating into my free time / weekends, I would leave right away.

1. Being remote lets me work varied hours as needed with clients but still have a good work/life balance. My manager and co-workers are all generally good and we get along well. I currently get to lead projects involving Devops, scalability testing, performance, and various other things so work is interesting and challenging.

2. The size and culture of the company can make us slower to adopt new things. Both human and physical resources are tight.

3. When I look at new positions, the opportunity there with the risks involved generally don't seem to be better.

4. If my current manager left, work becomes tedious and micro-controlled, I'd likely be looking actively.

Great questions and sometimes life just works out quirky, but here's my thoughts... 1. I do not enjoy anything! 2. I will not miss anything! 3. Pay is descent and benefits are great! 4. I would need to just go after my dreams and stop second guessing myself and my abilities!

Great topic!

1. Some of the people. Half of my team is awesome, the other half mediocre

2. More money. More responsibilities. More opportunities to learn new things (both technical and "soft skills")

3. I'm currently looking for something else

4. Already decided to leave, just waiting to find the right opportunity.

Hard to find another remote position that pays more but doesn't suck more.

> 2. What in your job are you missing?

There's thought provoking lecture by Richard Hamming on considering your job and career. He asks -

1) What are the most important problems in your field?

2) Are you working on ONE of them?

3) Why NOT?

Timeless advice, applicable to a variety of professions > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw

1) Some management responsibilities, a good team, pretty good comp 2) Best practices. I want to be able to write automated tests, have architecture documents, good tooling and work with great people. And preferably use a different language other than PHP 3)I've been allowed to work from Europe for months at a time and been given the opportunity to manage a small team. This has been a great opportunity to improve my soft skills, but I feel like my tech skills are rusting away 4) Finding a remote job that pays the equivalent salary or higher. Alternatively, I may leave for a brand name tech company like Google or Facebook where I would work with best practices and great people.