Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

First, don't give up and pick up areas in the industry that require people to actually be innovative and not be cogs in the machine. To me those areas are machine learning and blockchain development. I've dabbled in both, and figured I like the latter better. It's got a ton of hype and bullshit (machine learning has that too), but you are nowhere being a fungible developer.

> Nearing my 40s, so my profile is less appealing to employers, this field is very oriented to young people.

That applies only to webpack/react/graphql bullshit jobs. You should have figured out by now not to do those.

Another important advice - get your physical body in order. That should be your number one priority. Give up addictions (alcohol, drugs), get in shape, get strong!

It's not easy, but it gets better. Remember, when you are going through hell, keep going!

Find a therapist you like. Not because of any mental heath issues, but because I guarantee you that they will save you more money than they cost you by a long way. The right therapist will be able to ask you the right questions to help you figure out what to do next, and even make helpful suggestions.

This is absolutely not the same as talking to a friend or partner. It is their job to use their experience help and advise you. They are entirely in your corner with you, just like you would expect from any professional.

Part 2

Perhaps a different perspective – I've been freelancing/contracting since I was about 22, and I'm now 37. Full stack, but leaning heavily towards backend given the chance. My latest contracting role is actually as a network engineer (which I gained the knowledge for because I started an ISP during the pandemic).

I've not encountered any issue with nearing my 40s. I think the three key things are: be a good communicator, be comfortable talking about money, and doing your job well. All three are equally important, and you can probably get by with only two.

I've always worked in either small companies, or in very small (or solo) teams within a larger company. I know that I excel in that environment, so that is what I stick to.

But if you really do hate technology, then perhaps it is time to find something else. Again, the therapist will really help so much with this.

Happy to talk more about any of this.

I suspect the "hate" is rather localized.

I find the "Fishtank Graph"[0] to be a fairly good way to get my feet firmly planted back on the ground.

That said, I don't like PHP, and avoid it, if possible. I use it for my backend work, and it does a great job, there. I just prefer writing apps in Swift.

The "game-changer," for me, was retiring, and working on the stuff I want to work on, at my pace, and using my methodologies. No more insecure middle managers, pissing on my work, and no more insecure co-workers, fighting over every detail, and deliberately sabotaging team dynamics (to be fair, I spent a good part of my career, as a manager, which I hated, but it paid the bills).

I know that retiring is not an option for a lot of folks, and realize how fortunate I am (I didn't feel that way, at first, though. My retirement was not by choice).

But it's not work, if you love what you do.

These days (and for the last five years), I actually get more done, every day, by 10AM, than I used to get done, all day, in the office. My GH activity graph is solid green (no exaggeration), and it isn't "gamed," like so many of them. I do two things, every day:

1) I walk three miles, and

2) I write Swift code.

Life is good.

[0] https://w3techs.com/technologies/history_overview/programmin...