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0 pointsTeMPOraL7y ago0 comments

That's definitely something I need to think through more. And what your father-in-law said sounds wise. Thanks for sharing it.

The reason I ended up in tech is in part my fascination about tech, especially as applied to uplifting ourselves and solving our problems (yes, I watched way too much Star Trek: The Next Generation in my formative years). I never thought much about family - in fact, for the most of my life, I felt it's something of a side endeavour. I still feel it shouldn't be the sole focus of a person, though I definitely believe it's more important than I believed in the past.

Same for relationships. And small communities. I feel that maybe we overdid this globalization thing. Maybe global competition and centralization of various kinds of innovative work is more efficient, but it also doesn't seem healthy. Living in a city, there's no such thing as "local community" anymore. Not even neighbours.

> I have resigned myself that it's not my job to fix society, it's our job to fix society, and I'm doing my part where I am.

Still, I'd like to feel like I'm actually doing my part beyond just participating in the economy as consumer. I have specialized skills, I'm not dumb. But I have hard time finding opportunities to do things I'd know could help meaningfully and effectively. There must be something. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough.

Your comment you linked to is golden. I'm favouriting it. Those are definitely words I'll try to remember from now on.

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blablabla1237y ago

I've also thought about this a lot. My last years of work life have been quite boring as well. On the other hand I realize that, as you write in your first post, are scarce and precious.

A few years ago I applied for a really interesting jobs within Telematics - one of my favorite areas. So I called them, got the CTO on the phone and he had almost no time for me. Then I wrote a mail with my formal application to them. It was appealing and they replied with some coding riddles. I guess I did well enough and was one of 2 or 3 people to get invited. Of course before the in-person interview I studied some Algorithms & Data Structures book. At the same time I did Scala programming although it wasn't expected to know that but people worked with it.

Anyway, during the interview they made me sweat for at least 3 hours. Every now and then also reminding me how good the other people working there are - the one guy having worked 8 years at a company writing DBMS in London. So yeah, after leaving the communication was difficult but the CTO said the people said they liked me and they would hire me despite my shortcomings - I would have to unlearn stuff. The offer was really bad, in fact even the most senior people got below average salary.

At the end I started working at a company that worked on a moonshoot project involving a CAD program in the browser. Even some mathematician who worked in Japan on Robotics was there. Salary was good enough but the people were borderline insane. I quit after 3 months and landed a below average paid job, but with a lot of nice people. I don't regret that. Work was mostly boring but the environment was nice.

Anyways, not living in the Bay Area, I guess things are they different again.

bpyne7y ago

For me, the most rewarding work is the volunteering I do. I coach various youth sports. I have no pressure to win so I can focus on letting the kids enjoy themselves, have positive interactions, and learn a little about the sports. Seeing them gain confidence and passionately work toward something is a major reward for me.

I still enjoy trying to match a user's expectations with the software I write. But, it's balanced by other aspects like coaching and being in a family.

newfoundglory7y ago

> Living in a city, there's no such thing as "local community" anymore. Not even neighbours.

Sure there is. I live in a condo with 20 other units, and it makes a great small neighborhood.

TeMPOraLOP7y ago

How do you make it work? In the experience of every condo dweller I know personally, people know their neighbours mostly to the extent they bother being involved in their HOA meetings; otherwise, everyone walks their separate paths, only greeting (and maybe briefly chatting with) the neighbours as they meet them on the stairway.

newfoundglory7y ago

It helps that it's shaped more like townhouses than an apartment building. We have a large interior carpark/garden where the kids play, which creates a lot of incidental contact and I think the kids are a huge factor in making a neighborhood feel, it creates an easy shared experience and proximity means you can easily help people out with eg shared babysitting. There's also a few people who make a dedicated effort to encourage community, like trick or treating, and it's a place where half the residents have been there over ten years. I joined the HOA in my first year which has definitely helped me get to know others.

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blablabla1237y ago

I've also thought about this a lot. My last years of work life have been quite boring as well. On the other hand I realize that, as you write in your first post, are scarce and precious.

Anyways, not living in the Bay Area, I guess things are they different again.

bpyne7y ago

I still enjoy trying to match a user's expectations with the software I write. But, it's balanced by other aspects like coaching and being in a family.

newfoundglory7y ago

> Living in a city, there's no such thing as "local community" anymore. Not even neighbours.

Sure there is. I live in a condo with 20 other units, and it makes a great small neighborhood.

TeMPOraLOP7y ago

newfoundglory7y ago

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