Permanently Deleted

  • roseateOculi [she/her,none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Most people in tech aren't "tech bros". I'm trying to get a job in tech as a Software Engineer, and Ill be lucky to make 70k at this point. The absolute best I've seen someone get out of university is 100k, and thats exceedingly rare (as in I've only seen one person actually manage to do it). I'm not trying to say that isn't a shitload of money- it definitely is- but thats the outlier. Most low and entry-level tech jobs pay around $60-65k right now, despite what you might hear. Its not a straight pipeline to being a petty bourgeoisie living the high life, especially for regular developers.

    As you mention, tech people definitely dont get to say they fixed someone's car or say they made someone's life better. You know what they can say? They had to work all weekend because of a critical error in the site and corporate demanded that they dont go home until its fixed. Or maybe there was a system failure and they were on call, so they had to work all night and their project manager still expect them to work at normal capacity all damn day with no extra breaks. The common thread through all of it? They dont get paid a fucking dime extra. Tech work is something most people get conned into with the promise that its going to be glamorous and well compensated, when in actuality tech workers are some of the most exploited of all.

    Disregarding the validity of someones opinions and experiences based off of extremely exaggerated industry stereotypes leads to a lack of unity and shows a strong absence of understanding. Try to actually talk with people in the real world before making an uninformed, inflammatory, and elitist take like that.

    • blackmesa [comrade/them,he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I work with many of them in the real world. i get they "do stuff" but i dont feel like i am in the same class as them, plain and simple. im sorry you'll be lucky to make 70k a year starting, must be hard.

      • roseateOculi [she/her,none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Didnt say it would be hard. Like said, I acknowledge that its a shitload of money. My point was that most people in tech will be lucky to make literally half of what you assumed tech workers make, and regardless of how you feel tech workers are still exploited employees. How you perceive their work doesn't change the reality of what they do. Its not about whether they "do stuff" or not, its about the fact a lot of them are working 12 hour days, sometimes seven days a week, and not getting paid for all of the extra time and hardship they put in.

        Trying to be elitist about who is "more proletariat" is not productive, and sewing these divisions so you can feel more like a "real" proletariat worker is only going to further prevent leftist unity. If you're going to try and have a productive discourse, leave that shit at the door.

        • blackmesa [comrade/them,he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          My argument is that they have totally fucked up where I live because of their high starting wages, therefore are in a class of their own, one of which i do not see as a comrade. You cant rent anything outside of $1000 that isnt 50 miles away and in the boonies. Anyone defending tech workers are defending the very same people who PAY these ridiculous prices. You ENABLE landlords to charge and GET what they are asking. So much has been sacrificed for the failure that is the "tech industry". People have to leave their homes, im watching my entire neighborhood be gentrified, and its 100% because of tech. Its all fine until it happens in your neighborhood. Its frightening that so many "leftists" here on Chapo are overlooking the real humanity of it

          Fucking LANDLORD enabling tech workers can get fucked. Do something tangible, build a free library if you want to help distribute information. Anything tech isnt praxis. Ever.

          • Civility [none/use name]
            ·
            4 years ago

            I'm sorry your neighbourhood's getting gentrified. That's an incredibly shitty thing to live through. You're blaming the wrong people.

            Tech workers aren't "enabling landlords" by ... paying rent? not asking their bosses for a paycut? any more than you are. Landlords are fucking you and tech workers over by raising prices as high as they possibly can. You getting fucked worse than tech workers doesn't mean you're not in the same class as them. You're in the same class because you both work for a living instead of owning things for a living. I'm not trying to victim blame here, organising is hard, risky and often doesn't work, but the only way not to "enable landlords" and keep prices down, would be a rent strike, which would benefit you, the people the landlords are trying to force out, and the tech workers. Not having solidarity with your fellow workers is actively harmful to your situation.

            And again, you live in the fucking USA, having an attitude of "I won't have solidarity with my fellow workers because they're enabling the capitalists who are fucking me over by continuing to buy from them" is ridiculous. By that logic, I, and the vast majority of the workers of the world, should be ardently wishing you go eat a bullet. But I'm not, and socialists in general, don't because that's an utterly counterproductive attitude. If you want someone to have solidarity with you, you need to have solidarity with them, and without a united working class we're never going to get anything done.

          • roseateOculi [she/her,none/use name]
            ·
            4 years ago

            I dont even know how to respond to this nuclearly bad fucking take. You cant blame workers for the fuckups of the ruling class. Tech workers aren't enabling landlords, landlords are exploiting tech workers. Capitalism's purpose is to maximize profit, so if there is more profit to be taken, they will take it. Tech workers aren't the ones who benefit from gentrification.

            Also, if anything tech isn't praxis then you should probably not bother posting. Focus on doing your "real praxis" and cut the elitism vibe.