Tech — Work — Ramblings

by Mike Kalvas

I see you're not using JavaScript (which is awesome!) on one of my pages that uses it to provide a better experience. If you see something not working right, please let me know. My site should work exactly the same without it apart from any exceptions noted here.

I use prism.min.js to do syntax highlighting. It clocks in at 23kb total in size. Since the majority of the writing I do involves coding, I personally find this to be a worthwhile trade off. If you choose to keep this disabled, rest assured, the code examples are still there, they just may have some extra whitespace and obviously no syntax highlighting.

I do no tracking at all and am a zealot about keeping my pages as small as possible. If you're reading a page of mine that transfers more than about 250kb over the wire (including my most gratuitous indulgence — fonts) I've messed up.

So, if you'd like to have a slightly richer experience, consider enabling javascript for my site and I promise your trust won't be misplaced.

202205231130 Knowing when to leave

How do we know when it's time to leave a job?

Signs to watch for

Growth

You're no longer growing personally
You're no longer growing professionally
There are no opportunities for career growth
You're underutilizing your skills or being underutilized
You can’t picture yourself there long-term

Purpose

You're not passionate about what you're doing
Your values aren't aligned with your organization

Achievement

You're perpetually procrastinating
Your job is negatively affecting your confidence. E.g. you start struggling to 202110212231 Differentiate between self-doubt and idea-doubt.
You already achieved what you set out to achieve

Burnout

Everything feels overwhelming
You need better work-life balance
You feel exhausted, burnt-out, or dread working
You actively look for ways to avoid your job

Toxicity

It’s causing you to develop bad habits
You wouldn’t want your friends to work there
You're learning coping mechanisms instead of skills
There are major issues with your boss
Your workplace/environment is unhealthy
Your ethics are being compromised

Business

You're grossly under-compensated
The company's future is in question
You are no longer able to fulfill your job responsibilities
There are substantially better opportunities elsewhere

Self-selection bonus: if you're making a list like this or reading advice about this topic, it's probably time to go.

Leaving

Make sure you leave after equity vesting (e.g. day of month)
Make sure you leave closer to the beginning of the year so that you don't miss out on bonus payments with prorated awards.