[asoneth]

I also consider myself extremely lucky in that regard.

> the key seems to be getting out of the corporate world, away from companies with a singular focus on profit-making and competition

In my experience there are still healthy corporations out there. The signals I now look for are: profitable, privately held, not pursuing IPOs or buyers, grow headcount slowly (if at all), have never needed layoffs, promote engineers into positions of authority, and have high average employee tenure.

It's refreshing to work in an organization where people feel secure enough to make long-term investments in infrastructure, people, and projects that may not pay dividends for many years. (And to be the beneficiary of decades of prior long-term investments.)

[davidw]

Where do you find these places though? That's tricky. They're the real 'unicorns' from my point of view as an employee. I don't care if I earn quite as much if I enjoy my job.

[asoneth]

> Where do you find these places though?

Thinking about the best jobs in my tech career, in one case I made a list of companies that were biking distance from my house, in another an ex-classmate recruited me, in another a recruiter cold-called after I moved to a new state.

Beyond "being lucky" I'm not really sure how to generalize those experiences, though I will say that if you can identify things that you value differently from most that may help you find opportunities that are undervalued.

On the flip side, as I've gotten older I think I've gotten better at recognizing when an organization is a poor fit and having the confidence (and the savings) to turn it down or walk away even if the position is high-status, highly-paid, and/or seems like a perfect fit on paper. That can be especially hard if everyone from your family to your coworkers is telling you you're crazy.

[Sander3Utile]

well established companies in an industry where there is not much competition or incentives to make drastic changes fit the bill

[asoneth]

All else being equal I agree with focusing on companies that have a long track record of success -- due to the Lindy Effect they're also more likely to be successful in the future.

> in an industry where there is not much competition

This hasn't matched my experience so far. The less external competition there is to align the company, the more employees seem to channel that drive into internal competition for resources and petty office politics.

[davidw]

That doesn't sound quite like what I'm talking about. That sounds 'cushy', which isn't bad, but doesn't necessarily make for a very interesting job.