I took a 50% paycut to quit working in advertising because I think it is a profoundly evil and useless industry. I have never regretted it, and you wouldn't have, either.
When I worked at Big Bank we had this junior kid, who finished both law school and made a CS degree. One of the smartest guys with whom I worked. Me and other lead made a huge effort to put him on a fast track and promote him to a senior role to match salary to his contributions.
Shortly after he decided to leave because, as he put it, he wasn't comfortable working for this evil company and decided to move to a NGO. We haven't spoke too much about it, but I feel it could be even more than 50%.
For a while I thought of him as my personal hero.
I too worked in ad, games, and ended up in big co.
He threw it all away for the greater good.
What a champ.
I've met him few years later, at a annual meetup of ex Bank workers and he was bascially begging for recomendations anywhere because he ran out of money.
I still don't make as much as I did in advertising - a decade ago - and I live perfectly comfortably, on my own, in a two bedroom apartment, in one of the most liveable cities in the world (Melbourne) and I work for a not for profit. I don't eat as much caviar as I used to, I guess.
I think there are plenty of people in the world who look upwards and consider themselves poor when they're on six figures. Maybe this kid wasn't as smart as you thought.
I think that's definitely how people who work for immoral industries frame their need to work there. In my experience, however, it isn't people working in AI who can't find another job that would allow them to pay rent.
If you're a minimum wage worker with no education and no other prospects working for an arms manufacturer - I forgive all sins.
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I took a 50% paycut to quit working in advertising because I think it is a profoundly evil and useless industry. I have never regretted it, and you wouldn't have, either.
When I worked at Big Bank we had this junior kid, who finished both law school and made a CS degree. One of the smartest guys with whom I worked. Me and other lead made a huge effort to put him on a fast track and promote him to a senior role to match salary to his contributions. Shortly after he decided to leave because, as he put it, he wasn't comfortable working for this evil company and decided to move to a NGO. We haven't spoke too much about it, but I feel it could be even more than 50%. For a while I thought of him as my personal hero. I too worked in ad, games, and ended up in big co. He threw it all away for the greater good. What a champ.
I've met him few years later, at a annual meetup of ex Bank workers and he was bascially begging for recomendations anywhere because he ran out of money.
I still don't make as much as I did in advertising - a decade ago - and I live perfectly comfortably, on my own, in a two bedroom apartment, in one of the most liveable cities in the world (Melbourne) and I work for a not for profit. I don't eat as much caviar as I used to, I guess.
I think there are plenty of people in the world who look upwards and consider themselves poor when they're on six figures. Maybe this kid wasn't as smart as you thought.
I guess the takeaway is it’s okay to be idealistic, just not too idealistic that you can’t pay rent.
I think that's definitely how people who work for immoral industries frame their need to work there. In my experience, however, it isn't people working in AI who can't find another job that would allow them to pay rent.
If you're a minimum wage worker with no education and no other prospects working for an arms manufacturer - I forgive all sins.
I don’t know, I’m a AI PhD dropout so deep into the job search struggle that I’ll take any job that comes my way.
I did have serious moral doubts when I was interviewing for some startups tho. The inner conflict is definitely there.
You think that's bad? I'm a self-taught programmer and philosophy major.
It was either this or take Bill Hick's advice?