> Lots of other fields have on calls or out of work expectations.
Yes, and in many of them there are call-out fees and overtime. Programmers and sysadmins have convinced themselves that, as "professionals" they are not aligned with traditional working-class constructs like this.
Re:I Don't Want to Be on Call Anymore
by staticassertion on Sunday November 28, 2021 @09:11PM
(#29375536)
> Yes, and in many of them there are call-out fees and overtime.
Why is that any better than just getting paid overall more? Lots of companies also have internal policies like "if you get called in on a weekend take a long weekend next week" etc in my experience.
Because then the company has a financial incentive to reduce call-outs and overtime.
Re:I Don't Want to Be on Call Anymore
by wildrhythms on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:59PM
(#29374091)
>we all negotiate accordingly
This is quite a sweeping statement to make. My first engineering job salary was non-negotiable. I was told to either accept it, or they 'rapidly' move to another candidate.
Re:I Don't Want to Be on Call Anymore
by staticassertion on Sunday November 28, 2021 @06:00PM
(#29374103)
I meant more collectively. But of course, yes, it's sweeping. It'll change regionally, or based on experience, or company culture, etc.
But I don't think it's unfair to say, especially in the US, that software engineers are highly compensated.
It's not like on call is a shock or something, it's not "whatever they throw at me", it's just... part of the job. My sister is a dentist, she has to be on call sometimes, it's not a shocker or something you don't know when you're signing up for the job.
You're implying that people aren't negotiating, but that's baseless. Software engineers are highly compensated because of these expectations, and we all negotiate accordingly.