Here I will pin a list of recommendations for software. Getting started can be daunting, and it'd be great to pull that information together here for newcomers so they can take practical steps to degoogle their lives.
Disclaimer: These are recommendations by regulars here and on privacy forums. Use at own risk. We cannot due diligence on these, so if people do have issue with items in the list, please create a post and raise your concerns.
Recommendations
Browser -
- Firefox (Strongly recommend in light of WEI and Google's plan that could potentially restrict access to websites)
- Librewolf
- Brave (Not recommended, due to Google's WEI changes. Using chromium is a bad idea. I left this in case you really must)
Search
Email
Cloud storage
Productivity Suite (Alternative to google docs)
- Libre office (Maybe not cloud based)
- Only office (for MS doc compatibility)
Degoogled Android phones
Phone OS - https://lemm.ee/post/663113
Android app store -
Messaging
Maps - https://lemmy.ml/post/2211048
SMS - https://lemmy.ml/post/2256135
Organisation
Task lists - https://lemmy.ml/post/2249613
Calendar - https://lemm.ee/post/704703
Discussion
These items are ones either recommended multiple times or seem to have some form of consensus on them being good and privacy focussed. I will link discussion topics so people can see the logic and reasoning behind recommendation. If you are not happy with anything here, please discuss here: https://lemmy.ml/post/2262409
If you would like another item in this, please create a post discussion and we can pull it in and link to it.
I wouldn't recommend staying with a company for 17 years. That's for sure. Best way to get stuck in a company specific niche skill that is not transferable. For the reasons stated you got to keep yourself positioned well skills wise and relevant so you can jump into any role you need at any time.
Integrity is not for the company. It's doing things the way you think they should be done and earn your own respect.
I would say all companies don't replace with cheaper. Many do. Especially the shitty ones. It's quite easy to avoid those like the plague. Many did, and learnt the hard way, many have staff that have seen failed outsourcing and are in a position to influence that.
Soloing knowledge doesn't keep you safe though as the penny pinching companies will remove anyway and clean up later regardless. It does not keep you safe. It's a false sense of security. Complacency is a death sentence in software development.