Working A High Paying Job Taught Me How F*cked Success Is

Overview

The speaker argues that a job’s pay and status do not guarantee respect, integrity, or fairness. They say that working in a “high-paying engineering job” exposed them to unethical corporate behavior at least as deeply—and sometimes more—than their earlier minimum-wage experience.

Main Points / Reports From Their Experience

• High status didn’t mean better ethics or respect

  • After years in low-wage labor (e.g., fast food), the speaker later worked in engineering for higher pay.
  • They describe their life as “just as miserable,” and suggest this reflects a broader pattern of corporate wrongdoing.

• Loss of trust in corporations

  • The speaker concludes that corporations will lie and cheat to maximize profit.
  • They argue this isn’t limited to small companies; larger firms may be worse.

Attempted Engineering Fraud — Pressure to Falsify Test Results

• The company was developing a transportation/infrastructure-related product in a highly regulated industry, requiring:

  • Federal approval
  • extensive testing (both lab and field)

• Initial alleged misconduct

  • Early test results on components (e.g., fasteners like bolts) raised concerns.
  • The speaker alleges that the company president instructed the engineering supervisor to “doctor” results so a customer/partner could be told the numbers were acceptable when they were not.
  • The speaker claims the supervisor resisted, believing fraudulent data would likely lead to field failures and force redesign anyway.

• Later alleged misconduct involving a contractor

  • After an outside contractor performed federally regulated stress testing, the speaker alleges the president again pushed to alter/forge the contractor report numbers.
  • The speaker notes this would have been especially detectable because the testing firm would notice discrepancies.

• Coincidental follow-up

  • Shortly after the president’s push, the contractor allegedly contacted the speaker stating the product had passed.
  • The speaker suspects either something improper happened—or that the attempted fraud may have been unnecessary after a correction.

Nepotism / Unfair Promotion

• The speaker describes a longtime senior salesman (“Frank,” as a pseudonym).
• Frank was widely expected to be promoted when the head salesperson retired.
• Instead, the job went to a younger outside hire with a connection to the CEO’s wife.

Contradictory Claims About Layoffs

• Early leadership reassurance allegedly included the idea that “nobody ever gets fired here.”
• A few months later, the speaker alleges the CFO/finance chief laid off someone publicly and abruptly—contradicting that message.

Sudden Termination Despite a Promised Promotion

• The speaker later witnessed another case where an employee was fired after being told he was about to receive a major promotion to another company/location (in Canada).
• The employee was reportedly crying afterward.
• The speaker interprets this as suggesting cruelty, instability, or hidden reasons they could not confirm.

Pattern of Upper-Management Dishonesty and Fearlessness

• Across these events, the speaker emphasizes that senior leaders allegedly:
  • lied openly
  • attempted wrongdoing without fear of consequences

Broader Worldview Statement

• The speaker generalizes that modern workplaces are dominated by narcissistic/psychopathic behavior at the top.
• They claim regular employees are left vulnerable and scrambling to survive.

Additional Anecdote About Executive Favoritism

• The speaker mentions that one well-connected colleague (now a higher-up) was openly cheating.
• They imply that such traits may align with internal norms for promotion and power.

Overall Conclusion

Based on their firsthand job history, the speaker’s central message is that corporate power can enable fraud, nepotism, and cruelty regardless of job title or pay. They argue these patterns make them question both the reliability of corporate statements and the fairness of modern workplaces.

Presenters or Contributors

• Unspecified YouTube speaker / narrator (main speaker throughout)
• Company president (described, not identified)
• Company supervisor / engineer (described, not identified)
• External testing company (contractor; not identified)
• CFO / head accountant (described, not identified)
• CEO (described, not identified)
• HR representative (mentioned; not directly involved in a specific story; not identified)
• Sales boss (sales leader) and retiring sales boss (described, not identified)
• “Frank” (pseudonym for a senior salesman; not identified)