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I find micromanagers quite relaxing. Instead of working I get to spend all of my time listening to them tell me my priorities...
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It depends. If it's someone who is abusive, there's no option. Quit and find something new.
If it's someone who is pleasant, but kind of a bumbler (for lack of a better word), there's an opportunity to work with them, to teach them the ways of logical problem analysis.
In my current situation, there's a couple manager types who I consider pretty much idiots. Not to whom I directly report, so I just ignore them. I know what I'm doing, go away so I can do it.
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I'm a rocket scientist not a proctologist and as such I don't have a cure for poisonous a-holes.
I've worked for two in my time and in neither case was there anything that I could do to fix them so in both cases I moved on and felt infinitely better for having done so. Reprogramming with a sledgehammer is sadly not an option in most places and any kind of bitching to higher powers is just shoddy and robs you of your own self-respect.
The great (and only) joy of banging your head against a brick wall is that it's pure heaven when you stop. And if there's an exit interview at which to put the record straight, that can make the moment all the sweeter.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Be sure you have shored-up your tunnel very, very, well ... before you set the explosive charges.
There is a lot of wisdom in the old idiom: "don't shoot the messenger."
«When I consider my brief span of life, swallowed up in an eternity before and after, the little space I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant, and which know me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being here rather than there; for there is no reason why here rather than there, now rather than then.» Blaise Pascal
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At one job, our unit was re-assigned from belonging to student-services to that of facilities and maintenance. At the time they were firing the tea-ladies and counting the toilet paper, as it were. International students were being mugged and beaten up left right and centre, the Aussie dollar was at a long-time high and the ability to attract international students as such that we faced tremendous financial pressure.
Enter he who shall not be named. He was an aggressive cost-cutter fresh from the ranks of the Coles supermarket chain. A narcissist, terrible (i.e really good) gamer of the right people to feather his own cap and general pain in the ass. You could have bottled his crap and all the people able to do something about him would have paid through the nose for it. We were elephanted, he was essentially bomb-proof.
When the time came around to staff a new campus we'd opened in the heart of the city, we were required to re-apply for our jobs again. Elephant that - I'm not working under him and another 1/2 an hour further from home. I simply allowed the contract to lapse and didn't bother with submitting an application.
It would merely have been a formality - the job was mine and one that paid handsomely and with great fringe benefits. But not with him around.
Over the following 2 years morale was ruined to such a degree that others followed suite or actually quit. Finally management realised that their once premier team had been destroyed by the fool and he was given the flick.
I do more hours and make 25% the money I did then, but life's still better than it would have been under him for another second... A total sunshine of a man.
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Sick leaves... then annual leaves... then?? . Oh.. one of the option listed. lol
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Maternity leave ?
Bryian Tan
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You mean paternity leave? Thanks, I missed it. Yeah, worth of time playing with kids at home. 
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At my age, I do not have any realistic options, including retirement. I live in rural Texas and IT jobs are pretty scarce to begin with. For years, I have sent out resumes and as soon as they find out my age, their interest dries up - ageism at work. Legal or not, the IT industry is rife with ageism, sexism and racism.
In my current position, I am severely underpaid - I work for a ".org" - but at least I am working in the field I love. In theory, I could retire but I have a family to feed and I cannot trust the economy. I am already collecting full Social Security Retirement and I do have a considerable nest-egg for retirement, but if inflation takes off or the economy tanks again, I or my wife may easily outlive the money - it is all in IRAs, 401Ks and 403Bs. These are defined contribution plans, not defined benefit plans. Based on family history, I could easily live another twenty years or longer and my wife, who is younger than I, could easily live another thirty or more years.
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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I see your problem. I am thinking of leaving my current position and taking a sabbatical or just starting anew, but at 47, I'm a little scared. Though I am younger than you, I feel I'm considered over the hill for programming. I'm close to having the money to make it for the rest of my life, but medical and depending on the stock market is the deal breaker. The stock market is developing a bubble; which will burst in the near future. And bonds and interest won't keep up if inflation rises.
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I'm the safe boat as you with regards to age. I've interviewed at many companies and you can tell immediately they want someone in their 20's. This is especially true at these dot-com types where being young is more important.
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music."
-- Marcus Brigstocke, British Comedian
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I empathize with you big time! I'm 60 and have nearly 40 years experience in the industry. If an potential employer gets a hint of my real experience they are inevitably almost always take one of two paths; state they can't 'afford' someone with my experience or get that wave of excuses that underscores 'I'm not what they are looking for'; which can easily be translated as ole man we don't want your vintage kickin around here. Have a seat in this wheel chair and have a nice retirement.
