61–70 of 112 posts
The traditional career progressions for software developers are management, entrepreneurship, and carpentry.
Nice rant. Go watch “Office Space” that will tell you what to do, and no it’s not burn it all down.
I have been there before. Let me tell you, changing jobs is a lot easier than changing careers. And internal transfer is easier than changing jobs. Try an internal transfer to something with growth opportunity. If that doesn’t work, try changing jobs. I’d only change career if you have thoroughly weighed my options though.
Is that still true? Tech interviews have reached an unprecedented level of crazy the past few years.
I'm looking around for a career change. It sucks more if you have a family to provide for since SWE is low effort for high monetary gain compared to other things. I've switched jobs a few times in the past years as a SWE/architect and even did consulting for many years. I can't seem to recapture the enjoyment I had at the beginning (back in the 2000s), it's kinda all the same now. I'm also tired of stand-ups, Groundh…
I used to hate JIRA. I'm using IBM CLM these days. I miss JIRA.
people you like or admire, what do they do?
The problem for me is that the people I like or admire have jobs that seem completely unattainable. I have considered product management, but that's not something you can just get into straight out of school (as far as I'm aware) and it appears to be just as competitive as software.
Musicians, film/TV directors, Youtubers (e.g. Tom Scott), writers, historians, game directors (Masahiro Sakurai is a favorite of mine), indie hackers, indie gamedevs.
In other words: creative, somewhat independent people whose jobs are one in a million.
Unfortunately I don't have any financial safety net to pursue any of these dreams, so I'd appreciate guidance or advice in building a career that pays the bills and is at least somewhat enjoyable to me.
I have been there before. Let me tell you, changing jobs is a lot easier than changing careers. And internal transfer is easier than changing jobs. Try an internal transfer to something with growth opportunity. If that doesn’t work, try changing jobs. I’d only change career if you have thoroughly weighed my options though.
> Let me tell you, changing jobs is a lot easier than changing careers. Is that still true? Tech interviews have reached an unprecedented level of crazy the past few years.
"... and I don’t care about what we are building." I find this is the main culprit behind most career dissatisfaction. Spending 8+ hours a day working to build and support something you don't care about is a recipe for being unhappy. I've turned down jobs that were more lucrative for jobs that I felt more personally compelled to participate in, because I felt the impact of the work would be more beneficial. On tough…
I'm probably projecting here, but I wonder if you're having a bit of an existential crisis. I.e., "Why am I even doing this? It's ultimately not important." I don't really have any advice on the matter. I just thought it might be help you locate the kernel of your discontent.
Nice rant. Go watch “Office Space” that will tell you what to do, and no it’s not burn it all down.
I love how at the end of Office Space, Peter goes to work construction. The shift from IT work to home building perfectly prefigured the 00s economy. Talk about life imitating art. If the OP does end up making a career change, keep us updated so we can place some bets. In all seriousness, I hope the OP can find satisfaction in their work... somewhere.