I’m lucky that I can say yes. That said, I still wouldnt do it for free. What about you, how do you feel about your job/career/field in general?
Im a teacher so yes. Do I still eagerly await retirement? Yes.
Yes. I’m an IT sysadmin for the last fully independent local newspaper in my country.
It’s pretty challenging because a newspaper needs special systems that are a clusterfuck of tech debt that the suppliers don’t fix anymore, since the entire industry is dying.I’m an IT purchaser for a public health system. Get rid of me and my colleagues and the system would keep ticking over for years in some form.
But I’m a small part of something very important.
No
I work for a company that makes lab and medical testing equipment, if you’ve had a medical emergency that required blood tests then odds are good our equipment was used. It feels good knowing that I work somewhere that has a positive impact on many people’s lives.
But, I’ve met our company president and he’s a complete piece of shit. I almost quit because the idea of making him even richer makes my stomach turn. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to find someplace else that will pay me what I need to continue to support my family… so I look at the positive things that we do and try to forget the psycho.
Nope and I’m not.
I work in the auto industry but my product is a luxury device that not many people care or know about
I used to work on human interface devices likeinstrument panels and radios and displays and it was more satisfying to see me products in the wild
No. It is just an easy job that pays the bills and I can completely forget about it the moment I’m out the door.
Open source developer.
I’d say it’s relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of things; nobody dies and the world would keep going even if I stopped.
But I’m mostly proud to do it and I enjoy working in the non-profit sector, especially since I don’t have an asshole boss or corporate interests to worry about.
On the flip side, I make less money than I would in the corporate space. But I suppose I value the freedom more than the money
The world needs more open-source software. Keep your head up king.
How did you get into this? I’ve been thinking about finding a different job but haven’t put real effort into it (yet). I’m currently a “senior” developer according to my boss, and I’m bored and annoyed by the commercial culture. Something open source sounds great if I also get paid but I highly doubt that that “senior” standard translates well.
I got into it by just committing to some projects in my free time. I built a relationship with the project, traveled to a few international sprints, and then eventually started working part time and gradually increased my involvement. I’m not sure how widely reproducible it is, to be honest, but it all starts with just getting into open source development and, like basically anything else, making personal connections in that scene. It’s highly dependent on the funding of the project, and unfortunately fundraising is the hard part of open source software development…
Plus, if you’re a senior developer, especially in the US, then you’ll probably be looking at decrease in pay to something around Euro developer rates. It’s hard to know if the long term prospects of this career are good, but I’m happy enough for now and I have a lot of agency. And it does feel good to know that you’re writing FOSS code for everyone to use. I would treat it like a passion-driven vocation of sorts.
No and no. I make way too much money for the value that my job adds to society, which is nearly none, and I want to totally blow up my career and do something that helps people. It’s harder when I have folks relying on me but I am moving in that direction
911 dispatch, yeah, kind of important.
Wish I could do it for just fire and EMS, and not police, but that’s the way the system works, and the most interesting calls I get are for police I suppose.
In a more ideal world where people don’t have to work just to survive and make ends meet, I probably would still do it, just not on a full-time schedule. It’s one of those things that needs to get done but that absolutely not everyone is cut out for, so I think it’s important for those of us who can hack it to step up to the plate to do it.
As far as whether I’m proud of what I do, well I’m proud that I get to help people, I’m proud of the skills I have that allow me to do it well, but otherwise it’s just a job, I don’t brag about what I do (although I do have a ton of interesting stories from it that I like to share)
And since it is a full time gig and I have tons of things I’d rather be doing, I’m looking forward to hopefully being able to retire someday and never having to go into the office again.
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No and a little.
I get paid well, I work from home, and we take every other Friday off because we can. But the work itself isn’t groundbreaking, though I don’t hate it or anything.
I have a great job, I’m reaching the end of a successful career and I’m very happy with the choices I’ve made in my professional life.
But my job is NOT important and I’m not proud of it. I’m only proud of having the honesty to do what I’m paid to do well. Beyond that, my job is a means to an end: supporting my loved ones. They are what’s important. Nobody goes to their grave reflecting on what they did for a living.
Same. I write software for a company that nobody would miss if it never existed. I’d like to be more useful to society, but first I’ll make sure I have something saved up for my retirement.
Thats an interesting perspective, thank you.
Fire fighters, medical, teachers…
My job at the minute isnt important but im super proud of it. Im basically an ATM but a human version. I get to help the blind, deaf, super-technophobe-old, mentally enfeebled etc. Im literally no better than an ATM, but because im helping people who struggle im feeling that job satisfaction.
My previous job in a meat processing factory was relatively important, if I fucked up lots of food never made the shop shelves or made a lot of people poorly. My job satisfaction was in the negative though I hated it so much.
