Re:The state of burnout in tech, 2022 edition [pdf]
by tkiolp4 on Thursday March 03, 2022 @04:22PM
(#30547168)
The problem about being oncall is not how many times you get called, itβs that you cannot plan anything in your free time without having to take your laptop with you.
Re:The state of burnout in tech, 2022 edition [pdf]
by BeetleB on Thursday March 03, 2022 @10:10PM
(#30550199)
Then ask how often one is on call. One week out of every 4 weeks? 8 weeks? 12 weeks?
I share your concern - it's why I've never taken an on call job. But I've still interviewed for some and am willing to babysit a laptop once every 6-8 weeks if they typically get a small number of calls - provided there are other benefits to the job (learn something new, higher pay, etc).
Re:The state of burnout in tech, 2022 edition [pdf]
by mparnisari on Thursday March 03, 2022 @04:42PM
(#30547429)
For me is the other way around, i don't mind taking my laptop everywhere, but i loathe getting a page at 3am
Re:The state of burnout in tech, 2022 edition [pdf]
by francisofascii on Thursday March 03, 2022 @04:15PM
(#30547091)
This. The tech, role, salary, and checklists like the Joel Test are less important to me now, than questions like this.
Plenty of SW jobs where this is not a problem (some even have good pay, not FAANG level, though).
Go interview, and ask questions during the interview about it. Questions I've asked:
1. I don't check my email when I go home (unless there's a cross-geo meeting or something). Is that workable with this job?
2. What is the cycle of work like? How often do you work more than 40 hours a week? Is it regular, continuous work or are there crunch times?
3. Do you have on-call work? (If yes, probe into details - some on call work is terrible, but I've been on interviews where the person said he got a call only 3 times in a whole year).