Mathematical prof that surveillance harms x 1K more than it could potentially help.

  • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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    8 hours ago

    i think it’s crazy high salaries; it insulates them from the problems that the rest of us have have to deal with in our lives.

    i first noticed it around the tail end of the earlier “IT half” of my career when my payrate started to push up against six figures; now at over 20 years as a software engineering that’s solidly past that boundary (like most well connected software engineers are); the opinions/outlooks/expectations of my colleagues have become so toxic to me that i’ve decided to go back to IT permanently.

    also: the work seemed to get more and more evil as i progressed in the software engineering half of my career. i’m convinced my current gig is a net detriment to humanity and society like all my software engineering gigs were and i’ll be taking a 56% pay cut to avoid the that profit-seeking-evil in a non-profit organization that teaches people who can’t afford to dedicate their lives to a college degree like a 19 year old from the suburbs can do.

    a big part of me is sad that i will never become rich like my current colleagues; but i think that my psychological well being matters more and it’s a union job so there are other perks that help compensate for it.

    • Killercat103@slrpnk.net
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      3 hours ago

      That’s actually quite epic. Good on you dude! I have have developed some similar concers except I’m not a longtime software developer. I’m just comfortable with coding. Personally I would love working open-source or in a worker coop (though both seem like a kind of big ask locally) and my recent development of a leftist political orientation has given me an appetite for direct action. Though theres basically no anarchists or libertarians locally so I am interestingly enough working with ML’s. I don’t know how long this will satisfy me. I try not talking too much about “democratic” centeralism or lenin when I’m with them because enough those are red flags for me. (pun not intended)

      • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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        2 hours ago

        … libertarians locally so I am interestingly enough working with ML’s.

        for a moment there i couldn’t tell if ml stood for marxist/leninist like it in for lemmy.ml or if it mean machine learning. lol

        and absolutely stay away FAR away from conversations about politics. my experience has taught me that highly placed/status-ed software engineers tend to be conservative (probably because of the money) and are perpetually on the hunt for dissident views to “protect” their “people” from “threats” and they will use their position to put you on a leash if they think you don’t fit in.