Programmer Automates His Job For 6 Years, Finally Gets Fired, Forgets How To Code

[the game]

Reddit user FiletOfFish1066 just got fired from his programming job. The reason and circumstances will completely blow your mind, though. FiletOfFish1066 (FOF) worked at a well-known tech company in the Bay Area and for six full years did nothing except play League of Legends, browse Reddit, work out in a gym, and basically do whatever he felt like doing. Guess how much his company paid him to basically do nothing for a full six years? $95,000 per year on average.

How is this possible? He fully automated his own job during the first eight months of his employment.

When he first got his software testing quality assurance job, he spent eight months automating all of the programming tasks. With all of his tasks fully automated by a computer, he was able to literally sit back and do whatever he wanted. From Reddit, FOF describes in his own words what it was like to automate his own job:

http://interestingengineering.com/pr...s-fires-finds/

[Kuntantee]

There are two kinds of testing, generally speaking. What we call black box and white box testings. The black-box testing, testing without checking the actual code, can be automated if the input and output of a particular piece of software has patterns. White box testing is harder to automate as it's simply testing the code. He either ignored the kind of tests which automation is not possible, which mostly corresponds to white-box tests and just conducted simple black-box tests or actually automated whole process. If it's latter, they should be happy as Software Testing is all about automation.

You can't forget programming. The ability to program is just a manifestation of problem solving skills. Can you forget how to solve problems?

ps: Software Test Engineering is one of the least enjoyable positions out there. Although paid really well, it's boring, very boring.

[Forgettable]

You can't forget programming. The ability to program is just a manifestation of problem solving skills. Can you forget how to solve problems?

Forgetting the specific syntax and function codes I suppose? It's just a language like any other, though he probably still retains the problem solving portion.

[Kuntantee]

Forgetting the specific syntax and function codes I suppose? It's just a language like any other, though he probably still retains the problem solving portion.

Probably that's the case. This whole story is hard to believe, but if you somehow manage to forget a particular language, re-learning it would take no time. Like 1 or 2 days, at most. Obviously, forgetting it when you are actually employed is enough to get you fired, regardless of the time it takes to re-learn a language.

[Kathandira]

heh. other companies would had applauded him, and asked him if he can automate the rest of the employees jobs. Then put him in place to monitor the automation.

Could had freed up some labor costs right there. Oh well.

[Independent voter]

I read this earlier. He was hired for quality assurance and testing. His job was highly repetitious so he figured why not automate it?

I think the company should just automate his job, it's silly to hire someone for such repetitive work.

I think calling him a programmer is inaccurate. At least for the job he was working at.

[Kathandira]

I read this earlier. He was hired for quality assurance and testing. His job was highly repetitious so he figured why not automate it?

I think the company should just automate his job, it's silly to hire someone for such repetitive work.

I think calling him a programmer is inaccurate. At least for the job he was working at.

Agreed. But instead, I would had given him a position of automating his co-workers tasks, and then potentially kept him on as a contractor to ensure the automation continues to work.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Seems more like HR fucked up big time by giving him a job that was barely needed. No matter how you look at it, if you can automate your job for something ludicrous like 6 years and do barely anything in that time, then the job description was just flat out wrong.

[Zachman10613]

What a champion

[the game]

Seems more like HR fucked up big time by giving him a job that was barely needed. No matter how you look at it, if you can automate your job for something ludicrous like 6 years and do barely anything in that time, then the job description was just flat out wrong.

I'm more curious how nobody in his chain of command noticed it for 6 years. I mean he literally said he was playing league of legends in his office.

[Nephilheim]

My question is, how'd he get caught?

[Dundebuns]

Seems more like HR fucked up big time by giving him a job that was barely needed. No matter how you look at it, if you can automate your job for something ludicrous like 6 years and do barely anything in that time, then the job description was just flat out wrong.

Depends. My previous job was a combination of software and hardware test. The company I worked for wanted you to automate as much as possible, because the more you automate, the more you can test. Also, automating a test is more interesting than the test itself.

[Thetruth1400]

heh. other companies would had applauded him, and asked him if he can automate the rest of the employees jobs. Then put him in place to monitor the automation.

Could had freed up some labor costs right there. Oh well.

That's what I thought too. Sure, they have every right to feel taken advantage of, but at the end of the day, his job was still getting done, which is why it took them so long to find out something was wrong.

Toss him a raise, fire all the staff at his same level, and have his program run 24/7 in place of those workers. He benefits by having written that program, and the company benefits by paying out less in the way of salary and they also now have a 24/7 work staff to get their stuff done without any hassle.

I'm more curious how nobody in his chain of command noticed it for 6 years. I mean he literally said he was playing league of legends in his office.

Sounds like a case of "As long as the work is getting done I'm not asking questions." on the part of his superiors.

[Kathandira]

Seems more like HR fucked up big time by giving him a job that was barely needed. No matter how you look at it, if you can automate your job for something ludicrous like 6 years and do barely anything in that time, then the job description was just flat out wrong.

You have to wonder though. How did he compare to his co-workers? Was there a reason to investigate him? Was his automation allowing things to slip through untested or anything?

How a person does their job should not be a concerns, if the job is being done, and being done well.

- - - Updated - - -

That's what I thought too. Sure, they have every right to feel taken advantage of, but at the end of the day, his job was still getting done, which is why it took them so long to find out something was wrong.

Toss him a raise, fire all the staff at his same level, and have his program run 24/7 in place of those workers. He benefits by having written that program, and the company benefits by paying out less in the way of salary and they also now have a 24/7 work staff to get their stuff done without any hassle.

Exactly! I couldn't agree more.

[Torgent]

I'm more curious how nobody in his chain of command noticed it for 6 years. I mean he literally said he was playing league of legends in his office.

I didn't read the reddit post, but from the OP it sounds more like he worked from home. He was allowed to go workout, so either they had an in office gym (entirely possible) with not time restrictions, or he was not in the office.

[Deleted]

If it went under the radar for 6 years, what changed? Was there finally a costly mistake that could have been avoided by checking the stuff manually?
Or did his boss find out what was going on and was pissed that he paid him for doing nothing?
In my programming classes i was always told that the most important thing is to work smart and not hard, do things one time right so you dont have to do the same thing over and over and fixing it. This guy just took it to the next level.
I mean, if there was no mistake in his work, what does it matter how he did it, i would have laughed my ass off and then, like some others suggested, asked him about automating some other stuff and put him in charge of keeping it in optimal working order.

Although some salary renegotiations would probably be in order..

[DisposableHero]

I'm more curious how nobody in his chain of command noticed it for 6 years. I mean he literally said he was playing league of legends in his office.

in software as in life, that which runs the smoothest, is observed the least.

[ComputerNerd]

Seems more like HR fucked up big time by giving him a job that was barely needed. No matter how you look at it, if you can automate your job for something ludicrous like 6 years and do barely anything in that time, then the job description was just flat out wrong.

HR are not programmer's, and not testers.
Hence why they do not have those jobs.
What the right tools can do in the right hands is often not realised by those who don't understand them.

Whether this specific story is true or not.

[Derpleton]

So basically he created a program which took his job? Gr8 m8

[ComputerNerd]

So basically he created a program which took his job? Gr8 m8

How long before there are revolts against programming languages, being the latest we accuse of "taking our jobs".