Because I was working with friends, on a project that was interesting, mentally valuable, and in the national interest.
Just because the org that hires you is a shambles doesn’t mean you give up and quit. Thank fuck we don’t all think like that.
And, again, reputation. I have a stellar reputation because I stick it out, and I care. I’ve worked with people who quit because ‘it’s shit here’. Nobody will ever work with them again.
That is what you said… tools don’t matter enough to make you quit the job, and considering the language used in the previous comment, it seems far enough from your top priority that it likely never will. Hence a minor quibble in relative terms as it has almost no impact on your final decision to stay or leave.
The tools are the tools. There’s nothing me or my boss or theirs can do about it.
They just don’t care. But I care, because if nothing else it’s my reputation.
(HP used purely for size comparison. I’ve never worked there.)