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Joined 6 months ago
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Cake day: September 2nd, 2024

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  • Pretty bold of you to claim us nerds don’t do hard shit. I’m only going to speak to my experience, but I’m only one small slice of the nerd demographic. My background is in network design, security, availability, and global network design. I started out life in a car parts factory, graduated to being on the line crew here, before going inside to work on computers.

    How much of your logistics would crumble without us? Exchange of knowledge around the globe? Sales and interfacing with other corporations and customers? Security to keep personal information somewhat protected?

    I’ve contracted with several fortune 100 companies in all sorts of different industries all over the world, from manufacturing to attorneys.

    You sound a lot like my family. Only hard labour is virtuous, if you aren’t sweating you aren’t working. Do you look down on people who do what you consider menial labour? I doubt you’ll admit it, but I’m pretty confident you do.

    Civilization doesn’t work if we think like you. Every single person in my life, from the guys picking up my trash to the surgeon that saved my life are important and necessary to making modern life what it is.

    Trying to be divisive between blue and white collar in the working glass is definitely a suspicious fucking take in this climate.







  • Thank you for what you do, it’s absolutely necessary and we need people like you. I wouldn’t for a moment say it’s not worth doing.

    I don’t blame them for not wanting to do construction. I ran fiber optic cable on poles, underground, into buildings for a long time. Not quite construction, but also not easy work. Pay was terrible, I was young, and they took advantage of me. for almost 10 years. I’ve roofed, I’ve framed, I’ve been a programmer, I’ve been a network engineer. ALL of those jobs were basically the same in that regard, decent pay sure… But the hours required, the recovery I had to go through. Nothing is worth that. I’m sad that I took this long to figure that out, I missed a lot of good times with my kiddo. I can never get that back.

    That’s the same thing that’s happening to all of us at this point. There’s NO reason there isn’t enough money in the pipeline to get things built that need to be built, paying people a wage that they can live on, and without eating nearly all of their time ‘off’ work. If you have to take so much time to recover that you feel like it eats into your personal job, your work life balance is way out of wack.

    I don’t want to sound like I think your career isn’t valid, or isn’t important. Every single person that’s a part of making our lives work deserves to get paid well. No matter their job. There are so many resources available to the world we could all have better lives, but then a small group of slime would have fewer 0’s in their bank account. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even notice.

    To speak to the other side, there are a number of people that thrive in that environment. My dad was one of them. He’s at the end of his life, dying of Parkinson’s and now seeing the relationship I have with my kiddo. I can see the pain in his face. He wants to have had that with me, but decided that money was more important. He’s going to die a multi millionaire, I hope those dollars comfort him.

    That took a turn, I’m sorry. But it feels good to get out so I’m leaving it.


  • You see that none of that is a good thing right?

    I don’t want to work a job that destroys my work life balance for any pay. Doesn’t matter how much. Nobody should have to give up their life for money.

    Young people are more likely to want to take care of themselves and not have the toxic mindset you and I were brought up with. They aren’t just taking it on the chin, or putting in their time, or whatever bullshit platitudes my generation and older like to sling at young workers or those not willing to eat shit for peanuts.

    You are just perpetuating that toxic mindset, in servitude of the moneyed class.