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Ask HN: Lost in My Career

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Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#21

Post by baremetal »

andersource wrote: post #18
baremetal wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but I also echo the sentimemt expressed in other comments that work is work and ultimately fulfillment is better sought outside of the workplace. I disagree. People live in and conduct business inside of my work product. I get great satisfaction and fulfillment from my work. I was a software engineer for 13 years. Now i own a construction business.

Congrats, that sounds awesome (not cynically)! But I think there's a big difference between owning your own business (where you make all the big decisions, you dictate the business values, and are directly responsible for the value you add to the world) and doing CRUD for some company whose values you're not necessarily aligned with. Also, I'm not saying one can't or absolutely shouldn't seek fulfillment in their dai…

>But I think there's a big difference between owning your own business (where you make all the big decisions, you dictate the business values, and are directly responsible for the value you add to the world) and doing CRUD for some company whose values you're not necessarily aligned with.

Indeed there is a big difference.

>Also, I'm not saying one can't or absolutely shouldn't seek fulfillment in their daily job, I do too; but only to some degree. In my experience It's far too easy (and common) to overly tie one's identity with the job, forfeiting other important sources of fulfillment.

I agree, it is an easy trap to fall in, tying your identity to a job. I dont advocate for that. Nor do I practice that. I have a rather varied set of interests and hobbies. And i would like to start a family some day soon, if i can find a suitable wife. I would take great meaning and fulfillment from being a father.

>And of course, different people find meaning in different things; what works for me may not work for OP, what works for you may not work for me.

I wouldn't exactly recommend anyone to go out and do what i did. But rather, I would state that it is possible to find fulfillment in work. Certainly that would be different things to different people. But it is worth seeking out IMO.

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#22

Post by fzil »

mgdev wrote: post #20

I was in your shoes ten years ago. Since then, I’ve increased my income over 10x, and wake up every day ready to tackle interesting problems. If you’d like to chat, reach out.

I am not sure you realize but tbe way you’ve written your comment reads like a scam.

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#23

Post by mgdev »

fzil wrote: post #22
mgdev wrote: post #20

I was in your shoes ten years ago. Since then, I’ve increased my income over 10x, and wake up every day ready to tackle interesting problems. If you’d like to chat, reach out.

I am not sure you realize but tbe way you’ve written your comment reads like a scam.

That’s fine. My blog and Twitter account are easily discoverable. Anyone who takes 30 seconds to look would see that that isn’t the case. Anyone who doesn’t take the 30 seconds… probably isn’t someone who wants to chat with me anyhow.

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#24

Post by J-_-_b »

I've only been programming in CRUD and APIs using js, python and go building web applications, but am currently excited to change domain to computer graphics developing c++ desktop applications. Maybe a different domain of programming could be interesting?

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#25

Post by skydhash »

altdataseller wrote: post #13

What I did was realized that my job is just a means to an end. I do my work and promptly leave at 5 PM to play with my kids, family, and enjoy life. I pursue challenges in areas outside my job, including being more fit. I acknowledge this perspective isn't for everyone though.

This. What helps me was that the company provided a work laptop (I have nothing in there apart from a few files. I don't even play music from it). At the end of days, I power everything down (and I don't have company emails and slack on my devices) and enjoy the rest of the time doing my own stuff, reading books, drawing, spending time with my girlfriend,...)

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#26

Post by rajavanya »

I believe there are loads of things that can make you highly uncomfortable, without having to quit your job, or use money to invest.

You need to go through a bunch of them to shake things up and exit this endless loop as you called it. I believe during such phases we discover the deeper levels of ourselves if we listened to our deep need to evolve, expand and explore.

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#28

Post by michepriest »

I have a friend who felt similar about CRUD apps. He quit and got some freelance work while working on a couple of micro-SaaS products (check out microacquire for ideas). He then stumbled onto some web3 projects. Found one that got him super excited. Started working there part time. Brought some dev friends over. Then wrapped up all his freelance and other projects to go all in on web3 as a full-time employee. He gets to work on challenging tech with his friends

Not sure if this helps, but there are a few ideas to explore

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#29

Post by sdfjkl »

Quit job, moved country, got stuck in another cycle of dumb jobs. Quit those, bought a sailboat, moved on it, sailed the world for the last, uhm, 6 years now (time loses importance in this life).

Found a wife on the way, learnt a lot of new things, and even more about myself and the world.

Next I think we'll change the boat for a farmstead and grow some food.

Career? It can stay lost.

Oh, because you're gonna ask what I do for money: Not much really. Tiny bit of passive income, some savings. The key was to massively reduce the spending instead. It's enough.

Re: Ask HN: Lost in My Career

#30

Post by carolinedfrasca »

I would look for a job at an early-stage startup to get a feel for it. If you don't like working for an early-stage startup, you probably won't like running one. I would also figure out how to lower your cost of living since starting a company will almost definitely mean making less money.
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