What I remember mostly from working in that era, was that managers let engineers make the technical decisions.

I can't speak for all managers obviously, but that's what we want. Now though, suddenly we're expected to contribute code again and C-level is completely ignorant about the tradeoffs they're making. Compounding this is the fact that the feedback loop for the tradeoffs is likely still a year+ away, far longer than their incentives take to materialize.

i'm glad you had a good time! i did too! the reason it began to suck wasn't that it began to suck, it's that you began to notice. technology isn't bad, the technology industry is bad. we were always bad to some people, now it seems we're just straight-up bad to everyone.

I won't deny some of that truth, but even from my far-removed perspective the suckiness was quite limited when the leadership was technical and the goals were aligned. However, I will 100% acknowledge that the industry has been utterly exploitative of (in particular) young people who are passionate about their work, and it took me many years to realize that.

I had a Rip Van Winkle experience.

1983-1990, I had a few jobs, with varying levels of agita, but I always loved the tech aspect.

In 1990, I got a job at a top-shelf Japanese technology corporation, and stayed there for almost 27 years. I worked as a peer, with some of the top engineers and scientists in the world. My business card opened a lot of doors. There were lots of problems, too (it wasn’t Disneyland, by any means), but I was proud to work there, and resisted calls to leave.

In 2017, I was finally made redundant (long story, but it was expected, and I was prepared).

When I emerged into the new tech industry, it really sucked. There was a lot of money, sloshing around, but also, an awful culture. I was horrified.

Fortunately, I had the means to take my toys and go home.

I feel awful for the folks that never got to experience The Joy of Tech.

It’s a great article. Thanks, Steven!

I guess working for tech became horrible from Web 2.0 era and the SaaS wave.