# Embrace the Chaos!
Source: https://www.yegor256.com/2020/01/07/embrace-the-chaos.html
Being just yet another software developer in a large enterprise is a pain. You are surrounded
by legacy code, inconsistent architecture, low quality standards (assuming they even exist),
lack of coding discipline, broken or dirty unit tests, mediocre programmers, and so on. On top of
that, the management is very chaotic: no strict plans, no task
management, no objective metrics, no quality control, and no light at the
end of the tunnel. You feel like a cog in the machine: arrive at nine,
leave at five, be quiet, and paychecks will keep coming.
If you are talented and ambitious, sooner or later you will
start thinking about ~~suicide~~ resignation. But hold on!
{% jb_picture_body %}
Try to think differently!
Look at it from a different perspective. Imagine what it would look like if everything was
totally different: the architecture is clean, the code is perfect,
the documentation is outstanding, the team is full of experts,
the management is transparent, the plans are up to date, the metrics are
obvious and regularly collected, and the quality is under tight control.
This would be the end of the tunnel! There would be no room for improvement
anymore, since everything is already perfect. How would you feel now?
It seems that it's exactly this scenario that would give you the feeling of being
merely a cog in a well-oiled machine.
If you want to make a [career]({% pst 2018/nov/2018-11-27-you-can-do-better %})
and you have the energy for it,
the first scenario is a much better place to be: such an imperfect system _needs_
improvements. And, of course, the one who makes them
gets the rewards: bonuses, a promotion, a raise, and so on.
{% quote Be thankful for the existence of the chaos---your career can grow because of it %}
If you see the issues around you, both technical and managerial, and you
know how to fix them---great! This means that you are already ahead
of many others who decided to put up with the routine and just wait
for the next paycheck. Use this situation in your own favor: contribute and succeed.
Those who complain about the system are the ones who are expecting
to be nothing more than those cogs in the machine. They don't see themselves as
system changers. They expect to play by the rules and expect the system to take care of them.
Don't be like that. This is not how you build your career up. This is only
how you spend another few years with no fun.
Instead, embrace the chaos!
Be thankful for its existence---your
[career]({% pst 2018/nov/2018-11-27-you-can-do-better %}) can grow because of it.