Thread: Why I get paid the little bucks :(

  1. #1
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
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    Why I get paid the little bucks :(

    I took 50 pages of code that didnt work right, took 2 months to write, crashed when you exited the application, and consumed 60% of the processor and can only access one camera, and turned it into 4 pages of code that runs perfectly and uses 8% of the processor for 4 cameras and can access any number of cameras at the same time, and did it in 8 days.

    Now taking bets I don't see a bump in my paycheck...

  2. #2
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    You know... I don't want to center this on me, but bear with me the following paragraph and we'll get back to your post. You''l get where I'm heading...

    You know when I decided once and for all I would leave the profession? 3 years ago, 2 before I finally did, after having spent a whole summer working alone night and day non stop (sometimes skipping sleep entirely) on a huge project that had to be finished by late September. I delivered in time and, believe it or not, with not even one bug worth being called that. I got my paycheck as usual plus a 1k bonus, he got 267,000 Euros as per the contract. So I said screw that! As soon as possible I'll either start my own business or go do something else entirely. What I won't do is make other people fat while I work myself to the freakin' bone. My last two years on that company where spent being utterly incompetent and enjoying every single moment of it.

    Honestly abachler I got tired of it all. Programming is no different from anywhere else. You'll have the corporate suits (and the loyal suits and the my-life-is-going-great suits) who will come up with their success stories on how happy they are working for someone else and being slaved until retirement comes or company goes broke at which time they'll be arse kicked faster they can say "but I was always loyal!", while the owners ran away with as much leftover money they can.

    I now have my own bookshop and the poor bastard doing mornings gets payed in salt. So I'm no different than those I criticize. But I never said I wouldn't.

    And that's precisely my suggestion... a little bit of that remedy you have for dictatorships... build up that anger and stockpile it. Plan to start your own thing and use that energy you have been storing into it. If you must, slave others. Don't let them slave you. I'm not going to suggest anyone to save the world. Ever since Economics have been discovered, we set out to slowly build a hell of our lives and those around us. I suggest instead play ball. But play it on your own court.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  3. #3
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    When I owned a business the pay was better but the stress was higher. I miss it sometimes but I love programming so I cannot say I'm unhappy or dissatisfied.

    But in any field you will never get 'wealthy' when someone else writes out your paycheck. But a consistent paycheck often is a lot simpler and a lot less stressful than the feast or famine that is associated with the ups and down of owning a business.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by abachler View Post
    I took 50 pages of code that didnt work right, took 2 months to write, crashed when you exited the application, and consumed 60% of the processor and can only access one camera, and turned it into 4 pages of code that runs perfectly and uses 8% of the processor for 4 cameras and can access any number of cameras at the same time, and did it in 8 days.

    Now taking bets I don't see a bump in my paycheck...
    Why are you telling us and not your boss? Show them a little before/after one-pager and why you just made the software so much better.

  5. #5
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    Was that part of your job to make that run better? Did that fix make money and/or save money for your employer?

    If it was part of your job, congratulations on doing it well. If you don't eventually see benefits from doing your job well, consider moving to another one. If it was not part of your job, but still helped your employer, then see the previous statement. If it was not part of your job and did not really help your employer make and/or save money, then congratulations on your good work but don't expect anything from your employer for it.

  6. #6
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    When your next salary review is due, get a hair cut and take a few single days off.
    Even better if you actually go for some job interviews.
    Better still if you can enter negotiations with a better offer in your back pocket.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

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