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Yup. Back in the day, they were hiring anyone who could fog a mirror.
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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When faced with a bad (or dumb) boss, I push the Dilbert Principle forward.
I look at him/her and say to myself, "My current job is to get you promoted ... so I can take your job."
Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.
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willichan wrote: "My current job is to get you promoted ... so I can take your job."
I'm not a job hopper, and admittedly I've had few bosses (I've been at the same company now for over 14 years)...but I've never had a boss whose job I wanted. I entered this field to write software; as soon as you get promoted so there's people working for you - your time writing software is at risk of getting greatly reduced.
No thanks. Even if the goal of getting promoted was to get someone out of the way.
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I get your position.
For me it isn't really about getting myself promoted, as much as it is setting my own attitude and mindset around my work. I have had good bosses, and I have had bosses that were horrible SOBs that were difficult to work with. Setting my own attitude to one of "I'm going to make you look so good that you will be promoted out of here" helped me to keep my thinking on maintaining the quality of my work (and teamwork), as opposed to the letting my own quality slide while blaming it on him.
In one case, my boss picked up on the fact that I was not looking for ways to trip him up, but was picking up where he dropped the ball. He admitted to me at lunch one day that his promotion to that position caught him off guard. He never pictured himself in that job, and felt himself inadequate, and trapped in his position. He still wasn't a good boss, but at least he made more effort to be one.
Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.
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I'm with TheOldFool, unless you are on good terms with your local hitman ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Slow Eddie wrote: given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal
Personally I take the opposite approach to the whole agism thing claimed to exist in this field - nothing makes up for decades of experience...I don't know anything about you or your circumstances, but don't undersell yourself--too many people do that. Keep in mind that it's a job seeker's market right now - this could work out in your favor.
If you feel that strongly about it, start looking, but don't burn bridges until you have something else lined up.
Slow Eddie wrote: Have you ever been in that sort of position?
Hate the job but need the money?
I think that can be said for, oh, 90% of the workforce in any industry?
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This is the only sensible answer.
If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job.
Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try.
We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
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Sander Rossel wrote: We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
No only in Dutch 
Sander Rossel wrote: This is the only sensible answer.
If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job.
Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try.
Yeah, but as he says... do it low profile, you don't want to worsen things as long as you haven't found anything else.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Yeah, don't go around shouting how you hate your job and are looking for a new one.
Although I did that once, quit my job before I had a new one and took a week of unpaid leave, that sent a message 
I still didn't burn any bridges though, and I'm still in occasional contact with them (in fact, the office I'm renting now is owned by the same guy).
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In my area there is a shortage of IT talent, so in spite of my age (I'm within a few years of retirement) and my not-at-all-up-to-date skillset I didn't have a problems finding a new job when my last arse of a boss switched the company's technical gears and had my position eliminated (which happened a month after he was let go... < /schadenfreude > ). Your chances might not be as bad as you think.
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP.
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In Sweden where I live, age is not an issue when applying for a job as a programmer.
The shortage is too high... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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I was like this after my last good gig in 2003. I had built up a nice nest egg, and then after a major hurricane flood and the Great Recession, I couldn't find work in my VC++ specialty anymore - to say nothing of the fact that with so many unemployed programmers, I determined that it was not possible to resurrect my career - so I decided to save my IRA and just file a 6-figure Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and travel abroad doing itinerant English language consulting.
With the "Great Resignation" now the meme, I had thought about getting back into the swing, but whom would I be kidding? Besides, I get an ACA subsidy that's worth about $20K after tax, so if I earn $30K north of $18K/yr, I'd end up with the same amount of cash. I'm too used to being early retired.
As internet philosopher Aaron Clarey says, I am "enjoying the decline".
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Slow Eddie wrote: However, given my age and skill set
"Experience".
Slow Eddie wrote: Have you ever been in that sort of position?
A few times; and always left as soon as I could. It hurts both sides to continue at that point.
Slow Eddie wrote: Hate the job but need the money?
Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much.
There's a Dutch saying, that it is hard to capture hares with unwilling dogs.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Quote: Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much.
You don't know my wife, or my debt level, primarily due to my wife.
You are alucky man
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I have an uncle who's now in a retirement home, entirely penniless very much because of his wife. Her spending habits could be described as some sort of mental affliction. Worst part is, she blames him for them being broke. I could write a book just about the horror stories I've heard.
Some in the family speculate she was put on earth as a precautionary tale for others.
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My girlfriend is in such a position. She doesn't hate her work per se, but she certainly hates the bosses (father & son, not quite a healthy relationship between them certainly doesn't help office atmosphere). But the money's good and she gets bonuses outside of her contract (such as the company paying for her commute ticket) and looking for another job RIGHT NOW is madness anyway.
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You could always take a Zen approach. Learn to observe your own reactions and find out where they come from. The people who annoy you the most are sometimes the best teachers. And no, you are never too old to learn that sort of stuff.
Failing that, another Zen approach, just give notice and see what happens.
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Slow Eddie wrote: I can't stand anymore
What do you mean by this? Is it lack of professionalism, knowledge of whatever the job needs? Or something personal?
If it is work related, I would objectively state how it is. There is nothing personal there. I do not know how your work environment is but where I am telling someone that they are objectively wrong, is quite acceptable. At one previous job I tried this and I was told "I do not want to work with you ever.". I was moved to another part of work. Win-win.
If it is personal, then may be a casual chat explaining how you are affected.
"It is easy to decipher extraterrestrial signals after deciphering Javascript and VB6 themselves.", ISanti[ ^]
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I have tried this. He is stupid, slow and won't listen. He inherited the company from his father, so I can't get him fired.
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Slow Eddie wrote: slow
Aren't you slow? Your username says that.
It hints towards incompetence but seems an emotional response. If you have made enough noise objectively proving what he does is wrong, I would say your job is done. When things go bad, you can show proof that you pointed out exactly this earlier and no one listened. At least you are covered.
"It is easy to decipher extraterrestrial signals after deciphering Javascript and VB6 themselves.", ISanti[ ^]
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Get him fired. That's what I have always done.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
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He inherited the company from his father, so I can't get him fired.
I like your signature BTW. I have 5 budgies, myself.
ed
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Before you do any move, check the employment market around you. You may be pleasantly surprised.
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You can! You need to boost your confidence!
Read up, and form opinions, on contemporary developments in technologies that are close to your current skillz.
[Eg Go: generics, C++23, Python: Structural Pattern Matching, if your stuck in legacy VB.NET read up on C#, etc] This gives an extra edge if you want to make a hungry impression in your interviews. In other words, yes you should definitely look for new jobs! Good Luck ![Heart | [heart]](https://www.codeproject.com/script/Forums/Images/love.gif)
And: never apologise about your age, do not even joke about it.
[EDIT:]if you are in a large organisation, look for positions within that.
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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I'd look for a job and tell him I'm leaving only once I've found new position
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