I have been asked a couple of times to do things that were unethical, never illegal but certainly unethical. I resigned on the spot in both cases. I feel this is how professionals should act.

When asked in my interviews why I left I stated clearly that I was asked to do something unethical and resigned as a result when "forced", it was taken positively.

The problem with that is people need to eat. Very, very few people are in a position where they can resign from a job on the spot.

Obviously not something you can do in most of the established industries, but IT is in its golden age, and we should take advantage of that while we can. It will end eventually, and we'll have the same "go evil or go hungry" dilemma most people face in their day jobs.

The market for developers in many locations currently seems to be such that developers make good money and should be able to have some saving and finding a new job isn't terribly difficult.

The key word there is "currently". I've lived through several cycles now, and I can assure you that there are times when you will take any job that comes because you want to eat or pay rent this month.

Now that I am experienced I am confident that I can get a new job fast. When I was just starting out it took a few months to get my first job everyone wanted experience (I live far away from San Fran). Now I can quit my job on the spot (it helps my spouse also works) but I couldn't have quit my job on the spot back when I had student loans.

Key word again being "now". The economy goes in cycles, and there will come another time when few or no companies are hiring. It's happened before.

If it wasn't clear I am agreeing with you.

Ahh it is now :)

I'm not sure about your last question, but regarding if they ask you to do something that may be unethical or illegal:

I'd get advice. It doesn't mean you need to spend money on a lawyer necessarily, you can often write college/uni professors and get decent answers. If not, heck, I'd even ask the relevant Reddit sub-forum. At any rate, the idea is to go ask people who are more likely to objectively answer your concerns as opposed to the employers.

There is also a stackexchange site for legal questions.

First up, you should resign if you're asked to do something unethical (assuming you're in a situation where you can survive for a few months while you get a new job). Because if you don't resign, you're signalling that you're okay with being asked to do things that are unethical.

As for legal recourse, yes you should consult with a lawyer if you've been asked to do something you think is illegal (they can help you report your company to the appropriate authorities). Some larger companies have internal methods of reporting issues, but given the recent activities of Wells Fargo I wouldn't recommend outing yourself as someone who is considering reporting on your company.

As for developers being held responsible, I don't think that most cases will pan out like that (it's not your job as a developer to question whether your manager has checked with your company's legal team). However you should definitely not "just follow orders" if you've been asked to do something you find to be shady or illegal.

> What do you do if your boss asks you to do something which you believe to be legally questionable or unethical?

Easy: I ring the anonymous freephone number that's on posters around our offices expressly set up for this exact purpose.

To anyone who is concerned about these questions, and has a position of influence at your company: could your reports answer this question so quickly and easily? If not, why not?

Some companies have ethics hotlines you can call.