These Are Some Wild Ideas

Four years after leaving a company where I was the only software engineer among mostly chemist employees, I meet a previous coworker at a community event.

Coworker: “Hey, [My Name]. When are you coming back to work at [Company]?”

Me: “Sorry, I am never going back to work there.”

Coworker: “But we really need you. The new guy is not working out; he’s no good.”

Me: “I’m not going back, but I have a solution for you: treat the new guy like he’s a valuable employee, pay him enough for the job, listen to him when he is explaining a software issue instead of saying, ‘Beep, beep boop, you’re speaking technical talk.’”

Yes, they really said that to me while I was there.

[Coworker] looked at me like I was joking. It’s been four more years since speaking with the coworker. Occasionally, I check job listings to see if the company is posting for that position, and yes, every six months to a year they are hiring for a software engineer.