Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

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Madrigal
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by Madrigal » Fri Nov 19, 2021 11:58 pm

The Case Against Loving Your Job

Listening to this podcast, she's obviously a secret marxist.

djm
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by djm » Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:31 am

Much as you are my favourite socialist Maddy, I cant bring myself to watch it. I love work above all else, and lose sleep at night worrying about not competing enough of it Now ego aside, my work could feasibly save the humanity, so I have a a reasonably good reason for finishing my oevre. Having said that I think our whole species would do better if it had more purpose and less resignation.

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elfsprin
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by elfsprin » Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:52 am

Madrigal wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 11:58 pm
The Case Against Loving Your Job

Listening to this podcast, she's obviously a secret marxist.
I'm 35 minutes in and have, so far, detected no lies.

This podcast is US-focused, which may or may not seem relevant to folks. I can say, work in the US is overwhelmingly exhausting and exploitative, even if you love what you do. Employers exploit us, lie to us, and cheat whenever they can.

I mean all I can offer is anecdotes of what I've personally experienced, but here are some examples. My experience is not unique. I encourage you to really read it and understand that these stories are not made up fantasies -- and they are not uncommon.

1. Joined a corporation in 2006 at entry level, despite having two honors degrees and a minor from Notre Dame, cum laude (considered a prestigious school).

2. Promoted three times in the first 9 months.

3. Promoted to a leadership position after 11 months. Told 'you have to work this position a year without any pay increase, to prove you can do it. After a year you will get the raise.' Thought this was BS, but since *everyone else* was subjected to the same rule, I was like... well ok. Was told verbally it would be a 10% raise. Foolishly did not get it in writing.

4. Made it to the year mark. Was told no one was allowed to be this high up with less than 3 years experience (I had 1 year 11 months at the time). Because I hadn't been there 3 years, I could not get the raise yet. The two men who were promoted without pay at the same time as me got their raises at the year mark, because they had sufficient tenure. Complained about this to leadership and was told 'you should be grateful you got this promotion so quickly at all. Most people work here for 15 or 20 years and never make it this high.' Was supporting my family and had to keep a job. Couldn't find something else, so stayed.

5. Made it to the 3 year mark. 2009 recession was getting revved up. Was given a 4% raise. When protested, was again told that I should be grateful that I got anything at all because recession.

6. Found out my salary was below the HR-published salary band for my job grade. Was able to use this information to get more pay, and it put me $86 dollars into my pay range (which started at 80k and ended at 110k. When you are promoted into a new band, you are supposed to get put in the middle of the range).

7. In part because I used this information to 'win,' HR quietly un-published all salary bands for everyone. They were 'just revamping them and would put them back up soon.' They are still not published 12 years later.

8. Now that salary bands are no longer published, my constant quest to get an out-of-cycle salary adjustment, which had had some mild victories, now has no foundation... because I have no data. Seriously, one week they are admitting I need to get paid more and they 'just need to find the money' (please), and the next week it was 'we have no data to show that you are unfairly paid.

9. Get skipped a level because I'm just that badass and competent. 'We cannot, by policy, give you more than 10% as a raise. But, with only 10%, you'll be more than 10k below your new pay band. We're going to really do you a favor and give you 12%. You're still not in your band, but wow look how nice we are.'

10. Get promoted again to a senior leadership position, in May. Successfully negotiate a large salary bump, but it's still not actually sufficient. Try to negotiate a yearly bonus. Told flat out by HR and my new boss that 'no one in this position has a bonus; a bonus is simply not an option here.'

11. At year end, boss confides in me that I 'far exceeded expectations, but it's policy that you can't get more than an 'achieved' if you haven't been in the role for an entire year.' I actually know that this is, in fact, outlawed by HR policy so I take it to HR. They consult with my boss and now everyone's story is that 'at this high of a level, basically no one can get more than 'achieved,' plus your boss says he never told you that you did anything to merit an exceeds or far exceeds.'

12. Get a female mentor who is one level higher than me, who is intimately familiar with my role. In the course of mentoring, she checks in on my negotiation techniques and asks how I went about negotiating my bonus. I tell her what my boss said. She is shocked: about 50 people across the company, all around the world, have my same role. Every single one of them has a bonus. My boss and HR have just blatantly lied to me.

