Chad Schrock 🏳️‍🌈Jul 9, 2023
The Laughing Muse
No, recruiters.

I do not want to be part of a "challenging" team.

I'm in my mid-50s. I want to be part of a "mature" team, a "powerful" team with a large and well-managed "throughput", a "structured" team that knows how to use processes to quickly and accurately handle the Same Stuff Happens Every Week so that when someone else comes screaming in with their ass on fire babbling about something someone else broke and We Need To Document This Thing NOW NOW NOW, one or two of us can calmly turn from our current tasks, neatly and quickly handle La Emergencia, and calm the panicked person's heartrate without raising our own.

I'm old. Fuck "ambition". I just want a good paycheck and no dumbass "this REALLY could have been avoided" hasslepanic.
Jul 3, 2023 at 6:34pmWeb
Show threadThe Laughing MuseJul 5, 2023
I just want to write good documentation, dammit. I don't want to feel like I'm constantly reacting to yet another firedrill. And I want the time to actually implement some of the changes I decide I want to make.

I'm guessing that many people in tech want to see a little more of the "do things WELL" and less of the "do things differently just to do them differently."
Show threadbarsJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Sounds like "just" a different ambition. Which is great, too; I think I agree to a large extent.
Show threadVoronJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I take you aren’t sending a resume to Twitter
Show threadaltreus™Jul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Agreed. Writing good documentation is very satisfying!
Show threadGen X-WingJul 3, 2023
@thelaughingmuse You hiring? Sounds like my kind of team.
Show threadStacey CorneliusJul 3, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I'm adding "hasslepanic" to my lexicon.
Show threadAethylredJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse no one talks about the lead in the keel keeping this carbon fibre solar powered super yacht upright
Show threadTucker TeagueJul 4, 2023

@thelaughingmuse

be part of a "challenging" team

is just another way of saying we'll pay you less but just think of the opportunities

Show threadThe Laughing MuseJul 4, 2023
@tuckerteague Or, payment in Exposureland Funbucks (also known as ESPP or "discount coupons to buy lottery tickets")
Show threadAmateur HumanJul 4, 2023
@tuckerteague @thelaughingmuse dream about the opportunities, because they're probably fictional
Show threadRaenaJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse HARD relate
Show threadStressed Out Maikel 🇪🇺Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I'm 37 (I think 🤔) and I want the same.

Fuck challenges. I want a mortgage, a nice telly and a treadmill to watch it from. I already know enough of challenge.
Show threadRobCorneliusJul 4, 2023

@thelaughingmuse

Oh dear gods yes.

The thing is with a little thought this isn't hard to achieve.

Don't make me tell you my horror stories from working on a major fashion brand that rhymes with Tucci... Let's just say the scrum master had a breakdown

Show threadThe Laughing MuseJul 4, 2023
@robcornelius OMG. You have all my sympathy for surviving that pressure cooker.
Show threadRobCorneliusJul 5, 2023

@thelaughingmuse

The thing is I have worked at every type of business from "8 of us in one room" to mega-corporations. Sooner or later the "team" turns into crazy shit happening every day.

Show threadKévin ⏚Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse but the constant stream of dumpster fires is team building, even though they were pointed out to management six months ago, then dismissed as "not important" at the time
Show threadMrs CloudyJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse om also 50s. Nae that keen on "fast paced" either. That's just code for ' you'll be expected to jump whenever management tells you to'. Why not just do the things that need to be done without drama? Most of the dramas are completely predictable and fairly easily avoided. Many of the panics are totally unnecessary. Unless you're in a job where lives depend on immediate action, calm doon.
Show threadDB SchweinJul 5, 2023

@CloudyMrs @thelaughingmuse

OMG this. If "overtime" is a common occurrence than you either don't know how to run your department, or you're an ass who nobody should work for. I'm happy to work OT *for emergencies*. Once a quarter is pushing it.

Show threadRiver BrandonJul 8, 2023
@CloudyMrs @thelaughingmuse A-freaking-men
Show threadTombe la pluie - TheespookjeJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I'm not even old and I agree with this 100%.i love how you worded it
Show threadThat one Jewish network nerdJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Amen. ( 52 )
Show threadCyclesBecauseSummerIsComing😀Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse agreeing, but for the fact that FIRE had removed my need for a paycheck, so I can walk out. ( And have done so)
Show threadThe Laughing MuseJul 4, 2023
@CyclesSmiles My personal favorite way I left a job was when I told my boss that I was moving on, they asked when my last day would be, and I said, "How about today?"
Show threadCyclesBecauseSummerIsComing😀Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse nice!
But I am aware this is a luxury position, not everybody can afford that ( me neither, 10 years ago).
Show threadPrickly Pam (D-PA)Jul 5, 2023

@thelaughingmuse @CyclesSmiles

You know how a person "calls in sick?"

My friend called in quit. That was it. Done. Quit.

