So individual programmers were basically forced to work without any of the benefits of an scm. The designated repo master would place a zip of the latest code in a folder, the programmers would copy it to their home area, and when we wished to 'commit' something, we'd copy our files to a staging area and put in a request with the QA to do the actual commit.
Can't I just commit to a branch and let the QA merge the branches into the trunk later? No.
I need to edit a file, time to: cp file.c file.c.bak1
Assuming you're entrusted to install software locally, that is.
BWAHAHAHAAA! No.. :(
At my current job, I've been waiting on a software install request (you know, just an IDE, a small thing) since early February. Coding in Notepad++ till then (w00t). Been waiting on a RAM upgrade (stuck at 4GB) for... well, since I started back in October.
Programming as a job sucks. Can I do something else and just keep coding as a hobby (at home, where I have decent tools and don't have to ask permission for every $%@! little thing)? I swear, if I could get paid just as well to bag groceries/serve coffee/etc. and not have to deal with an antagonistic/uberpolitical IT dept run by Vogons, I would do it in a heartbeat.
One example: where I work we have our choice of windows/mac/linux (though if you want to run a linux other than debian, ubuntu or redhat/centos, you're on your own as far as IT is concerned); workstation upgrades are every 3 years. I'm due for a new one in May, so I only have 8GB of ram right now. Every desk has at least two monitors, and every office has a door[1].
This is not in SV, nor is Fog Creek (where Joel wrote the "Joel Test" from).
It costs nearly $200k to employ a software developer after taxes and benefits, so not being willing to shell out a few thousand a year in tools that will give a performance benefit (even if it's just making that person happier in their job), is wasteful.
1: There have been points in the past where cubes were used as a stopgap while we were finding more square-footage, including when I started. The person getting me set-up apologized for putting me in a cube.
I hope your situation improves soon.
That's all well and good if you have the luxury of picking and choosing from multiple offers. Here in the real world (i.e., not in SV), getting a decent offer (if you're not entry level) that's at least equal to your current pay generally takes 6 months - 1 year of hard interviewing. If I demanded a prospective employer scored even 50% on the Joel Test, I'd be perpetually unemployed. Which is probably why employers generally get away with providing sucktastic working environments for software developers.
I find it especially disheartening that the only one of Joel's 12 'tests' that's pretty much a universal 'yes' these days is uses source control.