This guy BUILT A BOT to do his job for him

Hacker News discussion about the post:

This guy fully automated his job to the point where he was working 1-2 hours per week and still collecting a full time paycheck. Is this ethical?? Not knowing what to do he wrote a post on Stack Exchange that was shared on Hacker News and it sparked a huge discussion around what is the right thing to do in this scenario.

In this video we talk about one topic that emerged from that discussion: More work should mean more pay but it rarely does. So how do you get a raise when you are a salaried tech employee? How do you get rewarded for your extra efforts.

[marcelloascani]

if I find out one of my employee is so smart that he could automate his job I would be super happy, I would promote him and make him work on automations paying much more money.

[iowndisworld]

Never tell anyone you automated your job. I used to have a job where I automated the process for reporting. I went to request a higher raise and title, at the time I never told them I had automated the job but could improve the process. They told me I didn’t have enough experience and I was already getting paid enough with my title. I started looking for another job instead, when the company found out they decided to replace me. Fast forward six months later the new person they hired quit and they’re still doing everything manually there. Do you and don’t worry about what’s best for the company ever, do what’s best for you.

[Alf-Dee]

Around 12 years ago, I worked as Linux/Unix System Administrator in a major telecommunication company in my country.
I automated 90% of my job, and while in the office, I used my free time to learn coding as a mobile software engineer. One year later, I switched job, started my software engineer career, and never looked back. 
Of course, I switched my role many times over the years, but that one was a major event that improved my life exponentially.

[theadrenalizedartist]

Most jobs using computers can be automated or at least streamlined so that more work can be done in less time. I am beginning to think most companies are not interested in that and this is simply based on my own work experiences. One employee at my current job semi-automated our process. The company used it for a few months, saw that they were paying more bonuses out to people because it allowed us all to do more work faster, so they stopped using this tool. The tool is still on our work desktops-unused. They raised all the metrics and made it much harder to bonus. This person is not an IT person but I think they should go into IT some place where they will be better appreciated.

[joevasconcelos]

That call with the boss man for the 4% raise hit home, I said thank you while updating my resume and linked in and left 1 month later for a 50% raise

[HeadStronger-HS]

As a system administrator working remote, I automated a lot of routine tasks that cut back time. It frees up time to do other tasks and yes spend more time with family. I was always hesitant to let others on the team know and only really shared with one other colleague that I could trust.

[FunNHonesty]

Bro, you are getting the work done, your employer is happy, and you get your entire life to yourself. Be happy! You are mad that you are not being drained of your time that your boss doesn’t respect. Never forget that your boss will fire you for breathing too hard. Never forget. They don’t love you

[ryanfoothills]

I was working at a company where they had 8 full-time employees($10 an hour employees) validating the differences between two database tables(by using a GUI to compare the values between the two systems). I wrote a short script that ran a SQL query+join and printed the same information to a CSV in a few minutes. My boss chose not to use it...I left the company shortly after.

[adamd]

"Is it unethical"? Right, because companies are never unethical when it comes to dealing with their employees...

He is giving them the work they want, and potentially sooner than they want it and with fewer errors. If nothing else, he is being a better employee than they could ever ask for, and would ever deserve.

[henrysan]

For most working people, having a job is a necessity and the paycheck is the incentive. However, beyond the paycheck, showing genuine, heartfelt appreciation for a job well done is a powerful motivator in the workplace. Showing appreciation has become a lost art for many mangers in the business world. Some reason that if you routinely commend a worker's performance then they will ask for a raise. Making an employee feel valued creates a healthy work environment where employees feel appreciated and will want to stay...even if the pay is sub par.

[MrJoaopaulofurtado]

That's why I have 4 jobs and I have no ethical concerns related to it.
I'm a 10x developer (ok, maybe a 5x). So, instead of working 5x for 1 company... why not have 4-5 jobs and dedicate 1x for each? hahaha
No company will pay me a 600k+ yr salary

[stickysteph]

My boss loves to present extra work as a great way to "get your name out there". I've been with the company for 4 years now and every position I've ever been interested in, I'm strongly discouraged that I wouldn't be happy there. Well, what's the point in me going above and beyond to "put my name out there" if I'm going to be stuck in the same job forever!!!!

[natpeterson]

Love your content man, the short skits are hilarious lol

[jesusspins]

I think you need to take a step back and think about Impact > Output

You don’t get promoted because you do good work, you get promoted because you can take on more scope.

By focusing on how you IMPACT a company, rather than your OUTPUT. You’ll start to identify ways to take on more scope and be promoted

[Slav.Bogusz]

Great video by the way, keep making videos like that.

[NickJ]

Cool story, great production, interesting to listen to) Thanks and keep up!

[alexcastellon]

Hey man loving the videos you're putting out. Here's a video idea; I'd honestly like to see a bit more of your personal life and how much working two remote jobs, youtube, etc, has benefited you financially. This obviously only if you're comfortable with it, I'm just curious to see. I, myself, went to college and studied finance and really into personal finance, which is really where this idea comes from lol

[tothepoint]

Literally just quit a job where I was doing much more than anyone else but they wouldnt reward me for it, 2 weeks left on my notice, then I am free

[pearlivory]

I remember when I saw the news and started creating macros for my work as an accounting forming bank reconciliations lol. It shaved an hour out of my day but I had other work to do. Nothing as drastic as this guy.

[elliotnyberg]

Great example of work smarter not harder