As a long time employee and employer in this industry all it signals to me and people like me is that you managed to survive that environment for two years. The name brand on the resume -is- worth something. Maybe more than it ‘should’ be, but that’s reality. Work at Google for two years and I mostly know you got through a Google interview and you can probably code. Work at Yahoo for 10 years and I know you’re good at politics. Etc. ;)
There's something depressing about your comment that screams dystopic to me. You're effectively reducing someone's hard work down to notches on a belt. I realize why you do it, but it still rubs me the wrong way.
When I compare opportunities for mobility that we have as developers, I'm grateful for the industry. I can't imagine being "stuck" at a job I don't like. In the last 20 years it's only taken a month to find a new job once I started looking. One time, I quit a job on Monday without any job in the pipeline, I hadn't interviewed with anyone when I quit and by that Thursday, I received an offer from what was then one of the 10 most valuable companies in the U.S. (not a tech firm) making 10K more.
I'm not claiming to be a special snowflake. I'm just a regular old "Enterprise Developer".
But the thought of working 30 years at one company and receiving a pension, horrifies me.
Just like we are just "resources" to an employer, they are just resources for us to make money. No loyalty either way, no expectations.
They give me a paycheck every two weeks and I work hard and do my best work for those two weeks. Nothing more, nothing less.
Thank you for your candidness. Your experience matches my own. It's a bittersweet grace, I suppose.
That said, I come from an area where for whatever reason, there was a large population of undocumented or otherwise illegal immigrants. One of my good friends, then and still, was able to get a work permit through deferred action. Her experience transitioning into a legal workforce has been nothing but depressive frustration to the exploitative and apathetic practices that her employers are able and willing to get away with. We both agree that the same practices happen in and out of tech.
While her struggle is strong and her ambition gets around a lot of niggling motivation problems. I can't say the same for many of my other friends in the same situation whose lives are irrecoverably fucked before being adults, despite their bleeding passion for what they do and care for.
Point is - peoples' lives are complicated and others' apathy only makes it worse. Your paycheck every two weeks and the decisions that follow can make or break a person's life. Please grow some empathetic balls, consider the power you have over others and try to look past lines on resumes and try to see the person behind it. "That's life" is not an excuse for your selfishness.
From a personal standpoint, I always put family first and will go to bat with my manager all the way up to chain for anyone who has personal obligations that reports to me.
On the other hand, technology is more black and white. I don't expect anyone to know everything but I do expect a certain level of competence and being able to work independently based on your hired skill level - especially for contractors.
When I'm hiring contractors, I don't expect to have to handhold, mentor, etc. I'm not making a long term investment in them and they are getting a premium for it.
I don't see myself any differently. If I'm applying for a contract job, I know 90% of the job requirements. If I'm going in as a permsnent employee, I'll try to squeeze in with 50-70% of the requirements and bust my butt to get up to 90% proficiency.
