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What do you like about work?

By sven (Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 04:03:42 PM EST) (all tags)

I normally complain a lot about work, so in a break with tradition I'm going to think of some things I like about work. What are the things that you like most about work?

Things I like about work

People. The majority of people on the project are good at their jobs, and reliable. The quality pool has been diluted a bit recently, but it's still high.
Frequent flyer points. Thanks mostly to work, my fiancée and I will be able to fly free to New Zealand for our honeymoon, and we'll be able to check-in at business class and relax in the Qantas Club thanks to my frequent flyer status.
C++/Unix. I like not using Java on Windows like everyone else seems to.
Cool project. Writing software to run on a frigate is great fun. We have impressive target hardware, and we interface with a huge variety of other systems via ethernet, serial connection, obscure parallel cable, and obscure modems.
Semi-flexible hours. We're expected to work 7.6 hours per day, but as long as most of them are during daylight hours nobody really cares when we're here. And we can have slack days and make up for them later.

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What do you like about work? | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

Positives of my job by ucblockhead (5.00 / 1) #1 Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 04:08:13 PM EST

The money
The benefits
The people I work with
The laptop

I Tried. by Chorian (5.00 / 1) #3 Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 07:48:29 PM EST

There is a lot that I like about work.

I like the folks I work with. Including the boss.

I do like most of of the customers. Even if they are dumb as posts at times. I don't mind that as long as I can try to explain things to them. It usually works. Some folks are set in their ways and assume that they are being ripped off. I don't like those people. It's like they have a chip on their shoulder to start off with. Nothing I say makes them understand that they are getting quite a good deal.

I'm quite new at my job. I enjoy the challenge of learning the job.
Also, It's a small company, so I find myself doing many different types of jobs.

The Good, Bad & Ugly by creo (6.00 / 1) #4 Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 08:04:24 PM EST

Good

Travel around Europe
Accom/flights/per diem all paid for
No tax !
Fam gets to lose the Aussie cultural cringe, and learn that there is more to the world than white anglos and the English language
Meet people from all over the world
Get to write code not involving GUIs, i.e. write code the old fashioned hairy chested way, using the editor/line debugger model. Mind you, this is also bad.
No Office politics, that's what the PM in London is for.
Despite workimg for probably the most hated company in our field, the customer never takes it out on me. In fact the customers most of the time are really happy to see me, and as a rule are good folks.
At end of the projects, get taken out for outrageous parties, usually involving tons of food and piss, and partying on at the pub.
Mixture of roles - analyst,designer, coder, tester, realtionship manager all rolled into one.
Generally work my own damn hours - as long as the project is done the customers generally do not care how it is done. This suits my style of lazy meandering, interspersed with manic bouts of inspiration.

Bad

Cleaning up other peoples shite code (of course, mine is perfect ;-). I do not say this jokingly, some of the code on customer sites is truly abominable. This is because they xtrain COBOL guys to use our language (Kind of a C/Pascal language called TAL) and they turn out TALBOL - shudder. Unfortunately the customers onsite guys are usually competent, it's normally some code of my associates.
Long time away from extended fam - this mainly impacts Mrs Creo and kids.
Long plane flights - they suck, hard.
Potential to get sent to the Middle East
SOmetimes seperated from fam, usually not more than a couple of weeks.
Sometimes no broadband in apartment.
Feeling like a dork, because I only speak English.
Small European apts. When you are used to 2.5 acres and a 5 bedroom house, it's...interesting. All 4 of us once spent 6 weeks in 47 sqm apt with no bedroom in Stockholm - never again.
company releases code that just does not work, so when I come on site, not only am I customising - but fighting with development. Of course, they never admit to shipping crap - it has to be my csm that caused the problem - despite the fact I never touched the code in question. Wankers. Now the new release has stabilised this is not so bad.

Ugly

Being in Riyadh when they blew up the compounds.
Almost getting anal probed at LHR

That's it for about now. I'm sure there are others.

Cheers
Creo.

"I shall do what I believe to be right and honourable" - Guderian

Most hated company in the field? by georgeha (5.00 / 1) #8 Wed Jan 21, 2004 at 12:22:42 AM EST

If your username has anything to do with your company, I would have expected it to be e**.

Oh joy,I'm off to spend 9 hours in a cool, beige print room.

[ Parent ]

Username by creo (5.00 / 1) #9 Wed Jan 21, 2004 at 12:46:38 AM EST

Actually from my service days many years ago. Think of a certain Monty Python character in The Meaning of Life, and you will get the idea :-).

Also an ugly that you can probably empathise with:

No dirt bike riding/enduro
No Road racing
No motorcycling full stop

And that does suck ,especially with some of the roads I have seen over here. However, the cost of buying a machine and then going through all the license and insurance hassle is just too much.

I also guess that the fact it's -18C outside also kiboshes that idea as well.

Cheers
Creo.

"I shall do what I believe to be right and honourable" - Guderian
[ Parent ]

Positives by Merekat (5.00 / 1) #5 Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 08:41:05 PM EST

The people
The bandwidth
The warm fuzzy glow of knowing I'm not filling random shareholder pockets with my labour
The contact with the bleeding edge
The new coffee machine

The goods by cam (5.00 / 1) #6 Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 11:07:51 PM EST

Project autonomy
Work on Java/Python/Linux
Made a bunch of good mates in the Virginia office

That is about it.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic

Comment Deleted by anon_910 (5.00 / 2) #7 Tue Jan 20, 2004 at 11:39:07 PM EST

What do you like about work? | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback