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People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

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Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#51

Post by Winterflow3r »

jondubois wrote: post #36
karllager wrote: post #6

I believe the tech sector is extremely prone to this: If you cannot climb out of a technical role, over time, you realize just how clueless most people are, especially those who imagine themselves of being "in control". Not just a bit uninformed, no: absolutely positively clueless[1]. If you go the management route, you often give up, what got you started with all this is the first place: curiosity and exploration, c…

When I was younger, I was learning non-stop. I kept changing companies/industries every year because I was relentless and very curious. This actually kept me going for maybe 12 years - It's fun so long as you keep learning new stuff... But eventually there comes a point when the day-job doesn't teach you anything new anymore (at least anything non-tedious) - At that point, your only remaining avenues for learning are…

Glad to hear jumping ship every year did not impede your progress. Someone at a BigCorp once told me that it's good to stay in one place for 5 years - otherwise you'll be seen as a 'leaver'.

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#52

Post by Winterflow3r »

Haul4ss wrote: post #38

I'm like the opposite of this. By my mid-to-late 20s I was disillusioned with my job and career choice. I also felt trapped in my situation because there weren't a lot of choices for developers where I used to live. It took me a few years and one big (geographic) move, but I did manage to steer my career in a better direction. Through hard work and a big ol' dose of luck, I was in a job I enjoyed when I was 35. And I…

Can I ask what was the geographic move (or is it to SV/SF/Cali?)? -another trapped dev

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#53

Post by vintageseltzer »

gagege wrote: post #41
sharkweek wrote: post #10

I started to notice this in my late 20s. It felt kind of like a "the emperor has no clothes" moment when I was working at a tech startup that pushed long hours/weekend work in order to fulfill some "mission" and "greater purpose" and that I should feel a part of this for the greater good. It kind of hit me that this was mostly just a fantastic way to extract more work out of young, impressionable 20somethings who did…

I recently sat through one of those company/product mission presentations at work. It was one of those "am I the only sane person working here?" moments. I like our product, I want to see it succeed, but I really can't stand the religious fervor marketing departments and managers give off. And the amazing part is that my co-workers seem to completely buy into it. Everyone talks like what we're doing is going to chang…

It's likely your co-workers are just covering their butts.

At most companies it is more useful to your long-term employment prospects to outwardly support your company's mission than to be neutral or a critic. Whether that behavior is sane or in the best interest of the company is different.

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#54

Post by daliwali »

You don't have to be 35 to start hating your job, I did at 25. It begins with the realization that you're a loser in the corporate hierarchy, and do as little work as you can possibly do without getting fired.

Software developers tend to complain that their job is tedious, repetitive, and that they aren't learning anything. Most jobs are like that. I believe that a large portion of repetitive software development can be automated, and this is a largely unexplored area.

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#55

Post by KGIII »

bigmanwalter wrote: post #33
KGIII wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know the adage about finding a job doing what you love, and how it means you'll never work a day in your life? It is a lie. Lest you think self-employed is a better option, you'll never work harder than you work for yourself.

It sucks that this can't be freely admitted in today's culture. It's possibly true for those who love control and find themselves in a position over others, but it's definitely not true for those who like working with their hands and minds.

I think we call those people "psychopaths." I suppose they may enjoy it. Duly noted.

Sort of related: Way back when, I did manual labor. Later, I'd get my doctorate and start my own business. I was more exhausted from the mental labor than I was from the manual labor.

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#56

Post by Haul4ss »

Winterflow3r wrote: post #52
Haul4ss wrote: post #38

I'm like the opposite of this. By my mid-to-late 20s I was disillusioned with my job and career choice. I also felt trapped in my situation because there weren't a lot of choices for developers where I used to live. It took me a few years and one big (geographic) move, but I did manage to steer my career in a better direction. Through hard work and a big ol' dose of luck, I was in a job I enjoyed when I was 35. And I…

Can I ask what was the geographic move (or is it to SV/SF/Cali?)? -another trapped dev

Upstate NY to greater DC area.

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#57

Post by bigmanwalter »

KGIII wrote: post #55
bigmanwalter wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sucks that this can't be freely admitted in today's culture. It's possibly true for those who love control and find themselves in a position over others, but it's definitely not true for those who like working with their hands and minds.

I think we call those people "psychopaths." I suppose they may enjoy it. Duly noted. Sort of related: Way back when, I did manual labor. Later, I'd get my doctorate and start my own business. I was more exhausted from the mental labor than I was from the manual labor.

I completely agree, I used to paint in the summers. As soon as work was done, I was having fun and full of energy. Now, as a developer, I can barely hold a conversation with my girlfriend I have so little energy left after a day of work.

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#58

Post by MesoLimboCortic »

For an alternative take on the job satisfaction - age relationship (as well as inclusion of the moderator variable of job tenure) in the United States, using a large (12k+) sample:

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/minds-business/job...

Dobrow Riza, S., Ganzach, Y., & Liu, Y. (2016). Time and job satisfaction: a longitudinal study of the differential roles of age and tenure. Journal of Management. doi: 10.1177/0149206315624962

Re: People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35

#60

Post by nasalgoat »

sharkweek wrote: post #44
gagege wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently sat through one of those company/product mission presentations at work. It was one of those "am I the only sane person working here?" moments. I like our product, I want to see it succeed, but I really can't stand the religious fervor marketing departments and managers give off. And the amazing part is that my co-workers seem to completely buy into it. Everyone talks like what we're doing is going to chang…

I think deep down, a lot of people have a low hum of awareness that they don't believe what is being said, but it's a survival mechanism to repress this in order to maintain a sense of worth in the work being done/not get fired for not being a team player.

My personal perspective is cynical like yours - that it's generally a scam to try and extract more "value" out of workers - but my wife works at a large corporation where they seem to genuinely try to make it an enjoyable place to work and the people involved, all the way up the ladder, are committed to that ideal.

Praise flows freely, they do a ton of charity work, and it's not a thin veneer over a corporate machine. Perhaps the difference is that it's over 100 years old in a very established worldwide business, so there's room in the budget and schedule to be a lot more flexible and provide home/work balance.

All I know is I'm kind of jealous - I've only ever worked in the soul-sucking companies.

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