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Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

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Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#111

Post by akulbe »

amorphid wrote: post #110
akulbe wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree with you, and I'm in my mid-40's still paying off college debt for a degree that hasn't helped. (I was a business management major) Unless, you're going to be a doctor/lawyer/engineer/$FIELD_THAT_REQUIRES_LICENSING... then college is a scam, and a waste of time and money. Don't be fooled, education != college. You CAN get educated for much less, in MANY other ways, for much less money (if not free)…

I'm in my 40s and still paying off the debt incurred to get 2 business degrees. Maybe the advice should be "don't major in business!" :P

I'd say >95% of the material covered in my business track could have been learned by reading "The Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman. If only it had been around when I started.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#113

Post by imhoguy »

richardknop wrote: post #81

Burned out at 21? Too your for that. Most engineers burn out in 30s/40s. I'd suggest one of: 1) Stop working for startups. Get a job at some boring enterprise company. This might give you a) pay rise (big boring corps pay more than startups) and b) better work life balance 2) college - no reason not to go to college, you are still very young so this is ideal time, it will get harder and harder the older you get 3) tr…

I warn against boring big enterprises 1). If they are boring then they are usualy soul killing with all processes/plays/politics and you have no way to improve things without stack of aprovals. Regarding work/life balance all depends on company culture. I have witnessed constant crunch times in various companies, it is up to management and yourself if you want to fight for a badge of honour.

I recommend part-time/freelance work gigs + study + travel at once :) That is all possible in Europe and with Erasmus.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#114

Post by trcollinson »

romanovcode wrote: post #102
speedplane wrote: post #15

College college college college. Your 20s are when you figure out what you want to do. College is expensive but a great way to dabble in tons of stuff, socialize, and get ready for the next step. Being 21 isn't too late, plenty of people go to college at 21-22 after stints in the military. You'll be popular as you'll be able to buy your friends beer (legal disclaimer: don't do that).

> College college college college. Your 20s are when you figure out what you want to do. This is ridiculous advice for someone who is in U.S. So you want him to get into a huge debt w/o even knowing what he wants to do? OP, if you want to find what you want to do or just "find yourself" don't bother wasting money and time at college and just travel for 6 months to some remote place and live there with locals.

This is equally ridiculous advice. First off, college is not necessarily a massive debt inducing experience. There are so many grants and loan options that it is absolutely affordable, if you do your research and plan appropriately. The early part of most college curriculums is built to help you find areas where you have interest and want to be employed. Not to mention the pursuit of knowledge is absolutely worth the cost.

Second, you mention traveling and living in a remote area with locals. This is definitely a good thing to do. But it can also drop you into debt just as quickly as college in the US if you don’t research first. And you may or may not learn anything if you are not careful. In other words it’s still a risk.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#115

Post by saiprashanth93 »

sova wrote: post #108
newbear wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard burn out is actually and unfortunately physical. Something happens to the adrenal gland and cortisol levels.

As a dabbling neuroscientist I'm very skeptical! Why? because Cortisol levels fluctuate based on exercise, diet, and perceived stress. If you go jogging every day and follow that up with 30 minutes at the riverside thinking -nothing- your cortisol can drop dramatically in 2 weeks. Adrenal gland.. Mostly relies on good neurochemistry, which relies on 2 things: good diet, and good gut health. Meaning: eat your yogurt (…

If you go jogging every day and follow that up with 30 minutes at the riverside thinking -nothing- your cortisol can drop dramatically in 2 weeks.

Can you provide the source for this? I would like to read up.

Any other sources of knowledge to learn about neurosciences you would like to recommend would also be helpful.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#116

Post by sova »

saiprashanth93 wrote: post #115
sova wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a dabbling neuroscientist I'm very skeptical! Why? because Cortisol levels fluctuate based on exercise, diet, and perceived stress. If you go jogging every day and follow that up with 30 minutes at the riverside thinking -nothing- your cortisol can drop dramatically in 2 weeks. Adrenal gland.. Mostly relies on good neurochemistry, which relies on 2 things: good diet, and good gut health. Meaning: eat your yogurt (…

If you go jogging every day and follow that up with 30 minutes at the riverside thinking -nothing- your cortisol can drop dramatically in 2 weeks. Can you provide the source for this? I would like to read up. Any other sources of knowledge to learn about neurosciences you would like to recommend would also be helpful.

Although the findings in my previous comment are my own extrapolations from years of dabbling, I'm confident most people can become very healthy by having diet rich in helpful cultures (party in your tummy), all the essential amino acids (that will become good neurochem), and letting the body rest in an aware and balanced state without forcing anything (zen out and in) regularly.

There being no concise source on the matter of general health, diet, good neurochemistry, and mood, I can but offer a collection of disparate books:

Principles of Neuroscience (Kandel, Schwartz, Jessell) is a great textbook.

Emotional Intelligence (Bradberry)

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Suzuki Roshi)

I also read a lot of personal experience vault essays on erowid.org (regarding "experimental medicine," for lack of better terminology)

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#117

Post by speedplane »

vong wrote: post #101
zaccus wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree. I hated it. It was expensive, stressful, and unrewarding. My loans won't be paid off until I'm in my mid 40s. I feel like a sucker who fell for a scam. It's objectively the biggest mistake I ever made. I'm sure my perspective will be soundly dismissed on HN. I'm sure I must have done college "wrong" or something. Whatever. I'm not trying to blame anyone else. My choices seemed like good ones at the time;…

Where / what did you study? Asking because I'm half curious and half astonished that college can cost so much (coming from someone outside of the US). Felt like I did college wrong too, and it cost 4 years and ~22k USD, in return for .. nothing much really.

Ha... 22k USD? You got off easy. Four years at a private college in the US can easily top 150k.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#118

Post by speedplane »

HiroshiSan wrote: post #50
funfunfunction wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never been to college, but I guess I would say it seems like college is as much about figuring out what you want in life and finding people who can offer perspectives you may not have considered as it is getting an education. I grew up in small town and this sort of thing is attractive to me.

As others have pointed out it's a very expensive place to figure out what you want in life. I feel like figuring out what you want in life is just a product of growing up and being open to different experiences. College is probably a very good bubble to experience a lot of things in a safe environment where room for error is high (and I don't mean not passing your courses). But you could probably replicate this in ot…

You don't have to spend a ton of money on college. And valuing it solely based on money-in money-out ignores so much of it's value. It's part of your life, an experience. It's like saying traveling abroad, skydiving, or climbing a mountain is not an economical use of your resources. The social exchanges and experiences you get are pretty invaluable.
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