I don't know what to do
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
In Sweden where I live, age is not an issue when applying for a job as a programmer. The shortage is too high... :-\
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain -
I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
I was like this after my last good gig in 2003. I had built up a nice nest egg, and then after a major hurricane flood and the Great Recession, I couldn't find work in my VC++ specialty anymore - to say nothing of the fact that with so many unemployed programmers, I determined that it was not possible to resurrect my career - so I decided to save my IRA and just file a 6-figure Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and travel abroad doing itinerant English language consulting. With the "Great Resignation" now the meme, I had thought about getting back into the swing, but whom would I be kidding? Besides, I get an ACA subsidy that's worth about $20K after tax, so if I earn $30K north of $18K/yr, I'd end up with the same amount of cash. I'm too used to being early retired. As internet philosopher Aaron Clarey says, I am "enjoying the decline".
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Yup, several times. Job once and boss a couple of times. What advice did I get? Suck it up until/unless you find something better. One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem. :)
>64 Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
theoldfool wrote:
One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem.
This reminds me of a gig at a real mess of a company. I was given such an out-of-date computer that I couldn't compile anything in the IBM OS (remember that POS?), and nobody would help me. I got canned after 2 weeks, but karma was great in that that guy that canned me got canned the day after me. Along with some employment quarters from before, I was able to get unemployment, and ended up making about 3X as much on the dole as I made at the cubicle, LOL.
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Yup, several times. Job once and boss a couple of times. What advice did I get? Suck it up until/unless you find something better. One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem. :)
>64 Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
theoldfool wrote:
One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him...
Peter?
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
Slow Eddie wrote:
However, given my age and skill set
"Experience".
Slow Eddie wrote:
Have you ever been in that sort of position?
A few times; and always left as soon as I could. It hurts both sides to continue at that point.
Slow Eddie wrote:
Hate the job but need the money?
Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much. There's a Dutch saying, that it is hard to capture hares with unwilling dogs.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: "If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Yup, several times. Job once and boss a couple of times. What advice did I get? Suck it up until/unless you find something better. One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem. :)
>64 Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
theoldfool wrote:
One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem
I believe Scott Adams calls this the [Dilbert Principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilbert\_principle).
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theoldfool wrote:
One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem
I believe Scott Adams calls this the [Dilbert Principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilbert\_principle).
Yup. Back in the day, they were hiring anyone who could fog a mirror.
>64 Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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theoldfool wrote:
One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him...
Peter?
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
No. Scott Adams. (See the [Dilbert Principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilbert\_principle)) EDIT: Aarrgh! I see that someone else referenced this before me.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
My girlfriend is in such a position. She doesn't hate her work per se, but she certainly hates the bosses (father & son, not quite a healthy relationship between them certainly doesn't help office atmosphere). But the money's good and she gets bonuses outside of her contract (such as the company paying for her commute ticket) and looking for another job RIGHT NOW is madness anyway.
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
You could always take a Zen approach. Learn to observe your own reactions and find out where they come from. The people who annoy you the most are sometimes the best teachers. And no, you are never too old to learn that sort of stuff. Failing that, another Zen approach, just give notice and see what happens.
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
Slow Eddie wrote:
I can't stand anymore
What do you mean by this? Is it lack of professionalism, knowledge of whatever the job needs? Or something personal? If it is work related, I would objectively state how it is. There is nothing personal there. I do not know how your work environment is but where I am telling someone that they are objectively wrong, is quite acceptable. At one previous job I tried this and I was told "I do not want to work with you ever.". I was moved to another part of work. Win-win. If it is personal, then may be a casual chat explaining how you are affected.
"It is easy to decipher extraterrestrial signals after deciphering Javascript and VB6 themselves.", ISanti[^]
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
Get him fired. That's what I have always done.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
Before you do any move, check the employment market around you. You may be pleasantly surprised.
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Slow Eddie wrote:
given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal
Personally I take the opposite approach to the whole agism thing claimed to exist in this field - nothing makes up for decades of experience...I don't know anything about you or your circumstances, but don't undersell yourself--too many people do that. Keep in mind that it's a job seeker's market right now - this could work out in your favor. If you feel that strongly about it, start looking, but don't burn bridges until you have something else lined up.
Slow Eddie wrote:
Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
I think that can be said for, oh, 90% of the workforce in any industry?
This is the only sensible answer. If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job. Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try. We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
You can! You need to boost your confidence! Read up, and form opinions, on contemporary developments in technologies that are close to your current skillz. [Eg Go: generics, C++23, Python: Structural Pattern Matching, if your stuck in legacy VB.NET read up on C#, etc] This gives an extra edge if you want to make a hungry impression in your interviews. In other words, yes you should definitely look for new jobs! Good Luck :love: And: never apologise about your age, do not even joke about it. [EDIT:]if you are in a large organisation, look for positions within that.
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position? Hate the job but need the money?
ed
I'd look for a job and tell him I'm leaving only once I've found new position
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This is the only sensible answer. If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job. Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try. We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
Sander Rossel wrote:
We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
No only in Dutch ;)
Sander Rossel wrote:
This is the only sensible answer. If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job. Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try.
Yeah, but as he says... do it low profile, you don't want to worsen things as long as you haven't found anything else.
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Slow Eddie wrote:
However, given my age and skill set
"Experience".
Slow Eddie wrote:
Have you ever been in that sort of position?
A few times; and always left as soon as I could. It hurts both sides to continue at that point.
Slow Eddie wrote:
Hate the job but need the money?
Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much. There's a Dutch saying, that it is hard to capture hares with unwilling dogs.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: "If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
Quote:
Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much.
You don't know my wife, or my debt level, primarily due to my wife. You are alucky man
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Slow Eddie wrote:
I can't stand anymore
What do you mean by this? Is it lack of professionalism, knowledge of whatever the job needs? Or something personal? If it is work related, I would objectively state how it is. There is nothing personal there. I do not know how your work environment is but where I am telling someone that they are objectively wrong, is quite acceptable. At one previous job I tried this and I was told "I do not want to work with you ever.". I was moved to another part of work. Win-win. If it is personal, then may be a casual chat explaining how you are affected.
"It is easy to decipher extraterrestrial signals after deciphering Javascript and VB6 themselves.", ISanti[^]
I have tried this. He is stupid, slow and won't listen. He inherited the company from his father, so I can't get him fired.
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Get him fired. That's what I have always done.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
He inherited the company from his father, so I can't get him fired. I like your signature BTW. I have 5 budgies, myself.
ed