Show threadJohn MeadowsJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Amen!!
Show thread𝓓 𝓑 𝓒𝓸𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓻Jul 4, 2023

@thelaughingmuse

“Thank you for applying. We’ll be in contact to let you know if you were successful in your application sometime never.” 😎

Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse What he said. In Spades!
Show threadAndroo DownieJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse And no, I don’t want to be part of a “family”. I’ve already got one of those and, by the way, I like spending time with them. So, you can keep the “we work hard, and play hard” teams too.
Show thread(rainynight65) has movedJul 4, 2023

@adownie @thelaughingmuse "work hard, play hard" is great when it's done right. I was part of a company that prided itself in its culture, of which the above was a part, and it was hands down the best workplace I ever had.

But done wrong, it results in half the staff not being able to do the "play hard" part because they're too busy working hard. And that can be very harmful for team cohesion and workplace culture.

Show threadAndroo DownieJul 4, 2023
@rainynight65 @thelaughingmuse yeah, like everything else, there are exceptions where it can work. For the most part, however, it usually means someone is getting screwed over.
Show threadThe Laughing MuseJul 8, 2023
@adownie @rainynight65 I remember a place where I worked. It had Oh-Beer-Thirty every Friday, regular parties, and conference rooms named after aliens in a sci-fi franchise.

That place just about put me into the hospital.
Show thread(rainynight65) has movedJul 8, 2023
@thelaughingmuse @adownie I just left a place quite similar to that. Lots of parties, free drinks and snacks, staff drinks and morning teas, but the work was hyper stressful thanks to chronic understaffing, miserable processes and crap planning.
Show threadShinigamiDad 死Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Same. :)
Show threadSyd Polk (he/his)Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Amen.
Show threadIan ElliottJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Amen!
Show threadTom LorenzJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse
Show thread(rainynight65) has movedJul 4, 2023

@thelaughingmuse I can relate so much. I literally just got out of such an environment. What little structure there was didn't help, it funnelled problems down to the same people all the time. Any planning was constant shifting of priorities to adapt to the C-suite's new ideas for revenue chasing. The tech stack was brittle and full of half finished applications.

I actually went back to my previous job, which has good structure, good planning, mature processes.

Show threadcmtinkerton 🇺🇸 🌊 🌎Jul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Yes, for me, when I see "challenging" I think salaried with lots of overtime! Back in the day, we used to get "comp" time, but I think that went away with paid lunch periods.
Show threadTwentySidedCatJul 4, 2023
@thelaughingmuse omg it me
Show threadRandom Wish Genie  :Jul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I feel this in my bones....... 🙂
Show threadNigelTufnelJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Oh, this is so good. I feel this deeply!
Show threadRural Witch 🧶🐓🔮Jul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
Show threadJoshua GravesJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse too real. Also this is the environment I want. Deeply and truly.
Show threadKelvin n0mql EN35ldJul 5, 2023

@josh @thelaughingmuse

This is essentially my current environment (been here since '07). It's why I ignore most recruiter contacts, and on the rare occasions I've decided to find out more, it ends up being something I wouldn't take unless it paid double.

Show threadEfi (nap pet) 🦊💤Jul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse one ounce of prevention is worth more than all the agile teams of quickpatch engineers
Show threadChris MahanJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I am in the same spot, and I wish for this desperately :(
Show threadPassengerJul 5, 2023

@thelaughingmuse
I'm nearing 40 and I agree with you.

Honestly the older I get, the more I end up drawing parallels between companies who want to hire talented young people to do cutting edge work in challenging environments, and those creepy dudes who only want to date women under 25 because anyone with any experience will recognise their inadequacy.

Show threadWho by avalanche who by powderJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Double. Plus. Fuck. Yeah.
Show threadtim egertonJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse couldn’t agree more albeit I’m a few years older than you, still recruiters contact me though
Show threadErotic Mythology 🌹Jul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I'm not even 40 and I don't want a challenging job, I want a boring job that pays the bills without management cramming a new idea down my throat with their corporate bullshit speak every other month.
Show threadRHZeroJul 5, 2023

@thelaughingmuse I thought @Cmastication posted this. Haha.

I’m sure he agrees with this sentiment about unnecessary panic.

Show threadJD Long ✅Jul 5, 2023
@rhzero @thelaughingmuse I am exactly this many years old too 🤣
Show threadDave HowellJul 5, 2023

@thelaughingmuse Another perspective on this, particularly for engineering roles. Good engineers like solving interesting, challenging puzzles. We like doing something that nobody has accomplished before, and figuring out little design nuances to delight users.

Puzzle solving is challenging, and is attractive to a good candidate. But I agree that recruiters more often use the term as a euphemism for long hours and overwork. You want the work, not the workplace, to be challenging.

Show threadsicjokeJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse I’m 53. I just want to sleep.
Show threadQeruiemJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse
Show threadsdavidJul 5, 2023
@thelaughingmuse Honestly, I'm only in my 30s and I feel the same way.
Show threadRobbie Coleman Jul 5, 2023

@thelaughingmuse

So beautifully stated 😁

I wholeheartedly agree 💯