I got another spam from a company that’s looking for RoR devs. I replied back that I might be willing to chat with them to see what they’re up to…
But I remembered previous emails saying they are looking for engineers who want to work 80 hours a week… I explained, that’s a no go in my book.
“Unfortunately we’re looking for developers who are able and willing to work up to 80 hours a week.”
LOL - for a modest SF salary and .05% of your company that will probably never turn a profit?
Thanks but no thanks. I’m more than happy to outproduce by 2-3x other engineers in a 40-50 hour a week gig, but 80 hours a week…?
These stories almost always end in a death march. Best of luck to you developers out there who are cranking out 80 hours a week at some pre-profitability startup!
Now, if you’re a co-founder in your own startup, that’s a totally different ballgame. Co-founders usually have 20 to 50 to 80% of a company, of course they’ll put in 80 hours a week, and expect (naively) everyone else to do the same.
Don’t you all remember the first dot-com bubble & the horror stories therein?
I’m also much more of an entrepreneur than your average codehead. With several k a month of my own pouring in, 80 hours a week working for someone else simply is not all that appealing.
If anything, 20-30 hours would be more like it. (for a reduced salary, or on contract for 2x as much!)
Good decision. I just fired from a job like that. I start a new one on Monday at an established company. You have made the right decision.
Depends whether you are in it for the money. Any potential cofounder/ or early employee who came and said they wanted to do less hours - i would say great, but why.
If they genuinely got to hour 30 and stopped exactly what they were doing thats bad, but if they were driven to work when they felt like it, were passionate about the problem and got things done it works out great.
my sense is that you get stuff done and are driven by passion.
WG - you got fired or fired the job? hehe.
sharpshoot - this was for employee ~ #10 or so, I believe.
“were passionate about the problem and got things done it works out great”
Yes, exactly. My problem is not with working my ass off, I have indeed done that for others before.
The problem is with too much focus on hours, instead of results. We all know someone who spends more time in the office and gets 1/2 as much done.
I’ve worked for companies like that, more concerned with ‘butt-in-chair’ time than results.
They aren’t very nice places to work, and I really didn’t get much done while I was there.