13. I get scary, and get my fucking bonus. However I cannot get back pay.

14. I am the only woman in my role, across the company. The intra-company website, which is similar to wikipedia and facebook combined, gets an update. You can now see not only someone's 'job title,' but also their formal 'job role' which is what is actually tied to official HR role descriptions, salary bands, and promotional tracks. I found out all the men in my role have the same job role, in Technology Development. I have a different job role, in Business Operations. I managed to get an Exceeds Expectations that year despite my boss' insistence that at my level that's basically impossible, so I fucking go for it. They can't pretend they can fire me with no negative marks on my employee record, plus an exceeds the prior year, for something like poor performance. I take it all the way to the top with HR.

My boss suddenly, after two years of me pushing for it, does a wholesale change to my entire teams' job roles, to something in Technology Operations.

HR confides in me that now all my teammates are too overpaid for the role, and while with my excellent track role and length in position I should be at the top of my band, I'm actually still in the bottom third of my salary band.

15. There is SO MUCH MORE I could list.

As a parting rant sign-off, I will again remind any readers that *this is not uncommon.* White men are being blatantly lied to and used by their companies, trust me. And it is *so much worse* for women, POC, Queer folk, and anyone else who is not white with a dick.
Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity - Simone Weil

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elfsprin
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by elfsprin » Sun Nov 21, 2021 2:04 am

Btw ‘you’ wasn’t Magridal. I was preaching to the greater You.
Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity - Simone Weil

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SomeInternetBloke
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by SomeInternetBloke » Sun Nov 21, 2021 2:58 am

elfsprin wrote:
Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:52 am
Madrigal wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 11:58 pm
The Case Against Loving Your Job

Listening to this podcast, she's obviously a secret marxist.
I'm 35 minutes in and have, so far, detected no lies.

This podcast is US-focused, which may or may not seem relevant to folks. I can say, work in the US is overwhelmingly exhausting and exploitative, even if you love what you do. Employers exploit us, lie to us, and cheat whenever they can.

I mean all I can offer is anecdotes of what I've personally experienced, but here are some examples. My experience is not unique. I encourage you to really read it and understand that these stories are not made up fantasies -- and they are not uncommon.

1. Joined a corporation in 2006 at entry level, despite having two honors degrees and a minor from Notre Dame, cum laude (considered a prestigious school).

2. Promoted three times in the first 9 months.

3. Promoted to a leadership position after 11 months. Told 'you have to work this position a year without any pay increase, to prove you can do it. After a year you will get the raise.' Thought this was BS, but since *everyone else* was subjected to the same rule, I was like... well ok. Was told verbally it would be a 10% raise. Foolishly did not get it in writing.

4. Made it to the year mark. Was told no one was allowed to be this high up with less than 3 years experience (I had 1 year 11 months at the time). Because I hadn't been there 3 years, I could not get the raise yet. The two men who were promoted without pay at the same time as me got their raises at the year mark, because they had sufficient tenure. Complained about this to leadership and was told 'you should be grateful you got this promotion so quickly at all. Most people work here for 15 or 20 years and never make it this high.' Was supporting my family and had to keep a job. Couldn't find something else, so stayed.

5. Made it to the 3 year mark. 2009 recession was getting revved up. Was given a 4% raise. When protested, was again told that I should be grateful that I got anything at all because recession.

6. Found out my salary was below the HR-published salary band for my job grade. Was able to use this information to get more pay, and it put me $86 dollars into my pay range (which started at 80k and ended at 110k. When you are promoted into a new band, you are supposed to get put in the middle of the range).

7. In part because I used this information to 'win,' HR quietly un-published all salary bands for everyone. They were 'just revamping them and would put them back up soon.' They are still not published 12 years later.

8. Now that salary bands are no longer published, my constant quest to get an out-of-cycle salary adjustment, which had had some mild victories, now has no foundation... because I have no data. Seriously, one week they are admitting I need to get paid more and they 'just need to find the money' (please), and the next week it was 'we have no data to show that you are unfairly paid.

