tricky career situation causing stress

chris525

I’ve got a very tricky career situation at the moment.

I’ve been working as a software developer for 7 years now.

How did I end up in my situation?
I have been working in my current role for 3 years and 6 months.

While there are a few things that bother me and frustrate me, I’m generally happy at work.

Right now we are all working remotely due to COVID. I like working remotely but it would be nice to have a hybrid approach; e.g. a few days in the office and a few days at home. I like working remotely because I get to spend more time exercising and more time with my family due to the lack of commute. Also, there are some people and inefficient processes in my work that cause me frustration and it’s a lot easier to deal with that at a distance

This summer the CEO of my company wanted everyone to start trickling back into the office after working remotely. This was quite a bit earlier than many other companies. The problem is I rely on public transport to get to work. I don’t know how to drive, don’t have a license and don’t own a car. Public transport is effected by COVID and is not going to be a reliable mode of transport for quite some time. They knew this when they hired me and it did not say anywhere in my employment contract that employees are required to own a vehicle.

The CEO basically said that he didn’t give a ****. My direct manager was away at the time. Oh, so how am I meant to get to work? Grow wings and fly? I was really upset by this and did up my CV. I got some immediate interest in my CV and found out that my salary is 10-18% lower than it should be and my benefits package is sub-par as well. My direct manager returned to work and smoothed things over with me. I get along well with him and have good relationships with many colleagues.

The thing is.. that 11K gap between my pay and what I should be getting is hard to ignore.


Some career concerns for me:

1. Commute. I live in Co. ABC. My husband refuses to move to Dublin even though that’s where most of the roles are. He does have a point about Dublin not being a good place to raise kids and we would not be able to afford to live there really; or else we would have no savings at all.
2. I have not yet stayed at a job for more than 4 years EVER. 3 years, 6 months is my longest tenure and that’s only due to a 7-month maternity leave in there. Software developers hop around like grasshoppers in their career until they hit a salary limit and settle down for a while; it’s an employees market but still.
3. My husband and I may want to have another child at some point. I’m 32 and have 2 kids but we might want a 3rd. We don’t know. Time is on our side. However, going from 4k a month to 800 a month from the State mat leave is too difficult. I want to work somewhere that has maternity top-ups. If I were to become pregnant while working somewhere that didn’t offer that benefit it could be financially devastating for us. My current employer has mat leave top-ups.
4. I have worked in downright toxic work environments in the past and I’m very sensitive to this; it can really cause depression and ruin your life.
5. I don’t really have a ‘career goal’. I just want to learn and progress all the time.

===

I have been interviewing since the incident with the CEO (Aug 2020). Most were flops but I’ve reeled in a big fish this time. They seem really interested but it hasn’t gone to the offer stage yet. It’s causing me a lot of stress and anguish.


My current role:
Pros

• shortest possible commute for me (XYZ to Bray) 20-45 mins. If I leave it will mean a forever longer commute into Dublin. It’s the only place near my house.
• I like my manager and we get on well
• I like the work I’m doing and feel fulfilled
• I feel like they need me and there’s no one else in the company that can do my work at the moment
• I feel attached to the company and my colleagues
• My boss said that if he were to hire another person for this project they would be under me and I would be the team lead but that has never materialised
• I’m comfortable and the role doesn’t cause me a lot of stress
• I like being the company expert on the project
• I’m learning a small bit but not too much
• I started a new project that will help me in the future but it keeps getting pushed back

Cons

• I released a lot of software this year and my salary increase was so small I didn't notice it and had to ask the financial manager the embarrassing question if it was applied at all
• Sub-par benefits package (non-existent: no medical, dental etc. they only benefit is mat leave top-up and some retirement contribution)
• Below market rate salary
• Some old technologies and processes cause inefficiency
• Can be very frustrating and disorganised at times
• I don’t think I’ll ever get a promotion here; they aren’t going to hire anyone else in my team full-time for a long time
• I have to mentor a junior dev and he is not very competent yet. I often have to re-do his work because it’s not up to standards.
• I’m the most senior one in my role so there’s no one to learn from
• CEO is old-school, inflexible, unreasonable and sees his employees as numbers.
• My manager took a long time to buy me an ergonomic desk so I developed a back problem and lost a lot of sleep this year due to back pain and had to pay for my own physio
• The company had a few huge mistakes this year and almost lost a new client; could have gone under. They have trouble keeping new clients happy due to the inefficient way of working and some old clients are frustrated with them as well and don’t want to pay their maintenance contracts.
• The company changed their mat leave top-up benefit policy because ONE woman had her kids close in age. Stingy. Most people want to space their kids out a bit due to the lack of sleep.

