Are there any places (continental/country/city/ or maybe company) StackOverflow users think/want to promote as "Programmers Heaven" -- as in "to work and code for a living and be happy socially/mentally and wealthy"?
+1
A:
I work at a company that pays overtime above 8 hours for programmers, and we release new and different products every year on a variety of platforms...
dicroce
2008-12-25 15:42:56
Where do I send my resume?
jrcs3
2008-12-25 15:43:58
That's not much an answer I think.. I'm asking more of places that give programmers credits that they require. May be a country with programmers unions? May be a city that require overtime payments? Any place that give special social rights for programmers. I ask for really heavens :)
fsniper
2008-12-25 15:52:14
Unions would suck the life out of programming.
jmucchiello
2008-12-25 17:32:52
why do you think so? I'd really appretiate i you would explain more about this opinion of yours..
fsniper
2008-12-26 08:14:38
I am not 100% sure Google is all it's cut out to be in terms of fringe benefits. Unless you got on the train early, you can't expect to get 100$ stock options that are worth 800$. Vacation days are fairly standard (no 5-weeks in first year or anything like that). Not many private offices.
Uri
2008-12-25 16:48:41
+1
A:
Mentally happy = Private office with four walls and a door.
With the exception of fog creek, I am not familiar with companies that offer that.
Heaven is for managers, though they typically deserve hell :)
Uri
2008-12-25 16:49:49
It is more or less standard in our country (windows are required by law).
Gamecat
2008-12-25 19:11:12
I've had the 4 walls and door and been in the group setting. As long as everyone's permitted to use headphones as needed, the group setting is more productive AND more comfortable to work in.
Brian Knoblauch
2008-12-26 13:11:20
+1
A:
Actually, I have 4 walls and a door and so does every other programmer in our company. The owner sees himself as another Joel. While he may have entreprenurial vision, he wasn't a great developer and can't see the difference between a good developer and bad one. After all, if the outside (UI) looks good, then the code must be great, right?
So, Uri, 4 walls and a door aren't everything. In fact, some might say it becomes isolating. It is great for heads-down, crank the music without head phones coding, but casual conversations are less. One mentally happy tradeoff for another, I guess.
While I'd miss my 4 walls and a door, I think I'd take solid, developer-centric management that respects and encourages good clean code with minimal process overhead. Now that I've only seen once in my 20 years (and then the company whent public).
Obviously privacy isn't a guarantee of "heaven" but I do believe that it is a bare necessity. If you are lucky to work with smart people who realize the impact and cost of interruptions to the team and think before asking, and if they are actually part of your team.
Uri
2008-12-26 04:15:02
Unfortunately, I have not yet been to a place like that in my (not very long career). In one place I was in a cubicle farm, a row over from procurement. In another I was with a bunch of people working on different projects and holding meetings, etc., etc.
Uri
2008-12-26 04:15:58