It is often not possible to get all three
1. job satisfaction and meaning
2. money
3. lifestyle
Most jobs can give you 2 out of 3. You may have to adopt a side hustle to fullfil the missing piece.
It is often not possible to get all three
1. job satisfaction and meaning
2. money
3. lifestyle
Most jobs can give you 2 out of 3. You may have to adopt a side hustle to fullfil the missing piece.
Last week a senior software engineer who has deep knowledge in a very specialized and high value skill (Machine Learning) for our company asked me for advice on getting more exposure and impact for her work. She was in a situation where her skills and opinions are sought after by senior leaders in engineering, product management and individual contributors.
I suggested that she start drafting up a 2 year plan, pretend that she has already been promoted 2 levels higher than she is now, and when she meets people at different levels, she can talk to them about that specific level that fits the audience. The most interesting part of my proposal is that she mentally get over the hump that she is not senior enough. I have seen very high potential individuals who are not as qualify as her really shine by operating in the next level. She is uniquely qualify because she is so deeply knowledgable in her area.
The artifact of this 2 year plan, is that she is able to pull it up and talk to product mangers to plan what the next step is, it’s a way to communicate an idea and roadmap clearly, it’s a great way to talk with VP of engineering about what to invest in and an anchoring document to validate whether new architectures align well with the plan. The plan should spell out very clearly the gap between where the company wants to be and where we are now. It should also spell out the level of investment that is needed to get from point A to point B.
I do hesitate whether this is way too bold. Whether this is even possible to operate at 2 levels removed. I personally have not done it, but I also never process the skills needed to be deep in one area. My suggestion would collaborate with someone who is the right place organizationally and also already operating at 2 levels above.
I have been mentoring several engineers and a common theme has emerged.
We often don’t spend enough time actively managing our own career.
These are the positive steps you should ask yourself.
1) The things I am working on right now, are they important and will they help further my career?
2) If they are not, perhaps I should stop doing them or hand them off to a junior person who wants that responsibility
3) Who in the organization would give me an honest opinion besides my manager?
4) What do I want to be in 3 years and is what I am doing getting me there?
Another good exercise is to write your year end review in the beginning of the year and you will notice what is glaring obvious.
I have been getting the same question recently. Wow, you have been around for 8 years at Yahoo News? What makes you stay?
I think I’ll have to write it down to clear it up for myself.
1. there is so much potential upside to the stock and for the company. It’s still the #1 (2008) web property in the world and lots of new projects and direction changes only can mean good things in the future
2. there is so much to do, for someone who can take the initiative, he can still make a lot of contributions.
3. the founders are getting their hands dirty and building safeguards in place to keep their key employees happy
4. the microsoft deal is just a validation of how valuable Yahoo! is. Whether the deal go through or not, it’s really not important. Yahoo! is very valuable as a standalone entity or as a part of any other company.
5. users still love love Yahoo! it’s been proven over 13 years, period. People vote with their clicks.
You should read If I were a Google employee and ‘My Perspective On Working‘
I worked for SGI from 1993-1999 and was bleeding SGI blood. I was the cheerleader for the company and our group. I left SGI when the company just couldn’t deliver the financial results it promised.
A friend from SGI mentioned to me that when I left SGI, I swore I would not be emotionally involved with a company again. I don’t remember saying that, but I’m sure I did. Now looking at where I am, I’m very positive about Yahoo! and many words have been used to describe me. the lifer, old timer, company man, ancient timer, true yahoo.
My perspective on work is that whatever company I am in, make the best of it. Don’t complaint too much, put my energy towards something that I can make a difference. Look at the mirror when I want to complaint and see if I am making things better. Find something I want to change and keep on pushing for it.
Like Chris (co-worker) says, it’s like pushing jello uphill. But if I don’t tackle it, no one else will. While I’m getting paid good money, I vow to keep on pushing the jello. Until one day for whatever reason I part with the company, my next company, I’ll be pushing jello again.
Read ‘My Perspective On Working‘
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want in life or at work, you will be surprised how many times the answer is YES or even maybe. Just prepare for the NO answer, and that is ok.
It has happened to me so many times now I think I’ll just have to accept it and just go with the flow.
Trying to explain what a software engineer does for Yahoo! News to people I meet or family members has been interesting. Here is a sample conversation with a friend I met.
Friend: “So what do you do for Yahoo!?”
Me: “I’m a software engineer for Yahoo! News”
Friend: chew on some noodles..
Me: “Well, I write instructions for the machines so that everything is automated and even when I’m not at my desk the web site is updating”
Friend: “oh! you don’t type up the news for them?”
Me: I start cracking up.. No no, I don’t. News comes from satellite or from the internet, I write…. I see the blank stare..
Me: Here is my usual answer: You ever watched The Matrix? You know that green screen where all these non sense characters are flowing by? That is the screen I usually stare at all day long except the characters does make sense
Friend: Hmm, ok, continue chewing noodles
Me: I’m a highly paid equivalent to a VCR programmer. Thought bubble: “It’s not that hard to understand, someone has to write the software for you web surfers to use web site”
Friend: I’m sure you are good at what you do. Is that your pager going off? Are you tech support or something? I know what they do, they fix my Windows machine
Makes for funny conversations if the blank stare doesn’t come on too early.
The photo is of my holding my Treo phone, my daughter Cate was taking a photo of me taking a photo of her.
My dad was the person who pushed me into software engineering in college (I was drifting a bit with no goals)
But after working for 5 years in SGI, my dad saw how crazy my hours were and commented to me to start preparing myself to exit the industry and find another line of work because I couldn’t sustain the long hours.
He thinks that the new grads from college will just take over my job because they can work faster and longer than I could at 30 years old.
Then came the reports of the jobs moving overseas to India, he again told me to prepare myself to be replaced.
Now I’m 34 years old, he tells me I’m over the hill and how I can possibly compete with the young kids coming out of college?
I could see his point, does experience really matter in software engineering? Since we are supposely working in the bleeding edge of technology, does what I learned 10 years ago really matter now?
Yes and no is my answer