Possible new role
Pros

• 10K+ higher base salary
• Big benefits package
• They are working on a newer tech stack - good for me
• They are more flexible; they like giving employees time to work remotely and are open-minded
• The company is growing and doing well and wants to hire 75 more employees for their new Dublin branch

Cons

• It’s in the gaming industry and I’m not really interested in games
• Longer commute (1h20mins - 1h40mins) but they said they have embraced the working at home situation permanently so you can come in 2 days and work the rest at home if you want
• Not sure if they offer mat leave top-ups
• They are moving very very quickly in the interview process; I feel like it’s rapid pace and I don’t really know what I’m getting into yet
• I’m going into a situation that is unknown; I don’t know if I will like it or enjoy it at this stage
• If I blow them off or decline an offer then I could be burning a bridge

I’m a very indecisive person and these situations cause me a lot of anguish and lost sleep.

Sometimes I think I should just stay until the 4-year mark and then start looking again. I need to get my learners drivers license as well and focus on studying for that. All this interviewing is distracting me from that.

TP_CM

I know everyone has their own standards, but if I saw an IT CV with someone who was staying 3.5 years here and there, I wouldn't see it as a concern. What's your thinking about waiting until 4 years? I think in the IT industry staying 3 years anywhere is fairly committed.

My own assessment of your post is to wait for a job offer and contract, find out what the maternity leave situation is (if they are a big player it should be part of their perks), and if it's all good then take the role and start thinking about adapting to WFH more than you initially thought with your hybrid approach.

My reasons are: More money, more experience in a different industry (which you may or may not like by the way), and you get away from that backward thinking CEO. But also I am thinking about your current team. How many do you work directly alongside at the moment? If my CEO was asking me to return to the office I would be doing exactly what you're doing now. Job hunting. A concern I would have, if I stayed, is how many of my team are going to disappear because there is little appetite for WFH.

How would you feel if a colleague took this job and left you behind? I would feel a bit gutted, and that's why I know what choice I'd prefer. The unknown is the exciting part, don't let that get you down. You're in a decent enough industry, most places are fine and if they aren't fine, there are plenty of options to try out. Jump around a few times when you don't like a place, and just leave a gap on your CV. If anyone asks you can just say you took a career break to look for a good role.

the14thwarrior

I had to read through your post twice to figure out what was causing the stress.
You don't need to move jobs so often, but it sounds like all in all you are "making yourself leave" and now have a decision to make.
my opinion, never go for a job interview unless you are ready to leave your own job.
If you are ready to leave your job now, leave it, and embrace the new one
i read the cons, but they seem to be minor compared to the pros.
importantly you get to work from home and lots of other things.

i guess if you went for interviews, you were looking for a new job, so i would say take it, and the bigger salary and more experience.
bigger company might be bigger promotions in the end.

beauf

Learn to drive. That said I know people who work on contract in Dublin but commute massive distances by bus. I wouldn't do it.

Go contracting. You learn a ton of stuff and lose any illusions of being anything other than a number on a balance sheet. But maybe wait until after Covid has run its course.

There isn't a huge difference in wage if you are happy. If you are unhappy then there is nothing to lose moving.

beauf

Gaming is one of those areas doing well under Covid.

TP_CM

beauf wrote: »

Gaming is one of those areas doing well under Covid.

I was going to mention this too but then remembered that historically after a major world event like this there comes a time of adventure where people go outside and 'live' as much as they can. In America 1920s (after Spanish flu) jazz age and 1950s (after WW2) rock and roll age are proof of this. I'm expecting a lot of tvs to be switched off and a lot of holidays to be booked. But gaming isn't going anywhere generally or in the long term. Technology is making it too amazing for it to be ignored.

ongarboy

OP, I'd say go for the new job. WFH will be such a handy perk as long as you can blend it in with days at the office for collaboration/break out sessions etc. The pay rise is a no brainer and the upskilling through learning new technologies will be a major pro also. While you are content in your current role to an extent, the stagnation you describe on not advancing career wise or skills wise, your being underpaid and fairly stingy maternity benefits and what seems like a toxic CEO will increasingly become a burden and make you unhappier.

