The Workplace Stack Exchange
The Workplace Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
326
votes
5 answers

How can I determine a reasonable salary to ask for?

I'm looking for a comprehensive answer to this question, not short answers that just tell me one piece of the equation. The ideal answer should include: How can I determine the average salary rate for my position? What statistics affect the sort of…
Rachel
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315
votes
13 answers

Is it normal to take lots of breaks in a programming job?

I currently have an internship and I've been assigned to a single project and that project alone. While I'm usually several weeks ahead of schedule and put a lot of thought and detail into my work, I sometimes feel like I can't put my head towards…
Migz
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312
votes
22 answers

How can I overcome "years of experience" requirements when applying to positions?

Summary: I have 2 years of experience, but want to get a job that explicitly requires 3-7 years. I consider myself with sufficient skills. How can I get a job that requires more years of experience than I currently have? Having just been rejected…
user874
308
votes
19 answers

Why is it 'expected' that software developers work on their own projects in their spare time?

I have been working in software development for the last five years, and have had a number of jobs during this time - most of them have been fixed term contracts, but I've also had a permanent position, and have been self-employed for a few months…
Noble-Surfer
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299
votes
17 answers

Was it really unprofessional of me to leave without asking for a raise first?

I've just given notice to my current job for a new position which offered near triple my current salary ($37k as a software engineer). I knew that I was underpaid when I took the job but as a previous felon I couldn't be too picky about that. My…
user106021
291
votes
8 answers

Why is it important to gain "visibility" in the workplace?

My boss has recently been pushing me to take up stuff and try to gain visibility across the organization. I just do not understand the idea behind this. Why is it important to gain visibility? If I can write awesome code, why should I care about…
R11G
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290
votes
12 answers

Coworker is easily and often offended and doesn't want us to mention offensive topics like facial hair

We have an employee who seems to be easily offended by non-offensive things. The latest example is that we should not talk about how facial hair makes someone look different because this person is sensitive to comments about beards. A colleague with…
Jeffery Douglas
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283
votes
17 answers

How to be diplomatic in refusing to write code that breaches the privacy of our users

I am a team lead in a company located in Manila, and I am currently writing an app that has a seriously questionable feature request for its Android users -- which is to secretly record its surroundings using the phone camera. When I asked the CEO…
Jenny Tengson Mandani
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283
votes
27 answers

How to know if I am a 'Real Developer'

I am in my 5th year as a developer (3.5 years as junior/mid level and now a senior dev). My current role is not going well (people issues). Anyway, I said to one of the managers I was thinking of looking for another job and he told me there is no…
Cloud
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281
votes
10 answers

Is it acceptable to ask a waiter to pay if a customer leaves without paying?

I’ve recently started working for a restaurant (which will be anonymous for now) in Virginia (U.S.A.) as a waiter. I’ve learned to enjoy it, but recently a customer left without paying. I looked around everywhere to see if I misplaced the tab…
Jaboyc
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278
votes
17 answers

Very bad online reputation is destroying my chances of getting a job

3 years ago there was a criminal investigation that resulted in my name being published in the news papers. Although the case went to court the charges were dropped. My online reputation was basically destroyed. My family suffered financially from…
Joe
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272
votes
11 answers

Fired by an Intoxicated Boss

Last week, my boss was visibly intoxicated and told me I was fired. I asked if he was serious, and he said yes. He gave some nonsensical reason about me eating too much KFC. He then rambled about how KFC was evil for the next 10 minutes. The next…
Hans Moleman
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271
votes
17 answers

Making a job offer to a candidate while privately advising them to decline

I work at a small technology company (12 employees). This past summer I managed a bright, talented intern (a rising college senior) who did great work. My boss (the CEO) and others in the company want us to make a full-time offer to this intern, and…
user94511
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267
votes
8 answers

Provider is "cheating", but I don't want to disclose how I found out

I am an experienced IT developer who recently switched to IT consulting. My current project involves fighting horrible software performance on a server farm my client has rented. My client recently paid a huge amount for an external benchmark of…
Sergey
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262
votes
9 answers

How do I deal with my current employer not respecting my decision to leave?

I've worked for my current company for about 18 months now. Their primary market is consultancy - we get assigned clients, travel to their offices for the work week (from my experience this is usually around a three hour journey each way), and…
jardantuan
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