Ask HN: Who wants to be fired? (May 2026)

eevo_9 about 6 hours ago 15 comments

ZH version is available. Content is displayed in original English for accuracy.

Stuck in a situation at your current job that makes you want to leave / be fired? Here is your opportunity to get it off your chest, and if needed, seek some hopefully helpful feedback.

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Discussion (15 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

loudermachine•1 minute ago

Spent most of last year on a project that got cancelled in January. Got moved to a new one that doesn't have much actual work, long stretches of waiting, scope shifting, and nothing is shipping.

I'm digging myself into a hole of self-doubt. I wish I were working on something with real users!

Of course, I'm doing interviews, but it hasn't been an easy ride. If I were fired I'd have more time for prepping, at least.

jakedata•about 4 hours ago

My dad was offered a buyout when he was around my current age. It included 10 years seniority added to his pension and health insurance until Medicare kicked in. He never looked back.

Sadly, nobody is willing to pay me to go away.

ray_v•about 3 hours ago

The trick is to be on one of the two extremes in terms of skill. Suck harder?

jakedata•about 2 hours ago

I'm clever but too industrious. Clever and lazy seems to pay better.

joe_mamba•about 1 hour ago

Question from an European: Why did they need to be so generous? From what we hear over here you have at will employment so they can just fire you on the spot, no need to pay anything, no? But then I read stories like these which are the opposite. I'd kill for something like this over here.

jakedata•about 1 hour ago

Paying an expensive senior (older) employee to quietly and happily go away without raising a fuss may have saved money in the long term. I am sure they did not offer the same deal to everyone.

chid•9 minutes ago

I think for them likely better to preserve a relationship rather than have it adversarial in future. It would definitely pay dividends over the potential issues it may cause.

daemonologist•about 1 hour ago

To retain and recruit talent, and protect from lawsuits (you usually have to sign a release to receive severance/a buyout). Generally only difficult to recruit and highly in-demand employees get these packages - most people over here would also kill for something like this.

autotune•about 4 hours ago

I want to get fired from my job search. We'll have to see if SSDI (been about 6 months since applying) or a job opportunity comes through first.

burnt-resistor•about 3 hours ago

It took me 9 years and a SS lawyer to get SSDI.

Also, I had some SS credit so my net monthly payment is $2480 after Medicare Part B. Expect to pay another $70/month for Medicare Part D (prescriptions) and $630/month for Medicare Medigap (F or G usually), so that leaves about $1800.

Never get Medicare Advantage, it's a scam. Also, traditional Medicare in 5 states is a scam because of the care-denying, for-profit WISeR prior-authorization AI bullshit. Medicare doesn't include vision, dental, hearing, hearing aids, or long-term care.

con-sulting•about 3 hours ago

Remodels are not a lifestyle, I'd rather built systems than dining rooms

HotGarbage•about 6 hours ago

Still eagerly waiting for AI to take my job.

Ancalagon•about 4 hours ago

My rant for the day is having these non-deterministic agent flows that I have to evaluate with even more slop code is rapidly killing my passion for quality engineering.

saltyoldman•about 6 hours ago

Quiet quitting/firing/etc.. all died in 2024 dude.

drekipus•about 3 hours ago

I'm keeping the dream alive!