this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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I feel like most of my work has been wasted throughout my career.

In my 10 years, I can look back and I think maybe 3 years of my work still exists today. A couple companies are not defunct. A couple projects were literally cut from under me.

Is this normal? Do most software engineers end up having a ton of their work wasted?

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[–] mech@feddit.org 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

If your code was used at some point, did what it was supposed to do when it was needed, and paid your rent, how can you think it was wasted?

[–] reabsorbthelight@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah it got me money, but I kind of feel like I'm scamming VCs, which isn't a bad. It's just I'm not really contributing to anything

[–] NewDark@lemmings.world 2 points 6 hours ago

I struggle with this feeling a lot as well. I think it's partly due to labor alienation, at least partially.