I don't think it really matters if you like gaming or not. I work in the funds industry and most developers don't "like" or have an interest or even in depth subject matter knowledge of how funds work. They leave that to business analysts like myself(lol) to translate and relay what's needed for them to code and deliver as necessary. Some do acquire a detailed knowledge over time but it is often not necessarily for them to be subject matter experts as long as they are competent in their relevant SDLC related requirements.

Finally, most developers that I know, increasingly are self employed contractors on daily rates and move from company to company as soon as a project concludes so their CVs often have as many different employers(contracts) in them as given years. Your 3.5 year stint is more than impressive for a past role and no recruiter will be concerned about that being too short term

I suspect understandably that perhaps it is leaving your comfort zone and better the devil you know is making you hesitant more than anything else. Ultimately, you need to follow your instinct!

Best of luck whatever you choose! PS let 2021 be the year you get your driving licence. That will open up countless new professional and personal opportunities for you!!

ILoveYourVibes

TP_CM wrote: »

I know everyone has their own standards, but if I saw an IT CV with someone who was staying 3.5 years here and there, I wouldn't see it as a concern. .

Its actually really normal.

pwurple

Writing is on the wall in your current place. Old tech stack means they are not set up for the future , the company will slowly die off, with you getting smaller and smaller increments until it happens.

New job sounds better, however the mat leave one is important if you are planning another child. I worked for a place that didn't pay mat leave and it was crucifingly difficult to survive on the state subsidy with a mortgage and childcare for the older child. Can you find out indirectly if they pay mat leave or not? Know anyone else in there?

All in all, if it's offered, I'd still take it. You're clearly unhappy in the other place, time to move.

JustAThought

Have you been offered the new role OP?

It seems the key things you really like about your current role are all significant quality of life issues - good relationships, low stress, Decent manager, extremely managable & short commute, some
maternity benefits, mostly stress free easy job.

You mention that you don’t drive, have two smll kids and want possibly another baby; and that what you enjoy most about the WFH and Covid is that you see more of your family and
have an even easier stress free life.

It seems as if your real priorities are clear and deapite someone ( an agent?) twlling you you should be earning 10k or 10-15% more you have thus far had no offers. I would imgine they also have not factored in the global recession hitting and that being in a solid ‘permanent’ job for over 1 year and not in contract work and having HR rights by dint of your length of service is quite important.

Arguably you could gain the further knowledge you want by doing a programming or other course
- there are plenty mostly free ( or for a puttance) on springboard.ie or through the free online courses futurelearn or other such overseas universities offer.

It seems your big block is the maternity cover and commute and future career progression/money.
If your current priorities are expanding your family how will you manage the workload, extra job stress, extra commute pressure ( 7x 1 hour minimum per week) and additional 1 year service needed until you can feel safe enough in your new role to have stability/tenure rights? All of this will mean added pressure and stress and distance from your family and children.

Also how fair is it to expect a new role & colleagues to welcome you and support you and help train you in & then you to disappear for 6 months on maternity leave and expect to be supported by colleagues and jump back in sleepless and headwrecked with an added commute and distraction for childminding and all that comes with that.

I also doubt that you will have the headspace in the new role to relax at home with your kids when you are working like you currently can in your familiar role.

If/when you have the new baby how much pressure will the new job and sleepless nights then be putting you under . We will be secure working from home til Feb/March 2021 but if the new job then changes policy or wants or needs you in this will leave you seeing your husband/kids/new baby even less and with a headwreck of a commute.

Also. Covid. & small kids & baby/ husband. You will be significantly increasing your risk on a much longer commute.

How much of a cash premium do
you put on seeing and spending time with your family and having a stress free,
convivial, relatively easy work environment? I’d say 20%~ priceless.

Your issues with your current role ( bad posture/delay in getting a new desk and mentoring) seem to have been accelerated by what could be you not managing them properly and your resentment towards them. Are you so bad at mentoring that your protege cannot do his/her work or were they hired without the competencies or coding skills needed to do the job? Have you performance managed them and recommended training in their skillgap areas? How often have you entirely had to redo their work? Who did you report this to? Was this a consequence of bad mentoring or bad application of your specific training or total incompetence or too much detail for an underqualified graduate/intern? Did you flag these ongoing performance issues with his/her manager? Make recommendations? Follow up on actions? What will you do or think if this becomes you in your new role and you have no 1 year plus employment rights in a new role in a global recession? etc

It would seem that you have it relatively easy and good where you are. Someone has set seeds of financial doubt in your head but so far the maRket has shown its not that easy or equivalent to just step out and into a slightly higher paid role and there are prices to be paid. Is the additional stress, job instability, increased workload, huge additional commute, job uncertainty and area you have no experience or interest in worth tje few extra ( taxable) grand if you are offered it?