Fact is back in 2001 when 911 hit I made the unfortunate choice to move 6 states away to an 'opportunity' that dried up with the jets hurling into buildings and the ground. It was a risk to go for the 'opportunity' and as it went away I found myself struggling to find replacement work in a market that was unappreciative of IT talent to say the least.
So my response to this was a big mix. First and foremost I would try to remove myself from the situation, if I had no avenue of regress. Then I would attempt to work with the manamonster, or conversely work around him to accomplish the professional goals I'm dedicated. As long as I can produce what I perceive as quality work, I can endure. If the manamonster becomes an inhibiting factor, I will find a way to make it clear to his management the fact that he is standing in the way of their objectives and let the chips fall where they may.
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First I tried to work with him. Then I tried to fix him. Then I filed a complaint. Then I tried to work around him. Then I filed a complaint. Then I started looking for a new job. Then I tried to work with him and filed a complain. All the while I was sucking it up.
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and how did that progress for you? sounds like a miserable go at it. Look for a new job, then quit. It really is the only solution to the immediate problem at hand.
You most likely won't find the perfect job, but the hope is, that the next venture will be a little better, at least.
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One benefit from my approach is that I kept the door open should I ever want / need to go back there. I'm still in contact with most of the people there, and we have a great relationship.
What happened for me is this:
1) I left that place and got a substantial pay raise at the next job.
2) I stayed there for about 18 months, leaving for another pay raise.
3) I stayed at the next place for 2 months. It was a terrible fit.
4) I left that place and started at my current employer. I've been here since December, and I love it.
Lesson learned: every place has issues. Some I can deal with and some I can't. I learned at every step of the way, so I count the past 3 years as a success.
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ronlease wrote: Lesson learned: every place has issues. Some I can deal with and some I can't. I learned at every step of the way, so I count the past 3 years as a success.
Interesting aspect and well, that was kind of different angle from what most of the OP suggesting with finding a new job and then quit.
You can have all the tools in the world but if you don't genuinely believe in yourself, it's useless.
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_Gandalf - The White_ wrote: Interesting aspect and well, that was kind of different angle from what most of the OP suggesting with finding a new job and then quit.
This is one of my favorite things about CP; we can always find new perspectives. 
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Ofcourse, CP is the best place to discuss tech world stuff with almost same intellectual level people.
I've never found such mature audience in any other forums.
You can have all the tools in the world but if you don't genuinely believe in yourself, it's useless.
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Solved!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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The odds are not in your favor that the "bad" leader will change, or be removed from their position. Remember, you did not put them there, someone higher up than you, did.
Also, trying to deal with it and/or work with this person will only cause deep resentment and misery that will NEVER go away, and ALWAYS will get worse with time.
Look for a new job, and quit.
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I have been working in the IT industry for 36 years and have found that companies that hire crappy, insensitive and just bad managers are likely to treat their employees very badly. You should start looking for a new position at once and move to it as soon as possible. These companies will have no loyalty to you but they will think that the bad manager hung the moon. These people seem to clump together (like cat litter) and you, as the good employee, will be hung out to dry. Run, run as fast as you can. You deserve to work for people that appreciate you and the good work you do.
Programming is an art form that fights back.
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He was known as the Obstructor-in-Chief - who tried to let nothing get done. Picked a number of people to dislike (I among them !). He didn't even want the developers to talk to one another. As best as possible, I ignored him. Rather affirmatively so.
Whilst he was manager - I was contractor - I didn't even answer to him. Later, when he became director, I still was challenge. Alas for him, my reputation improved - he was eventually and unceremoniously fired . . . he took his obstruction to the point where he ignored the company ownership and management and cost them $$$. For those who get the analogy, he was my little Hamen.
The replacement was/is awesome
| 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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I'll just put a semicolon to their statement!
The sh*t I complain about
It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem
~! Firewall !~
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If he is the only problem in the chain - undermine him (and it just happened two months before, when one responsible for customer relations tried to manage me)...
If he only a symptom of a broken chain - leave and find new job (I prefer this order)...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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I've had to deal with sexual harassment from a female boss and I put up with it for well over a year. Eventually with pages and pages of documentation, the uppers were notified. The result was nothing. Actually, it didn't go away, she began saying nasty things, such as, I'm violent towards women. And that is the nice stuff. The results of that was she received a suspension and counseling, but she is still my boss.
You wonder why I would not get another job? At 50 years old, it would be scary to find another programming job. I need another 5 years or so before I am comfortable enough to move on in life and not worry about money. Unfortunately, I have to worry about medical expenses and in America, there is no free medical unless you're completely broke.
My next step is to find another position in the organization or transfer into a different department. The problem with this is at 50 years old, that is not the easiest thing to do.
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