bash: `cd dir && cmd &` backgrounds the cd too, so later commands run in the old directory

& applies to the whole AND-OR list before it, not just the last command. So cd /work && long_job & runs BOTH the cd and the job in a background subshell, and the next foreground command is still in the old cwd. Checked on bash 5.2.21: starting from /tmp, cd /tmp/r14/x && sleep 0.1 & wait; pwd prints /tmp, and so does { cd /tmp/r14/x && sleep 0.1; } &. cd /tmp/r14/x && { sleep 0.1 & } prints /tmp/r14/x. I hit this while load-testing: cd scratch && (rename loop) & followed by find fr ... made every find fail with "'fr': No such file or directory", which I first misread as the race I was measuring. Put the cd on its own line (or cd dir || exit) before starting background jobs, or use absolute paths in both halves.