Ask HN: When should you quit?

My husband had the same problem when I met him. He was 27 and just decided to never ever make a living from programming again because he felt sick of it.

So, he decided he would organize bicycle rides in Transylvania. And he looked really cool doing that so I fell in love with him, but he wasn't making any money while working his ass off. I didn't care ( -I had a job), but after a while, he did. I'm used to not afford basic stuff, but he got sick of scarcity then.

We only started doing little websites for friends in the afternoon. But they asked for more, so what could we do, right?

And here we are after 7 years, having a small software company... in Transylvania. Many times it does feel like "eating glass and staring into the abyss...". Maybe it's a grownup thing to feel that way and stand up to it. It's the overcoming of all the winning is what gives you dignity, in the end, I think.

I don't think you should quit.

Stop reading HN and other such. It's giving you a horribly distorted view that seems to have wormed its way inside your head and is damaging you. To paraphrase Mary Schmich, "Do not read SV news websites, they will only make you feel like a failure."

"If you're going to make an irrational decision, do it out of love, not hate." :) This is awesome advice, specially for seemingly crucial decision points.

You aren't too old to do something new.

People working in this industry are often required to display unfelt enthusiasm for things that really aren't terribly exciting. One can be forgiven for being through with this nonsense by the age of 30.

I would never consider working as a software developer but for my sincere interest in the value that my software provides and my enjoyment of the craft. Otherwise I think it would be comparable to accounting, the quintessential boring yet rewarding career.

Do what you truly wish to do. To be concerned about being too old at the age of 30 is just silly.

We live in a very strange world...

It takes these odd postings (like this one) to bring out scores of people who say "I've been there too, I got burnt out and I started to give zero fucks"

While many HN users enjoy the articulate nature of programming and have a great enthusiasm for it as a hobby, the truth is that we are all different, in very strong ways.

To the OP, before you quit, try to find another gig, perhaps not in software, but any gig to get you by. Remember that most of the world works in jobs they are not passionate about and money is a means to sustenance. Once you have a decent income stream, even if it means working as a coffee-barrista, start to find your life outside of work.

To everyone else suffering from HN, programmer-speak, x-libraries, x-languages, x-ideas, x-dreams, x-future, x-80-hour-workweeks:

Take a step back from your job and find yourself. See your job as nothing but a job. No amount of perks, free lunches, free gym-membership is going to change the fact that you are just a cog in the chain. Keep your job to keep your sustenance, but start living outside your work. Love your wife, love your children, or try to find a wife and have children. Hold on to your dear ones and build relationships beyond your tech circles. Explore ~ global travel is expensive, but chilling in a forest or sitting by a lake only costs you a little driving time and nothing else. Live outside your career, because your code will not matter and will not be remembered when you die. You, as a person, will be remembered; only by those you've built relationships with (and not your employer who gave you free lunches in 2016)

Above all else, value your time. If you never get to HN/reddit frontpage with 1246 upvotes to your legendary docker-esque github repo, breath in, look outside the window and repeat: who gives a fuck (and then move on with your life)