Also what impact on your combined earnings/benefits and combined taxable income will the new salary hVe? After tax and additional costs, and spending an extra day a week on a bus where you don’t get to see your children, you might be losing the majority of it lost in tax or overheads and childminding.

AndyBoBandy

chris525 wrote: »

My husband refuses to move to Dublin even though that’s where most of the roles are. He does have a point about Dublin not being a good place to raise kids

Sorry but could you elaborate on why Dublin is not a good place to raise kids??

Sounds like your husband has a massive chip on his shoulder..

screamer

Money is not everything to be honest. Adding to your commute every day will be tougher than you imagine and long term, not worth it. Throw another kid into the mix in the future and it’ll be even harder, I know, I’ve 3 myself to get out every day.
Look at what you really want from a role, rather than whatever is just on offer, learn to drive too so that you can broaden your prospects, and if I were you, I’d only make a move when I’d found something I really want. I’ve seen so many people make quick decisions to move because they thought the grass was greener only to end up more miserable. I’ve even seen many people returning over the years. So take your time with a decision.

Wildly Boaring

I would not even consider changing a 30 min commute to a 90min commute.

90mins is loooooong.
To be in for 9 you'll need to get a bus shortly after 7
Of you finish at 5:30 you'll be home after 7

You have 2 kids and considering a third.
The commute days will be a write off.

chris525

Thanks for all the great replies and advice. I'm feeling less anxious. I'd like to add a few more details for clarity.

RE: My husband.
My husband, our marriage, and why he thinks the way he does is, is a whole different animal. Is he adding limits and constraints on us? Yes. But that's a whole different topic for a different thread.

I think my husband wants to stay away from Dublin mostly because we are renters and his sister lives down the street and can babysit in an emergency etc. Renting a house for a family is notoriously expensive in Dublin and we wouldn't have any savings. As I have family overseas and want to visit and save for our own house one day, this is important for us.

My husband got a co-operative house in our county this year so it will save us money. It's a limitation but perhaps a good one.

RE: commute
We moved into our new place during the pandemic. Before that, I would walk to the train station (25 mins), train ride (20 mins), walk to the office building (15 mins). So my current commute is actually over an hour and I would have to walk in the rain! If you were to drive it's 20 mins only.

Where I'm originally from a 1 hr commute is pretty standard so it's not alarming to me.

The reason why the commute to the new job is so long would be due to public transport. e.g. walk to the bus stop (10 mins), 50 mins bus ride, either get a connecting bus or walk (25 mins). If I miss my transfer to the next bus then I would have to walk or wait for the next bus. ouch It's awkward to get to Sandyford.

RE: driving
I never learned to drive because I'm not originally from this area. I moved out at a young age and moved to a big city where buses, trains, and subways came every 5-10 mins.

My husband recently got his 'L' and a cheap car. It's true that he is actually driving unaccompanied, but it's necessary to take our kids to school. It's just a 10 min pop over to the school from our house. He's not allowed to drive on the motorways so his driving won't be of any help to me other than to pop me over to the train station.

I wanted to book my 'L' test soon but now because of Level 5 I won't be able to until December and then I won't be able to drive on the motorway to get to a new job for another 2 years. This would also mean getting a second car. Maybe my best would be to work near the DART line so my husband can just pop me over to the train?



In any case, I think I need to:

1. find out if the company has maternity top-ups
2. find out more about the role (the job description was vague - only talked about what they want in a candidate and not about the project)

In the long run, yes, as much as I like my job and as hard as it would be to leave, I think I need to leave.

I'm a UI JavaScript developer. The company is using outdated practices and technologies and there is little room for advancement. This year the company almost went bust due to not keeping a big new client happy. They don't practice Agile very well. They managed to recover from that but it was close.

Maybe I should wait for the 4 or 5-year mark and find maybe something that rings the bell a bit more?

chris525

JustAThought wrote: »

Have you been offered the new role OP?

