# Where Do You Seek Help First?

Source: https://www.yegor256.com/2019/06/11/where-do-you-seek-help.html

Just a few days ago a friend of mine, who is not a developer but a
co-founder of a software startup, asked me to help his programmers with
a technical problem they got stuck with. I said "Why not?" and asked
them what was going on. They told me that their PostgreSQL server was running
slow because it was doing this and that, and when they restarted it
it was repeating this and that... Long story short, I had no idea what they were talking about,
even though I was a user of PostgreSQL for many years. My first reaction was:
"Have you posted a question on Stack Overflow yet?" They answered:
"We still _hope_ that that won't be necessary." I replied, surprised: "Huh?"


{% jb_picture_body %}

Why was [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com) their last resort? They didn't explain, but I believe
I know the answer: they would feel ashamed. For them Stack Overflow is a place
for losers who can't solve problems by themselves. It is a place
for those who are not worth the money their ~~owners~~ bosses pay
them. It is a place where lazy programmers ask questions and expect answers
instead of working hard in their offices and resolving everything on their own.

This is the mentality of a [slave]({% pst 2015/oct/2015-10-06-how-to-be-good-office-slave %}).

This is the mentality of someone who is paid
[for the time]({% pst 2015/jul/2015-07-21-hourly-pay-modern-slavery %}) they spend in the office
or in front of the computer, not for the results they deliver. It is only logical
that if they are paid for _being programmers_, seeking help at Stack Overflow
is a declaration of incompetence. You do it once, you will be excused, you do
it twice, your boss will [start wondering]({% pst 2015/sep/2015-09-22-micromanagement %})
whether you are the right resource
to be spending money on. But if you do it regularly---you will
[definitely]({% pst 2016/jan/2016-01-05-how-to-punish-employees %})
be [fired]({% pst 2015/sep/2015-09-16-how-to-fire-someone-right %}).
Thus, a good slave doesn't do that. A good slave does everything
possible to [_look_]({% pst 2017/aug/2017-08-01-how-to-manage-a-manager %})
busy and competent.

{% youtube _4pk5GNUySg %}

Are you a slave?

Now, to the contrary, someone who is paid [for the results delivered](https://www.zerocracy.com)
has a completely
[different]({% pst 2018/apr/2018-04-17-how-to-be-lazy %}) mindset.
Why would Stack Overflow be a _last resort_ for a freelancer,
who is paid for the problems they manage to solve, no matter how much time they
spend on them nor where they seek help? Moreover, the
[faster]({% pst 2015/jan/2015-01-15-how-to-cut-corners %}) such a freelancer
can [find help]({% pst 2018/jan/2018-01-23-sociotech-skills %}),
the better an engineer he or she is.

In the story above, my friend had the right mindset. The moment he found
out that his team couldn't solve the problem, he came to me, and a few other
people. He was not a software developer, that's why he didn't know about
Stack Overflow. But he was seeking help everywhere _around_ his team, while
his ~~slaves~~ programmers were trying to find a solution by themselves.

Maybe that's why he is a co-founder and they are his employees?

Now, here is my short list of places _you_ should
seek help when you don't know what to do with your PostgreSQL and you have no time.
The list is ordered. The places where you _start_ are at the top,
the last resort is at the bottom:

  * Search in Google

  * Post to Stack Overflow

  * Read books

  * Ask friends

  * Keep trying

Let me emphasize again: it depends on who you are. If you are a slave on
a payroll and feel happy about that, you should not listen to the advice in this
blog post. It will only ruin your [career]({% pst 2017/jan/2017-01-24-career-advice %}).
However, if you are a freelancer, stop being embarrassed for not knowing something!

{% quote Your job is not to know or to be smart. Your job is to find solutions and fix problems %}

Your job is [not]({% pst 2015/feb/2015-02-16-it-is-not-a-school %})
_to know_ or _to be smart_. Your job is to find solutions
and fix problems. How you do that is your _own business_. It's not the
business of your boss, your [project manager]({% pst 2016/may/2016-05-24-who-is-project-manager %}),
or your product owner.

Each [(micro-)task]({% pst 2017/nov/2017-11-28-microtasking %})
you resolve has a [budget]({% pst 2018/jan/2018-01-09-micro-budgeting %})
and you are [fully responsible]({% pst 2014/apr/2014-04-15-definition-of-done %}) for
it while it is assigned to you. You solve it the way _you_ want it to be solved.

Don't be ashamed of asking for help, just like my friend was not ashamed
of telling me that his team couldn't fix the PostgreSQL issue. He was thinking
about his business results, not about what I would think about him and his
team. He didn't care about that. He needed the bloody PostgreSQL to work!

Do the same. Be a business man, not a slave.