Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#1

Post by throwaway_43793 » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:19 AM UTC

I've been a coder for the past 15 years. I was living and believing that software engineering is a means to an end, and refused to move away from hands on positions. I gaslighted myself into believing that I enjoy coding.

However, looking at it now, it seems like I was wrong. While I do like writing code, I've been doing it both at job and after work for my side projects, and I think I no longer can handle it.

I want to keep doing side projects, but for my job, I think I want to get away from writing code, or at least minimize it drastically. I'm considering leadership positions now, but I'm not entirely sure what's there for me.

Would appreciate some people to share their experience, how they moved away from writing code to leadership/management positions, and how I can pull it off while having minimal leadership experience.

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#2

Post by Quinzel » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:24 AM UTC

Are you experiencing burnout?

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#3

Post by devoutsalsa » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:25 AM UTC

The options available to you heavily depend on your financial situation. How much do you have saved/invested, and what is your monthly spend? Can you take time off to learn a new skill while living cheaply in Vietnam, or do you live paycheck to paycheck in a high cost of living area w/ an expensive mortgage & big family to support?

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#4

Post by throwaway_43793 » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:27 AM UTC

devoutsalsa wrote: post #3

The options available to you heavily depend on your financial situation. How much do you have saved/invested, and what is your monthly spend? Can you take time off to learn a new skill while living cheaply in Vietnam, or do you live paycheck to paycheck in a high cost of living area w/ an expensive mortgage & big family to support?

I have a family. I don't live paycheck to paycheck, but I also can't take time off.

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#5

Post by throwaway_43793 » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:28 AM UTC

Quinzel wrote: post #2

Are you experiencing burnout?

I don't know anymore. I tried to take a year off, was super fun, but didn't help. I think I'm just tired of writing code for corporate.

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#6

Post by Quinzel » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:46 AM UTC

throwaway_43793 wrote: post #5

Quinzel wrote: post #2

Are you experiencing burnout?

I don't know anymore. I tried to take a year off, was super fun, but didn't help. I think I'm just tired of writing code for corporate.

Oh… maybe you are. At first some of what you wrote seemed similar to what some people describe when they describe burnout, but I suppose people can just be ready to move on to new things too!

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#7

Post by gregjor » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:48 AM UTC

40+ years programming, a couple of episodes of burnout. I tried managing but didn't like it. Got into freelancing that at least allows me to travel and live anywhere I want. I can't say I love writing code, or doing system admin, but I don't get stressed over it either, and I do like getting paid.

Maybe figure out how to do the bare minimum to maintain an income while you figure out what you want to do.

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#8

Post by throwaway_43793 » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 10:56 AM UTC

gregjor wrote: post #7

40+ years programming, a couple of episodes of burnout. I tried managing but didn't like it. Got into freelancing that at least allows me to travel and live anywhere I want. I can't say I love writing code, or doing system admin, but I don't get stressed over it either, and I do like getting paid. Maybe figure out how to do the bare minimum to maintain an income while you figure out what you want to do.

Thanks. I want to move to something else that is not coding. Coding is too taxing on my mental health, and I don't think I can do it on someones terms anymore. I am trying to build a business on the side, but until it becomes profitable, I want to find a job where I can still make good money and support myself and my family.

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#9

Post by gregjor » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 11:03 AM UTC

throwaway_43793 wrote: post #8

gregjor wrote: post #7

40+ years programming, a couple of episodes of burnout. I tried managing but didn't like it. Got into freelancing that at least allows me to travel and live anywhere I want. I can't say I love writing code, or doing system admin, but I don't get stressed over it either, and I do like getting paid. Maybe figure out how to do the bare minimum to maintain an income while you figure out what you want to do.

Thanks. I want to move to something else that is not coding. Coding is too taxing on my mental health, and I don't think I can do it on someones terms anymore. I am trying to build a business on the side, but until it becomes profitable, I want to find a job where I can still make good money and support myself and my family.

I understand, but you might want to ask why you find coding so taxing on your mental health. Maybe coding per se doesn't cause the problem, but the rest of the job or work environment. I don't get the same pleasure from writing code that I did two or three decades ago, but I don't find it particularly frustrating or bad for my mental health, either. Perhaps you can come to terms with that. Any job will have frustrations and mental health hazards, you have to learn not to internalize the work and the job, because that causes the problem. In other words the frustration and boredom and feeling of burnout comes from you, not from the code.

Re: Ask HN: I don't want to code anymore. What else can I do?

#10

Post by throwaway_43793 » Mon, Dec 02, 2024, 11:09 AM UTC

gregjor wrote: post #9

throwaway_43793 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. I want to move to something else that is not coding. Coding is too taxing on my mental health, and I don't think I can do it on someones terms anymore. I am trying to build a business on the side, but until it becomes profitable, I want to find a job where I can still make good money and support myself and my family.

I understand, but you might want to ask why you find coding so taxing on your mental health. Maybe coding per se doesn't cause the problem, but the rest of the job or work environment. I don't get the same pleasure from writing code that I did two or three decades ago, but I don't find it particularly frustrating or bad for my mental health, either. Perhaps you can come to terms with that. Any job will have frustrati…

I feel that most of it is pointless. I'm past the stage where I can argue with people over stupid engineering architecture decisions. It's all full of BS and ego.

Most people would rather die defending their favorite language/stack/framework than change their POV. I'm tired of wasting my time on countless meetings trying to "convince my engineering team-mates to write tests/use strongly typed languages/avoid new-age BS like lambda/k8s".

Sure, leadership feels like BS as well, but at least this BS IS the job. With coding, the job is to write code, which usually ends up being 20% of the work time anyway, so I'd rather do BS all-day and get paid for that (often times bigger salary), while doing my own thing with my own architecture and framework, than try to explain my manager why it takes 7 days to change the width of the button because the app is so over engineered that any line you touch creates a butterfly effect that can bring the entire organizations to bankruptcy.