It seems the key things you really like about your current role are all significant quality of life issues - good relationships, low stress, Decent manager, extremely managable & short commute, some
maternity benefits, mostly stress free easy job.

You mention that you don’t drive, have two smll kids and want possibly another baby; and that what you enjoy most about the WFH and Covid is that you see more of your family and
have an even easier stress free life.

It seems as if your real priorities are clear and deapite someone ( an agent?) twlling you you should be earning 10k or 10-15% more you have thus far had no offers. I would imgine they also have not factored in the global recession hitting and that being in a solid ‘permanent’ job for over 1 year and not in contract work and having HR rights by dint of your length of service is quite important.

Arguably you could gain the further knowledge you want by doing a programming or other course
- there are plenty mostly free ( or for a puttance) on springboard.ie or through the free online courses futurelearn or other such overseas universities offer.

It seems your big block is the maternity cover and commute and future career progression/money.
If your current priorities are expanding your family how will you manage the workload, extra job stress, extra commute pressure ( 7x 1 hour minimum per week) and additional 1 year service needed until you can feel safe enough in your new role to have stability/tenure rights? All of this will mean added pressure and stress and distance from your family and children.

Also how fair is it to expect a new role & colleagues to welcome you and support you and help train you in & then you to disappear for 6 months on maternity leave and expect to be supported by colleagues and jump back in sleepless and headwrecked with an added commute and distraction for childminding and all that comes with that.

I also doubt that you will have the headspace in the new role to relax at home with your kids when you are working like you currently can in your familiar role.

If/when you have the new baby how much pressure will the new job and sleepless nights then be putting you under . We will be secure working from home til Feb/March 2021 but if the new job then changes policy or wants or needs you in this will leave you seeing your husband/kids/new baby even less and with a headwreck of a commute.

Also. Covid. & small kids & baby/ husband. You will be significantly increasing your risk on a much longer commute.

How much of a cash premium do
you put on seeing and spending time with your family and having a stress free,
convivial, relatively easy work environment? I’d say 20%~ priceless.

Your issues with your current role ( bad posture/delay in getting a new desk and mentoring) seem to have been accelerated by what could be you not managing them properly and your resentment towards them. Are you so bad at mentoring that your protege cannot do his/her work or were they hired without the competencies or coding skills needed to do the job? Have you performance managed them and recommended training in their skillgap areas? How often have you entirely had to redo their work? Who did you report this to? Was this a consequence of bad mentoring or bad application of your specific training or total incompetence or too much detail for an underqualified graduate/intern? Did you flag these ongoing performance issues with his/her manager? Make recommendations? Follow up on actions? What will you do or think if this becomes you in your new role and you have no 1 year plus employment rights in a new role in a global recession? etc

It would seem that you have it relatively easy and good where you are. Someone has set seeds of financial doubt in your head but so far the maRket has shown its not that easy or equivalent to just step out and into a slightly higher paid role and there are prices to be paid. Is the additional stress, job instability, increased workload, huge additional commute, job uncertainty and area you have no experience or interest in worth tje few extra ( taxable) grand if you are offered it?

Also what impact on your combined earnings/benefits and combined taxable income will the new salary hVe? After tax and additional costs, and spending an extra day a week on a bus where you don’t get to see your children, you might be losing the majority of it lost in tax or overheads and childminding.

Good points brought up here.

I haven’t been offered the job yet but they are progressing so rapidly that I think they will offer.

Yes, I told the recruiter that I was not much interested in the game industry and yet he gave them my CV without my permission.

RE: commute
We moved into our new place during the pandemic. Before that, I would walk to the train station (25 mins), train ride (20 mins), walk to the office building (15 mins). So my current commute is actually over an hour and I would have to walk in the rain! If you were to drive it's 20 mins only.

Where I'm originally from a 1 hr commute is pretty standard so it's not alarming to me.

The reason why the commute to the new job is so long would be due to public transport. e.g. walk to the bus stop (10 mins), 50 mins bus ride, either get a connecting bus or walk (25 mins). If I miss my transfer to the next bus then I would have to walk or wait for the next bus. ouch It's awkward to get to Sandyford.

Yes, my priorities are low stress, maternity support & cover, family-friendly, commute, and career progression.

I don’t need to worry about childminding as my husband takes care of that.

RE: my junior developer
This junior dev was not hired by me. He was hired by someone else while I was on mat leave. He does not have a degree in computer science. He was ‘self-taught’ and managed to obtain a job.

