Design and Culture Thoughts of the Day

I wasn't prepared to not get paid. But then, I was working for a start-up. That feeling when you schedule a 1:1 just to get the money you worked for. They give you the check, probably not knowing that you plan on leaving. If you told them flat-out that you were leaving, they would probably "forget" to pay you or just ghost on paying. They finish the conversation saying "let's keep the conversation going." Then you get your money, by calling a meeting, explaining why you need the money (WTF) and what you plan to do for the rest of the month (but you don't-- you plan to leave). And then you feel bad leaving. But you have to remember, they asked you to work for free, and you can't do that. So you take your last check and leave. I've had to jump through hoops to get my last check many times before. What's worse than disappointing me with crappy culture and late paychecks, is wasting the very thing that keeps me going -- my time and energ

At 18 years old, I didn't want to go into student debt, because I was told I wouldn't pay it back. My parents insisted that I should go to a university because I have high potential and shouldn't waste it. After school, it was the economic recession of 2009 and I got a job at a start up company, but lost it three months later when the company was bought out. It would be years until I worked at a tech company again, since I had little experience. Without many options left for my career, I went to graduate school. My staff were always much too busy to work with me but I managed to graduate. My quality of education was very low, without much support from my staff. But my tuition bill is very high. I apply to tech companies and I live in the bay area but this doesn't make it much easier to find a job. I was laid off from my tech job in 2016, and I have only found contracts ever since. I don't pay high rent, and live outside of the city. But I never have enough money