I do not think many jobs will pay you $100k-$300k/yr with work from home. > And you know what? It sucks. I could go into great depth why it sucks. But suffice to say, my expectations were sorely disappointed. Working for FANG sucks. Go work somewhere else. Take a paycut settling for a different company.
Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
31–40 of 118 posts
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#32I’m a medical doctor and I wish I became I software engineer instead.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#33I’m a medical doctor and I wish I became I software engineer instead.
In reverse the guy that took my tonsils out started out as a software developer and hated that work in the corporate world. He went back to school and became an ENT surgeon and is great at it. He has his own practice and is doing very well. The trick is that he realized he hated it while still in his 20s and had the balls to spend a ton of money starting over in an unrelated career. I am so envious.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#34Idk, I've had a great career for 4yrs - getting laid off in January has been a death sentence. I've found some startup consulting work but the industry is either pretty shot or my resume is a death knell.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#35Look into working as a SWE on research projects at a university or government lab. You can find places where you are working with competent passionate people from diverse backgrounds, and it can be rewarding and fun. Pay is substantially less than FAANG but worth it… especially if it comes with a pension and great benefits
Just expect to be treated as an brainless execution monkey at those places. I have done it in the past and quit after 4 months. Have a new grad of mine who took a 1 year contract with a lab and I want him to quit within 6 months as the kinds of people who tend to become researchers are also jerks.
Blanket statements like this are ridiculous.
> Just expect to be treated as an brainless execution monkey at those places
Each lab has a different vibe - some will suck, some will be awesome. Totally depends on where you end up just like a startup.
> I have done it in the past and quit after 4 months
Sounds like you got unlucky.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#36Assume the responsibility for the things that happen in your life. It is kind of annoying to read your text, it is always some external thing that "happened" to you, and it is always other people who are not up to your standards. At some moment you even declare with despair: "(...)at this point I had just become like everyone else". And guess what? This is true and false at the same time, in a fundamental level most people are not remarkable, and you probably aren't too. But at the same time, nobody is the same, you have worth just by being, and other people have too.
I don't care about your engineering skills, while they are good enough to warrant you a job at a FAANG company, by 40, it is clear that you are not some John Carmack, a Dave Cutler, or a Linus Torvalds. So stop this bullshit about wanting to work with people who "care as much as I do", as if you are some hero descended from Olympus forced to work with those lowly mortals.
The impression I get is that you must be someone incredibly annoying to work with, and that your performance is not even nearly close to what you think it is, and that you really need to come down to earth.
Stop looking outside, work on yourself instead. You'll never be satisfied just by changing jobs. Do therapy if you wish, become acquainted with stoicism, be a volunteer in some poor country, whatever, but do something to regain control of your life, to get some perspective, and to adjust your expectations to reality.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#37> Everyone says ... a true engineer's paradise.
I've never had this impression of FAANG. I always figured there were a tiny number of people working on amazing projects, surrounded by a much larger number of people keeping the lights on, or working on very periphery projects that either no one cares about or which will never ship because of politics or business whims. Did you really think it would be ... paradise? Thinking that about ANYTHING is a recipe for dire soul-crushing disappointment.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#38Have you thought about counseling? It sounds like you have a good income and might be able to afford one. Often people think they just help you with mental illness but they can help you figure out your goals.
Re: Ask HN: Tired of being a software engineer, what next?
#39If you find a mature leader in your org, to back your initiatives, you will have a lot more leanway into what type of projects you pick and what type of work you do. It actually makes a huge difference. Also, don't get into the psc games, just do a good job, screw the ratings.
That's what I am doing, and it made me happier.
Ps. The alternative is to start a small project, that makes you happy. Something, very small and duable within a couple of months. (avoid over-ambitious projects). A utility, or a simple app. If it shows promise, develop it fruther.