What's funny is that one of the new junior hires is being given a pretty big task.
The system itself is pretty complicated and they use a lot of jargon to describe things so it really helps to have someone at least define what these terms mean.
I have thought about it for awhile and I can't help but think it's anything besides management error. I don't think they have any reason to employ me only to see if they could do better somehow. The job market in my area is very much in the control of the employees right now so making weird bets isn't likely to get you anywhere.
Yeah I'm not sure how to approach the subject given that they think everyone is working hard. That's odd from my point of view since no one seems to be working very hard (in comparison to the crazy stories you sometimes hear about startups).
The tasks they end up giving me take me hours when I think they hope the tasks take me weeks (mostly so I don't come back asking for more work).
I'm a web developer. I just have a pretty extensive background in database query optimizing. I enjoy it but there is only so much work you can do there without understanding the whole system.
The system itself is pretty complicated and they use a lot of jargon to describe things so it really helps to have someone at least define what these terms mean.