I’m an immigrant working in the USA, I came here because of the promise of a better tomorrow, a meritocracy, a seat at the table at big tech, and for a while it felt real but then my company was acquired by a larger entity and it all went to shit, now I’m in a race to show I’m the most competent and dedicated person with the most technological knowledge to keep my job and not get layed off.
If I ask my manager or my director a question or challenge their thought process I get called into a 1 on 1 meeting where I’m told I’m a great asset to the team but me asking questions of them in a team setting sets a bad example, and my questions aren’t in bad faith infact in the meeting I was lauded for asking the right questions, but being pulled aside and being asked to kiss the ring felt disgusting.
At one point in my career I cared about what I did and who I worked for I felt pride over my product and my team, and all I feel now is shame to be associated with my company, I feel disgusted with myself that I work not for my customers but for shareholder value.
So I guess my question if any is are there still companies that exist in the USA or outside that still give a fuck about what they’re doing and not just inflate that companies value so it can be sold or keep the stock price going up.
I would love to live and work somewhere where my value isn’t determined by how much money I van make or how much shareholder value I increase, I wouldn’t have to worry about a visa and if I can/will be kicked out if I’m no longer employed.
I could go back home but the work culture there is atrocious it was the reason why I had left, I lasted 5 months and I couldn’t take it and put in my 2 weeks to go to the US for a Masters degree in Computer Sciences.
I’m sorry that this turned into more of a rant than anything else but I’m at a point where I don’t really know what I want to do anymore, any advice or conversation is appreciated.
Also hardware
Open-source hardware is almost non-existant compared to software. There is a reason for it.
I am an electronics engineer who makes open source hardware as a hobby.
Hardware is extremely different from software. It requires substantial monetary investment.
My company last year did a dirt-cheap lowest-possible-budget prototype design and run of 10 for someone funding themselves independently. It cost 8000€ for the design and that one prototype run, and an extremely simple design at that (electronically, medical-spec mechanically).
Software you buy a system and you can develop and develop and iterate and test 1000 times and develop multiple projects on that single machine. If you sell 0 units, sure you are out a computer and a ton of personal time. Sucks, but you won’t lose your house.
If you do electronics + mechanical development, every time you iterate on the electronics, that will be 200€-1000€ please, plus test equipment. If you make a small mistake equivalent to a wrong pointer that is another 1000 down the drain.
Hardware projects, pure material-wise, can cost more than a car to develop (just going through CE and FCC compliance testing can be 2k-10k and you aren’t allowed to sell in the EU without it.
You need capital to burn or be OK with a non-market-ready end product. Most people would rather make a down payment on a house than develop open hardware that might never recoup just the material costs. You can’t just give the hardware away for free unlike software also.
The key for open source hardware is crowd funding. Source: I’ve run an open source hardware company for years.