Reflecting over the past months of frustrations, I am considering moving on. I am not financially in a position where I can skip my freelancer gig to just do my own stuff, also considering the fact we are buying a new apartment.
So I asked myself, what is really my carrot, what (in no particular order) makes you skip out of bed and happily go to work every morning:
- I like Programming, but I am not the best programmer
- I like building stuff, designing and specifying and programming
- I like working in a team where 1+1 gives 3
- I like doing the right thing
I seem to remember people writing up these lists some time ago, I think it was in Dr. Dobbs - they can actually become quite short, but really informative.
To address the last point.
It is not that I do not recognize compromise as an option. But technical compromises come in many forms and in my experience the right thing is the right thing and it is either scope, expectations or time schedule which should be adjusted instead of the general solution.
I am in a position now where we have been overruled. It is the first time in many years I experience this. It is luckily very seldom that somebody tells us how to do things.
All the time we are told what to do. And often when to do things, but never how to do it.
The last thing steps on my professional integrity and no matter how many times I cry wolf it does not seem to help.
So examining the above list in the context of my current gig:
- We do programming, I even hire in other programmers, that are better than me and we get things done
- I get to do a lot of specifying and and designing and even programming
- I am taking part in a team of people whom I enjoy working with
So the only thing that fails horribly here is the last point, which is a result of corporate politics - a very destructive and disillusioning power and I even have the opportunity to just pack my bags and leave.
But I am still here and I am even working overtime.
Why?
Because I like to do the right thing - and I do not give up easily