9. Get skipped a level because I'm just that badass and competent. 'We cannot, by policy, give you more than 10% as a raise. But, with only 10%, you'll be more than 10k below your new pay band. We're going to really do you a favor and give you 12%. You're still not in your band, but wow look how nice we are.'

10. Get promoted again to a senior leadership position, in May. Successfully negotiate a large salary bump, but it's still not actually sufficient. Try to negotiate a yearly bonus. Told flat out by HR and my new boss that 'no one in this position has a bonus; a bonus is simply not an option here.'

11. At year end, boss confides in me that I 'far exceeded expectations, but it's policy that you can't get more than an 'achieved' if you haven't been in the role for an entire year.' I actually know that this is, in fact, outlawed by HR policy so I take it to HR. They consult with my boss and now everyone's story is that 'at this high of a level, basically no one can get more than 'achieved,' plus your boss says he never told you that you did anything to merit an exceeds or far exceeds.'

12. Get a female mentor who is one level higher than me, who is intimately familiar with my role. In the course of mentoring, she checks in on my negotiation techniques and asks how I went about negotiating my bonus. I tell her what my boss said. She is shocked: about 50 people across the company, all around the world, have my same role. Every single one of them has a bonus. My boss and HR have just blatantly lied to me.

13. I get scary, and get my fucking bonus. However I cannot get back pay.

14. I am the only woman in my role, across the company. The intra-company website, which is similar to wikipedia and facebook combined, gets an update. You can now see not only someone's 'job title,' but also their formal 'job role' which is what is actually tied to official HR role descriptions, salary bands, and promotional tracks. I found out all the men in my role have the same job role, in Technology Development. I have a different job role, in Business Operations. I managed to get an Exceeds Expectations that year despite my boss' insistence that at my level that's basically impossible, so I fucking go for it. They can't pretend they can fire me with no negative marks on my employee record, plus an exceeds the prior year, for something like poor performance. I take it all the way to the top with HR.

My boss suddenly, after two years of me pushing for it, does a wholesale change to my entire teams' job roles, to something in Technology Operations.

HR confides in me that now all my teammates are too overpaid for the role, and while with my excellent track role and length in position I should be at the top of my band, I'm actually still in the bottom third of my salary band.

15. There is SO MUCH MORE I could list.

As a parting rant sign-off, I will again remind any readers that *this is not uncommon.* White men are being blatantly lied to and used by their companies, trust me. And it is *so much worse* for women, POC, Queer folk, and anyone else who is not white with a dick.
Oooh, I like you. *blows off your pistol smoke*
"My favourite song from one of my favourite albums, Nena asking you to please, please let her be your pirate. So smooth and joyful, I have to listen to it three times if I listen once" - ashi

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puerile_polyp
Posts: 173
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by puerile_polyp » Mon Dec 06, 2021 6:46 am

Ferrus wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:14 am
Utisz wrote:
Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:13 am
I teach computer science and in these nerdy circles, and people professing love for emacs these days is a very specific flex, like you can deadlift very heavy things, like your mouse is mostly ornamental. I have some experience with emacs, limited mostly to the commands to save and exit.
I had a boss a few years ago who insisted on using VIM for everything as he insisted it made him more proudctive.

What it definitely meant was that he ended up extolling the virtues of only ever using one folder for all the files in the projects under the banner of 'simplicity' but I suspect mainly due to the limitating of his development enviroment.
I mean that's nothing to do with vim, it's definitely way more flexible than that. It can be customized to do anything any other IDE does. And once you invest the time doing that and getting used to using it, it's really quick.

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by Julius_Van_Der_Beak » Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:20 pm

I feel like the closest thing to an educational podcast I listen to regularly is Chapo Traphouse.

I think it's because if I'm trying to educate myself about a topic, usually I like being able to sort of go on my own pace and pause to mull it over if I like.

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elfsprin
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Re: Podcasts, courses, documentary series, etc

Post by elfsprin » Tue Dec 28, 2021 6:42 pm

Excellent episode of MFM featuring Nick Offerman.

https://myfavoritemurder.com/celebrity- ... -offerman/
Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity - Simone Weil

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