Welcome to the conclusion of a two-part series on Penny Arcade. If you haven’t read part one, you can find it here.
A week has gone by and I’m finally going to write about the Penny Arcade job posting fiasco. Some background: a while ago the site posted a for a new techno wizard (beard optional). For those who haven’t read it, I’ll break it down for you. They want someone who can essentially do four jobs (Web Development, Software Development, Sys Admin, and General IT) on his or her own. Not only do they want the employee to do all of that, but they laugh at the concept of a work/life balance, asking for the commitment to deal with site issues in the middle of the night (whiskey optional). The internet’s had a great time tearing Penny Arcade apart from for doing this, but let’s take a closer look at this.
I’ve followed this story for a while, and what I keep seeing is the reaction to the company’s biggest offense: no pay for the job. That’s right, working four jobs 24/7 and you still need something on the side so you don’t have to sleep in the street. The nerve of those Penny Arcade guys, I tell ya. They probably think that getting to be on one of their gaming shows or maybe have a cameo in the comic is just as good as a salary. They’re such terrible people. Except, people just made that up.
Plenty of people are somehow under the impression that this is a volunteer position, when the job post clearly says that there is a negotiable salary. Not only that, but it comes with benefits like FULL medical/dental and even contribution to retirement accounts. Full health and dental is something that people dream about. If you’re going to judge Penny Arcade, then judge them on the right things. Like how I’m about to do.
Watch and learn, kiddies.
The part of this job posting that I think is most worth talking about is the expectations that the company has. The tech and gaming industries are appalling with the way they treats employees, and that is something we really need to weed out of our culture. Work/home balance, what’s that? Just keep coding. Hey, Tim’s fallen asleep! Someone shove another can of Monster down his throat. We’ve been working 20-hour workdays since day one but are still somehow behind schedule. What’s that? You want paid vacation? Ah, you must be talking about the Nerf guns and ping-pong table over there in the corner.
If you think that’s Penny Arcade, then you’d be mistaken. Take a look at the forum post by Kenneth Kuan, the man who is leaving the position Penny Arcade is looking to fill. In the post he talks about his experience at Penny Arcade, and if working in the tech industry is Hell, his job is the Chuck Palahniuk version where you’re eating candy and hanging out with your favorite movie stars. Yeah, the job is a lot of work, but it’s specifically tailored for the kind of people who love what they do. Gabe and Tycho aren’t going to be standing over you with a whip at 2:00am refusing to let you leave until you’ve rebuilt the website by scratch. I’m sorry to disappoint anyone who’s into that kind of stuff.
Those expecting this need not apply.
It’s terrible how a lot of companies overwork their employees to the breaking point. I understand that. But there’s a big difference between an employee being forced to work overtime in defiance of necessity and human decency, and an employee who chooses to work 100 hour weeks because they found the job they’d do for free if it wasn’t for that pesky thing like hunger and shelter. Penny Arcade is looking for the latter. For more on work conditions in the industry, check out ‘ (formerly part of Penny Arcade) episode on it.
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