> Two years ago, at age 34, she switched careers and learned how to code. Oh dear.
Yeah, that stood out to me too. Out of the frying pan, into the fire...
People start hating their jobs at 35
141–150 of 247 posts
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#142I am nearing that age, but the displeasure started several years ago. I find myself a bit trapped with a a place where I am marrying 2 specialties that tend to go together, and that in theory should be an ideal job. But hte people, politics, and lack of genearl teamwork have left a sour taste. And it's not like I am ready to give up the money I save (I make a bit more because of the industry but still a lot less then…
I'm the same - only just pre-30 but already tired by being the "expert" at what I do (I've tried repeatedly saying that "knowing a bit more about something than other staff here" is a shitty bar for "expert" status and they should get rid of me and replace me with someone who's genuinely good at it, and interested in it, alas, nothing).
Other people might kill for my job, but honestly, it doesn't excite or engage me, and each day is literally just a march to get home and play with building my own stuff.
I've worked in cyclical industries (education and yearly hiring cycles) pretty much since leaving university - I'd advise people to avoid these if you can unless you love redoing the same work time and time again (but with enough enforced differences so you actually do have to do it all again). The "Start > Push > Reset" cycle is inherently demotivating to me.
Ideally, find something that compounds - where your work contributes to some kind of growth - rather than resets to zero again.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funny, round about the time I turned 35 I stumbled upon Erik Dietrich's Defining The Corporate Hierarchy [1] blog. It cynically divides corporate workers into sociopaths at the top who step on other people to get where they are, idealists in the middle who don't realize they're being stepped on and think they'll eventually get to the top through hard work, and then pragmatists at the bottom who come in in the morning…
> and then pragmatists at the bottom who come in in the morning, do their work, and find meaning in their lives elsewhere, like family or hobbies. How do those pragmatists deal with the fact that, summing job, commute and sleep, over 2/3 of their lives is not part of the purpose?
By realizing that the other 1/3 of our lives are spent on what is meaningful to us. And the 1/3 that is work funds more resources to put towards what is meaningful. I can go buy expensive tools and supplies for my sculpture hobby. I can afford gas and hotels to explore the country. I can go out to eat with my friends and family. And the last 1/3 is sleep... which isn't really a negotiable part of the human existence.
Also, don't discount weekends. You don't really work 1/3 of your life because you get 2/7ths off every week.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#144I recommend the book "Fire Your Boss" for anyone that has a job :)
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Spoken like an HNer who is incredibly lucky to be working in a field that has never-ending demand, and is probably good at their job. Just a heads up that the majority of people are not in your/our situation with regards to their employment.
Yes, being in an in-demand field makes work life easier. Being good at your job makes work life easier. Typing and drawing on a whiteboard is easier than mopping floors and cleaning toilets. I don't know why every time a discussion about work or employment comes up we feel the need to have these tautological discussions about how some people have it easier than others. It's only a matter of time until we get a sub-th…
Maybe the reason these topics keep coming up is that a lot of people feel that they are important aspects of employment.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
"and pretty much steer your destiny as you choose" Generally no - every rung up the ladder gets about 500% more competitive, and even worse, it's political competition. Middle management is the worst kind of work beyond raw labour. When you're young, usually you're learning, doing 'actual work' and you can make no mistakes really. If you have a protected executive job, and can handle politics, there can be stability…
Why move to management then? Software Developer is the best gig imaginable right now, in pretty much any dimension you can measure. - Senior level pay is pushing $500k for employees, ( and higher for consulting) - Pretty much any gig can be remote - Hottest job market in history - Lots of fun work to be found if you don't want to go the BigCo track So yeah, why fight all that stuff you list on that path when you can…
> Senior level pay is pushing $500k for employees, ( and higher for consulting)
At a handful of elite, highly-competitive companies.
> Pretty much any gig can be remote
The defense, health care, finance, and embedded sectors would beg to differ. Also, can be remote often does not equal "allowed to* be remote.
> Hottest job market in history
"In history" is too strong, but it is definitely a hot market (in most areas).
> Lots of fun work to be found if you don't want to go the BigCo track
If you choose this your first bullet doesn't apply.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#147I wonder if mid-30's could be a point of going either direction?
At 34 I discovered a career passion around serving others, whereas previously the orientation was mostly toward myself.
Nothing changed in my daily work, just a perspective.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment >Why would there be? Nobody I know is signing employment contracts or working in Civil Service positions. Probably not true in the US, but in Europe many a 35yo has grown up under the general assumption "get a good degree, get a job at a good company, and you are set for life", simply because it was their parents' experience.…
I mean you say yourself it's an assumption. And things change, I'm not sure expecting your parents' experience to be your own is reasonable.
I reckon your parents experience is totally reasonable - up to a certain age, they're your first call for any questions you have in life about literally anything. It's not until you've gained enough of your own experiences that you can make a judgement about what they've told you. I'm not sure it should take you up to your mid-thirties to learn these things, but hey, everyone's different.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#149I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…
> They have figured out that the majority of their work, to their surprise is not actually that important or necessary. I used to keep wondering when I was going to get found out for not contributing to the company's bottom line like the other thousands of employees around me seem to do every day. But then I realised that everyone else is probably doing exactly the same. And either a) none of us are doing anything va…
There's a bunch of additional work required to maintain the product outside of developing it in the first place. The brilliant product developed needs to be refined, marketed etc.. and all of those have support structures in place which sometimes amount to "work". Reports, analysis, collate data etc... integrate with X, all work that may not be what you sell but support the organization to sell what you sell.
Re: People start hating their jobs at 35
#150For me it was at 24, about 2 years after I started working. The first two years were exciting vanity-filled ride, because I was proving that to myself and others that I was really capable. I got quickly promoted to a project manager role (that was in a time and organization where PMs weren't just bureucrats, the role was exciting). Delivering my first project was hell of a ride (coffee and red-bull powered one), but…
At your age (if it’s mid 20s) money should be around the bottom of the priolist, later in life that may not be an option
Why? Making money early saves you years of struggle later and gives you option that nobody else has through their 30s, after which starting new things becomes physically more difficult. Missing out on what everybody else is doing in their 20s, is by definition not something particularly novel. If money is a tool to buy us time, then making them early when u re most motivated and capable is the right strategy imho.