As he does not have computer science fundamentals, he often makes a lot of mistakes and makes a mess of the code.

Sometimes he tells me that something is finished, but when I check out the code, it’s throwing errors. etc. I think he’s not qualified for the role. I told my boss that but my boss is not willing to ever fire anyone. He is willing to hold on to incompetent people for the sake of it. The trainee is not the only one that he will not lay off due to incompetence.


My company does not have an HR department so I told my boss that my desk was hurting my back. It took him months to do it. I just think it was out of stinginess really. I guess I could have been more aggressive about it.

beauf

Personally I wouldn't switch to a longer commute unless it's was an amazing opportunity.

Getting a full licence I would still say is a priority. It will enable or facilitate so many opportunities. I got my licence very early. But didn't get own car for maybe 7 or 8 years later, didn't need it to then.

As a developer you need to keep your skill set up to date. I can see you realise this. But with a family is hard to do this in your own time. That is why you need to do it in the job.

Sounds like you kinda know what you want do to. You just need to talk it though.

JustAThought

I would also say you have entirely glossed over a lot of key issues that perhaps it dosn’t suit you to think about. But you have brough uo the subject of your husband and his role as childminder in chief - does he have a job or is his role stay at home Dad? What effect will the additional time required of him because of tour commute or missing bus links have? How does he feel about it? Does he want an always absent part time wife and how will your existing kids feel with seeing even less of you in the hours they are awake?

ILoveYourVibes

beauf wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't switch to a longer commute unless it's was an amazing opportunity.

But they said she could work from home 3 days....so its only like 2 days of a commute.


OP said.

Longer commute (1h20mins - 1h40mins) but they said they have embraced the working at home situation permanently so you can come in 2 days and work the rest at home if you want

OP i would take it.

beauf

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

But they said she could work from home 3 days....so its only like 2 days of a commute.

OP i would take it.

That is true. When we get back to the office I would hope to be WFH most days as well. To progress you have to leave even if it's one step back to make two steps forward.

ILoveYourVibes

beauf wrote: »

That is true. When we get back to the office I would hope to be WFH most days as well. To progress you have to leave even if it's one step back to make two steps forward.

Uh i think i understand

Good luck xx

I know you will make it work you seem really intelligent.

SantaClaw

As someone who works in the gaming industry, I would recommend checking on the working conditions. Depending on the company the expectations on overtime and the actual company culture might be something to consider. Everyone makes their place sound like the most friendly and welcoming one in the interviewers.

Unfortunately, there are still plenty of bad apples in my field where you are expected to do crunch and work extra hours for no pay.

beauf

Game companies seem to be constantly have unrealistic deadlines, and work day and night to meet them.

They start with all sorts of incentives to encourage people to do this, but eventually it just becomes their normal to work long days and weekends and they drop the incentives and bonuses.

rightmove

chris525 wrote: »

d did up my CV. I got some immediate interest in my CV and found out that my salary is 10-18% lower than it should be and my benefits package is sub-par as well.

What route are you going with trying to get a new job? Apply direct or use agency etc/websites?. You seem to have found out quickly the measure of the market. Guess might be easier in something like software development.

listermint

Whatever you do.

Plan to learn to drive . Regardless if you decide to stay or go. Having that skill set opens more opportunities for your from a career perspective to a family home life perspective. Don't put it off. It's a really valuable skill that brings a large level of freedom in one's own life.


For me based on the opening post alone. I'd move roles should you be successful. If they have a large benefits package it would be standard that maternity is in there too. But getting to operate on the latest technology stacks alone should make you excited.

Bare in mind playstation 5 just launched as did Xbox latest consoles. Gaming is going to be exciting over the next few years.

chris525

rightmove wrote: »

What route are you going with trying to get a new job? Apply direct or use agency etc/websites?. You seem to have found out quickly the measure of the market. Guess might be easier in something like software development.

Yeah LinkedIn andrecruitment agencies.

chris525

beauf wrote: »

Game companies seem to be constantly have unrealistic deadlines, and work day and night to meet them.

They start with all sorts of incentives to encourage people to do this, but eventually it just becomes their normal to work long days and weekends and they drop the incentives and bonuses.

Yeah, I worked at a game company before and they had hard deadlines and I had to do free overtime. One time it was 16 hours in one day. I also didn't really like working on games so I left.

I told the recruiter that I wasn't interested in the gaming industry but he gave them my CV anyways....