Journal tomhudson's Journal: POLL: Were you happier before you started working in I.T.? 12
This story touches on some of the health problems in IT. While it might seem to focus on the effects of shift work, I think it's a lot more widespread.
Simply put, I.T. is the new sweatshop. Ask yourself, when all is said and done, were you happier before you started working in I.T.?
Looking back, I know I was. In the end, the extra hours, the nights and weekends lost and unappreciated, dealing with the STUPIDITY
So, Were YOU happier before you worked in I.T.?
[_] Yes
[_] Hell, yes!
[_] There was a life before?
[_] What is this "life" you speak of?
[_] What is this "happiness" you speak of?
[_] Sorry, I haven't got time to reply - it's eternal crunch time here.
[_] In Soviet I.T., work IS life!
[_] Thanks for reminding me that I have no life, you insensitive b*tch!
[_] I'm going to continue to "tough it out" even if most days I want to slit my wrists!
[_] Help, I'm trapped in a code factory!
[_] I don't know how to do anything else any more, so I'm gritting my teeth and bearing it.
[_] I'm trapped - I can't afford to even try to do something else.
There is life after I.T. For the first time in decades, I have a decent tan, and I've been able to see relatives I haven't seen in 2 decades except at weddings and funerals. Looking back, I'd rather be broke than go back to a job as a dev. My resume now states clearly at the top "Not interested in any development job." Any code I write from now on will either be to "scratch an itch" or because someone is willing to pay enough to make it very interesting, and also to adhere to a proper methodology and schedule. And we all know that in this industry, in this economic environment, that second option just doesn't happen. Not that I care any more
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Missing option: N/A (Score:2)
That's right, Not Applicable, because your "There was a life before?" option was obviously sarcasm. This question simply does not apply to me, as I was quite literally born into IT. As a small child (about age 4 or 5), one of my earliest vivid memories is that of playing ring-toss in the computer room at my dad's office, with a big box of the colorful write-enable rings [wikipedia.org] used on the 1/2" reel tapes. At age 6, I remember going in to work with my dad one Saturday, where he sat me down at his drafting table,
Re: (Score:1)
My dad also did that with me! I remember drawing ASCII art on the IBM Mainfraimes when he was called in for an emergency and nobody could watch after me (mom 'n bro were out of town). I also have played with the flowchart templates.
That's one of the sweetest things I heard in a long time. Thanks for that.
Does my job count as IT? (Score:1)
Part of my job involves writing VB6 code. I do use a lot of spreadsheets and spend my day in front of a computer.
Were YOU happier before you worked in I.T.?
[_] Yes
[_] Hell, yes!
[_] There was a life before?
[X] What is this "life" you speak of?
[_] What is this "happiness" you speak of?
[_] Sorry, I haven't got time to reply - it's eternal crunch time here.
[_] In Soviet I.T., work IS life!
[_] Thanks for reminding me that I have no life, you insensitive b*tch!
[_] I'm going to continue to "tough it out" even if
Re: (Score:2)
VB? We feel your pain.
"Aye, there's the rub!" The last time I was out of work, finding a job, and fixing up stuff so that I had lots to show for any interview, became an 80-hour-a-week task. This time, I refuse to get on that bandwagon. The jobs are disappearing (
Difficult to answer (Score:1)
How about after leaving IT? (Score:2)
It is a huge improvement, even though it doesn't pay as well as a regular IT job.
Good jobs are out there... (Score:2)
I truly enjoy working in IT. There are interesting challenges. I get to deal with almost everyone in the company. I get to make decisions that have real impact and I get to learn every day.
My last job was more intellectually stimulating, and I miss that, but it was also more hours and always on-call. Hourly pa
Missing Option: (Score:2)
[X] Not necessarily happier *before*, but ECSTATIC *after*.
Yes, helping people really does feel that much better.
Re: (Score:2)
For people who know the feeling of having to "decompress" after a bad stretch or a bad job, think of the "AFTER" as being the relief of decompressing 24-7, with the knowledge that it (the death marches, the crunch time, the massive ineptitude) will never happen again.
So for me, there's a bright side to my eyesight going - so far, it's not so bad that I can't write the occasional post, but coding as a job is history, so I don't have to worry about it any more.
None of the above (Score:2)
Before: Lost, unfulfilled and flittering from one thing to the next as I enjoyed none of them.
After: Focused on something I love, working at a great company and 19 years of experience behind me that I enjoyed most of.
Sorry your experience is different but it doesn't project onto me.
Yeah (Score:2)
It let me put my wife and my sister-in-law through school. Now its my turn.
Glad to hear! (Score:2)
I'm glad to hear you are happy. Maybe I'm too young, but I am still loving "I.T.", although the situation I'm in right now is not making me happy (Mathcad and VB are *not* my idea of a good time, nor will they be going on my resume). Maybe I'm just happy because I've been getting interview offers at places I would like to work when I haven't even been pushing my resume. Maybe I wouldn't be happy anywhere. But I'm fairly certain of one thing: I /really/ like writing code.
Happy trails and good luck in all you