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Regrettably, the software industry seldom values that sort of long-term thinking. More often, companies toss crap over the fence every month or so, hope it works, and then fix it when it (inevitably) doesn't.
This process has a tendency to chew people up. Though, it wasn't always that way. It used to be a tremendous amount of fun!
My longest run, to date, was a bit over 10 years. It was a great company that had a long-term vision and treated its employees well. The companies success was rewarded by making it an attractive buy out target.
They got taken over, in an LBO, by a company seeking short term gains. A couple of years, a few corporate name changes, a record-breaking bankruptcy (which made international news), a few jail sentences (for a couple of execs), and minus much of my life savings, I found myself seeking new employment.
It was a long time ago, so I can look back and laugh now (almost). It gave me a much different view on what a company owes me and what I owe a company.
Since then, I've probably averaged about a 3 year tenure. Each company benefits with someone who's eager to work, has a broader range of skills, and brings a new vision. I get to learn new skills and avoid boredom.
This way, everyone wins and no one gets hurt! OK, not entirely true. Between jobs, like now, my savings account sometimes takes a hit 
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Although "long" is relative, I like to think of myself as one of those long-term guys--although I've only been staying for as long as I could. I was at my first dev job (relatively small company) for maybe 5 years before it got acquired by a large multinational that actually didn't understand software and shut down what was, for them, a small and irrelevant remote office a year or two later. That was around the dot-com crash and the parent company was looking at cutting costs even though we were barely a month away from releasing a product that could've made a lot of money.
I then joined a group of ex-coworkers at their small startup and stayed for maybe half a dozen years before it got acquired by Microsoft. Everything got moved to Redmond, but I stayed on for an additional year as they needed someone familiar with the product and physically close to our data center while they transitioned everything off-site.
I've now been at my current job - another small startup - for 11 years, the longest I've ever been at any company. There's no plan for any acquisition (that I'm aware of), and as far as I'm concerned, I'm ready to stay for another decade or so. The current plan is to retire at 55 although I suspect I'll get more flexible the closer to that I get.
I do spend a lot of time thinking about the poor sucker who's gonna have to maintain my code, and that's me, so I try to avoid being too clever for my own good.
Even though it's harder to stay at the same job in this fast-paced industry, this is something that must run in the family - my dad retired from his job after 41 years at the same employer.
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Hmm. I'm 57, and have been at my current job for 28 years.Mike Mullikin wrote: Nearly all of our projects (machine tools) take 1-2 years before the product is shipped and then are expected to be manufactured for a decade. Once in the field the expectation is these machines run for multiple decades.
That's very similar to our marketplace (commercial ink-jet printers). I am still actively maintaining products that were begun in the late 90's.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Another reason I'm glad to be leaving -- blocked site!!!
Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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Youtube blocked! O.M.E.G 
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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The art of telling managers what to do, difficult is. Much pain in your future I see.
modified 20-Oct-19 21:02pm.
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That's odd - all this time and I didn't know you worked here! Right down to the insurance industry reference.
How I manage this? By knowing as little as possible about how the company does business. Applications are written so abstractly that don't care and thus, when they once again change their minds, it absorbs it into its not-caring arms. The payback for them is that things get done amazingly quickly. For me - it makes me feel artistic when I can create something so agnostic about how it is applied.
Leaving floats in and out of my consciousness. Raises are very few and far between. I can retire whenever I wish. And - there's not even anyone close to a backup.
Lesson? Not intending to be political, but this is amongst the failings of capitalism: a short-term outlook. Now that's not actually the fault of that economic system, but add into the mix that it's people making the decision and in a hurry to quickly line their pockets and you have a recipe for frustration and failure. I don't think the outcome would be any better under socialism; the route changed, perhaps, but the destination (for us of the working class) is always the same. Basically, "it's a paycheck" mentality.
Bottom line (literally and figuratively) - don't kick yourself - it was done far more to you then you did it to yourself.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: Raises are very few and far between
I was less than amused to hear that no bonuses were being given out to employees in 2017, yet, there in a public record filing, is a $1.3M bonus for the CEO. Riiiight.
Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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Hear I dance at the edge of the Soapbox: for all the big corportate tax break, very few regular employees saw any of it. Sure - a few big "news" items, like higher minimums at a few places (like Amazon) but that money, as usual, didn't trickle down. I only dare post this here as I'm not blaming either party for what corporate "leader" do: business as usual.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Marc Clifton wrote: But then I get back to smacking myself -- I know better. I should have taken the initiative to request code reviews. I should have utilized this really smart person's knowledge and skill better.
Probably no call for you to smack yourself. After all, would they have actually had time to do that? If they're any good, their dance card is probably already overflowing.
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It really doesn't matter, companies always find a way with their business...or fold... or outsource the work to some other company that has the developers to handle such stuff.Or even throw it away.
Caveat Emptor.
"Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
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Mycroft Holmes wrote: I don't believe it is the job of a senior developer to try and change the management teams priorities.
And yet they would ask me for suggestions on improving processes. All of which was shot down, and of course I'm wise and jaded enough to know that whenever I hear management say "we want to hear from YOU!" that it's really only a way for them to find out who the boat rockers and dissenters are.
Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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Sympathy. It sounds so familiar, even the insurance part.
You do what you can, no regrets. They got their moneys worth.
Learn, move on, enjoy. You leave your legacy behind.
Best wishes.
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Just accept it as part of life and work.
One could always strive for perfection, but there's always other people and lack of time coming in the way.
Reading your post and previous posts I can say that in my opinion you've done more than what could/should be expected.
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Could be worse.
You could have done a good job, and get punished for it, because you're going against the status-quo. My current projects does that and it sucks.
Oh well, it's just one project. It either ends next year or I quit the job.
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Make sure the db admin has your contact information and knows you'll be a reference for her so when she's looking to leave that sinking ship she has at least one reference for her next job search. Other than that, don't look back.
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Tell them you'll be available for (remote) "support" ... at a reasonable rate, etc.
(I was on-call 2 weeks into my first job ... one survives.)
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then".
― Blaise Pascal
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Hi All,
Working on time critical project, all going well and then management. The last project I worked on escaped management interference and was delivered early and under budget (  ). So when I started on the upgrade I followed the same procedure as before, Test, find fault, tell the developer of the fault (to ensure they hadn't got to far out of the 'zone'), rasie ticket & fault is fixed everybody happy. Then my Boss is told by 'Management' to tell me she had complaints that I was disturbing the software dept. So I stop disturbing the software dept and am asked at the next stand up why I haven't been reporting faults, haven't I found any... So normal service resumes until said management type get involved again. I give up!
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Doesn't your company have a bug tracking system that's available to developers ?
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RickZeeland wrote: Doesn't your company have a bug tracking system that's available to developers ?
Yes, Management. Didn't you read his rant.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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So raising a ticket is already considered "bothering development" ? 
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You are as lost as I am, I think this management person is either trying to prove to new overlords they are useful or trying to justify there existence...
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