Ask HN: What is the most frustrating part of working in the software industry?

4 points by minionslave 9 years ago | 9 comments

After graduating college, I was faced with the cold hard reality of life. Working in software is just like any other industry, it's not always the magical fairy land I was told.

I became aware of competition, micromanagement and unrealistic deadlines. I have made several mistakes due to my naïveté and being unaware of those things.

For those who have been working in the industry for a while. Is there anything I should watch out for if I want to succeed? Does working in the industry requires playing some office politics?

itamarst 9 years ago |

Here are some things I've learned the hard way:

1. Negotiate your salary. That means doing research up front about what you can get, and then making sure you ask for it, and making sure you don't let previous salary set baseline for what you get. Read this before you start looking for a job: http://valerieaurora.org/howto_salary/

2. If you really aren't happy at work, or if there's layoffs, start looking for a new job. Don't hang around hoping it'll get better. It might, but it might not, and better to look for new job while you're still employed then after you've left (voluntarily or otherwise).

3. Some companies will want you to work long hours. This is total bullshit and counter-productive and you should avoid such companies (https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/08/18/productive-programme...). Find out during the interview process (tactfully and carefully!) and walk away (politely and without mentioning the reason!).

(You can get the full stories of the many and varied career and software mistakes I've made over the years over at https://softwareclown.com).

psyc 9 years ago |

I worked in the industry for 20 years, at all kinds of software companies. If I can help it, I'll never work at a company again. The single most frustrating thing is the extent to which programmers are forbidden, by process, from being programmers and doing programming. Even after 15 years, and with "senior" in my title, most of the time (not all of the time) I was constrained by process to make tiny, incremental changes, adorned by a ton of very low-utility process. My day to day work was seldom different, and often more tedious, than the work I did in my first year in the industry. Management considered every code change to be a risk, rather than my profession, and everybody had to work to the lowest common denominator of capability on the team.

Now I work for myself and actually do programming all day.

toexitthedonut 9 years ago |

False sense of security of your job.

I worked for more companies that had problems with their budget or even payroll after stepping into the programming career, than I have when I was working jobs with a lower entry barrier like cashier or workshop assistant. I never had an employer burn me money-wise before becoming a programmer.

bossybowser 9 years ago |

For me, it's just all about education.

Never stop studying your field.

You will naturally rise to the top and you won't have to play any silly office politics as it will become quite clear that your skills far outmatch those of your peers.

Most people go home and watch TV or play Xbox, or get drunk.

Don't be most people.

mattbrewsbytes 9 years ago |

You need to understand what your definition of success is, this may take a while to formulate and will also change over time. If you want to be more involved with business side functions then knowing different personality types and how to work with them will help you be successful.

No matter what profession you are in, there will be office politics or team dynamics to some extent. Different sets of personalities interact differently.

Focus on what you like best about writing software and try to find companies that allow you to do more of that and less BS.

bartvk 9 years ago |

I've had great success just doing my job, and ignore the small stuff. I don't really care for office politics, and I've always kept myself out of it.

The joy of software engineering, in my opinion, can be found when you focus on getting fun work. If that was not available at my current job, I have always been able to switch.

For the last couple of years, I've gotten a nice extra boost by changing specialization (from embedded to iOS) ND starting as a contractor instead of regular job.

For me, software engineering is usually good fun.

RNeff 9 years ago |

Watch out for the endless arguments between programmers on emotional topics like: what is the best programming language, operating system, database, framework, UI toolkit, vi versus emacs, spaces versus tabs, trivia in style guides, etc.

A programming language is a tool, not a religion, and the fact that you only know one does not make you qualified to discuss the issue.

tboyd47 9 years ago |

Being made to use technologies you don't like at work.

tedmiston 9 years ago |

Open floor plan offices