To Dan Benjamin at 5by5 about QUIT!

Hi Dan,

Long time jackal here. (I remember when you used to complain about the Florida humidity.)

I love Quit. But not for the reasons you’d expect. I love it because of the gleeful sense of schadenfreude I get from listening to all those poor suffering corporate stooges, pouring their hearts out to their patron saint Dan.

You see, I’m a _happy_ corporate stooge.

I think you’ve been selling corporate stoogedom short. I concede that 99% of it is soul-sucking for reasons Quit-listeners know too well. But there is a small sliver of it that’s really good, and perhaps getting there is something to aspire to. It’s not better or worse than “quitting” or striking out on your own, just different. Everyone can’t be a quitter, and perhaps happy-stoogedom is an alternative lifestyle your listeners should at least think about.

I know you’re thinking, “There’s no such thing as a happy stooge!”, but let me explain.

I am a software engineer in a large tech company that everyone has heard of. I _love_ my job, as do the majority of engineers around me. Why?

- I write code that has impact on a global scale, because the company makes products/services used by many, many people.
- I learn new things everyday, am never bored, and am constantly challenged intellectually, because the problems are large and interesting, and almost everyone around me is crazy smart.
- It’s a large company, which means there are a range of projects to work on if/when you get tired of your current one.
- It’s a low-stress job with sane hours. You can have a life, if you choose. There’s the occasional crunch for a launch, but that happens like maybe one or two weeks in year. Working from home is totally cool--nobody gives a shit where your butt is physically located as long as you produce output and communicate (email, chat, video calls etc etc).

So much for the intellectual side of things. The material is also important.

- the pay is great. Its no secret. Just look at Glasshouse. What Glasshouse _doesn’t_ show is that bonuses + stocks can easily double your base pay. If you don’t live a crazy extravagant life, you can build up a nice cushion quickly.
- the perks are great. Everyone has heard the stories. Three hot meals. Snacks and drinks everywhere. Booze on Fridays. Etc etc. (Downside: I shudder to think what I’ll do if I ever have to cook again.)

Now I know I’m fortunate, and my employer practically bends over backwards to keep us all happy. But while most of the perks and culture mentioned above started out as an exception, they are rapidly becoming the norm among medium-large tech companies because of the hot chase for engineering talent.

At the risk of sounding immodest, I’ll say that I’m pretty good at what I do, and it also helps that I’m an OK writer and speaker. I’ve seen great people not make it through interviews. This place is probably more selective than Ivy Leagues.

But it’s a great life. I think within the corporate world there are now emerging islands where creative and technical people of a certain calibre are given a great home for their professional lives. As you like to say, a place where they can show up and be awesome then go home.

For some personality types, it might be something to aspire to.

Keep being awesome!