I highly recommend some bootcamps if a proper degree is too much time or money investment right now. They have a real impact on skills, and how your resume is perceived. Also, as far as career advancement is concerned, if you're bored at work and you can't get them to give you more, or at least more interesting, work then it is time to move to another company. Apply for something higher than your current role; there's a good shot you'll get it. Some companies promote, eventually, but the fastest ladder climbers I've seen promote themselves by going somewhere that needs them as soon as their current job isn't rewarding them, financially, intellectually, emotionally, etc., enough.
Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
51–60 of 111 posts
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#52Learn to live conservatively. In other words, lower your expenses as much as you can. It will allow you to be more flexible because you can work a part-time gig and use the rest of the time to explore.
Some posters are right that you should appreciate that you have a well paying job, or even a job to that.
I would say, though, life is short and you were fortunate enough to be born as a human being! One of the most conscious beings on the planet. Human potential has not been tapped. Explore it because one day, not too far from now, you will be old(if you make it) and wonder why you spent your energy the way you did, in a cubicle inside for half your life.
In my opinion, the risks are worth the reward. You can always go back to the programming.
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#53This is just my experience and of some I observe around me. I see a lot of very talented and passionate developers wanting to come up with personal projects that can make them money but, because they're so deeply interested in software engineering, the only ideas they have are related to (surprise!) software engineering problems.
Yes, you can make money selling products or services for software development but to really come up with something that reaches more people or businesses you need to invest in other interests, you need to be around more non-techies, you need to try more concrete world things.
Use your acute problem analysis and solving skills to identify and model problems in the world "out there." Model and remodel the problem to exhaustion, fall in love with it; think, design, experiment solutions and a why people would pay for it.
It's possible there's a lot of stuff to learn in this whole process. And you can do this over and over, with different problem spaces, if you become good at it.
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here you go: https://www.ishafoundation.org/news/columns/Bliss/2009/Bliss...
You're living in your own petty creation, man! Just kidding. Aside from some of the funny wording this is a nice, simple philosophy and I'm going to think about it today.
Be careful: you are going to think about something which requires you not to think. Think twice about that ;)
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#55I've been there my friend. I've done as you have done. I even managed to convince my wife to let me go part-time for 6 months to pursue my "dream" and find meaning, you know, attempting the ideal. I eventually came to the conclusion that taking on more responsibility in my life gave me more of what I have been looking for than pursing only what I found interesting (remember interest fades!).
Do not cheat your employer (if you owned the company, would you appreciate your employees doing this?). Perhaps search for better ways to accomplish your work duties, take on responsibility, or move on to another endeavor where you would be more inclined to be an actual steward or leader.
Best of luck, don't be afraid to do some reflection, perhaps you will surprise yourself in regards to what exactly you are looking for, I know I have!
-T
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#56I do career consulting (and resume writing) mostly for clients from tech. I think some arrangement where you had multiple forms of income (or potential income) might be a good solution for you. What might that look like? - Freelance software development - This would give you some control over what types of projects you work on, and you could focus on areas that really interest you. Maybe it would be projects that ena…
interesting about writing, could you please mention some of the tech sites that pay money for content?
I've been paid by Dzone.com (for both writing and editing) and TechBeacon. I was published a few times by Lifehacker although I don't remember if those were paid (and they aren't what I'd consider a tech site).
Reaching out to site editors with a couple samples of work could find you getting work published. As a freelance software developer, getting paid to write is nice, but just getting published can help increase exposure and lead to more incoming requests for project work and improved reputation.
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#57I don't have a college degree and yet I just got a junior developer position at a company. I'm probably not the best to give you this advice or am misunderstanding what you're trying to achieve but as somebody who has changed between professions, I can say it's feasible.
I went from tech support to translation and now to programming. Being self-taught shouldn't stop you from trying to get a job in a field you're interested in. Sure, a degree might be something a lot of employers look for in a person, but if you can prove you can do the job, then go ahead for it.
Best of luck.
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Based on my knowledge of the market for freelance software gigs, I think you are grossly overestimating the difficulty of finding good work. "Extreme luck" is not necessary, nor is "extremely good networking". 30-40% is also probably a bit of a stretch for the recruiter's take (former recruiter here). Those numbers and higher are certainly possible, but 20% is a bit more likely. Also, if you are getting a competitive…
how would you recommend finding work?
There are probably too many ways to respond to this question without making a full post, but a few examples:
1 - Reach out to other freelancers - many freelancers actually have too much work and will refer some leads along to others they trust.
2 - Recruiters - find an agency recruiter who you can trust and tell them to keep an eye out for you. Recruiters love placing contractors, as it is basically an annuity revenue stream.
3 - General outreach - just reach out to people. Founders, meetup leaders, CTOs. Do a little research and send short messages declaring your availability and interest.
4 - Let the work find you - make sure you have a discoverable presence on LinkedIn and elsewhere.
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#59Boredom is caused by a lack of attention. You can change your activity as much as you want but after some time it will become boring again. The only solution is to realize the scale of this Grand Happening which we call as life or existence. That every day comes fresh and new, not a single atom is the same as it was a moment ago. But if you don't have this much attention it feels "the same", "boring". And it's not ab…
In your opinion, does mindfulness meditation help in regards to developing attention sufficiently to alleviate the problems mentioned by OP?
Re: Ask HN: What should I do when I'm bored with my career?
#60The problem is that you don't feel like fulfilled at your current workplace. I can guarantee everyone had that feeling at one point or another. I have a PhD in engineering and I'm still not fulfilled. It's not about degrees, how many certs, how many side projects, etc. It's about life. You already answered your own question - you'd be happier to be free to explore things and share the knowledge. The keywords are "to be free", "to explore," "to share knowledge." How to make them into something sustainable is the question. And I suspect they are not the only things you want. The modifier is to be GREAT at them.