"It seems to me that there’s a class of programmer that will take an overpaid job at a terrible BigCo, spend their evenings writing ranty blog posts about how terrible it all is, culminating in the inevitable “I quit” article, only subsequently to accept a job at a different terrible BigCo."
I don't know, it sounds like you think people actually like their jobs. Seems like for most of us, we do work at shitty BigCos. Plenty of small shitty companies too. That's just how life goes.
Agreed. It takes constant effort and a lot of luck to land at a small company with competent people and good, sane culture.
I scored that once by accident. We all keep in touch, people from every department, and recount how it was the best job we ever had.
It was acquired by a medium company of limited competence and everyone was scattered to the wind in a frenzy of empire building by the managers in that company.
I have been consulting/contracting and visiting megacorps since then. Traumatizing, to say the least.
I don't know, it sounds like you think people actually like their jobs. Seems like for most of us, we do work at shitty BigCos. Plenty of small shitty companies too. That's just how life goes.